Sep 26, 2025 Now on Display! The Business of Books

Books have long been more than vessels of knowledge; they are objects of commerce shaped by the interplay of market forces, entrepreneurial ambition, and shifting patterns of consumer demand. At the core of this history is the book as both artifact and investment. The qualities that render a book rare today often reflect its unique position within this commercial and technological landscape. Rarity may arise from a small print run, superior materials such as fine paper or decorative bindings, notable provenance, or distinctive attributes including printer’s errors, illustrations, marginalia, or annotations. In many instances, the business decisions of printers, publishers, and booksellers—choices concerning production scale, materials, and intended markets—directly influenced which volumes have survived as exceptional or singular objects. 

The Business of Books: A Literary Economy offers a comprehensive exploration of the production and trade of books from the Renaissance through the Industrial Revolution. The exhibition examines the intricate economic networks that underpinned the book industry and foregrounds the physical labor involved in papermaking, printing, binding, and design. Highlighted in this exhibit are books, trade catalogs, advertisements, specimens, and ephemera that reveal how innovations such as movable type, mechanized presses, and industrial papermaking reshaped the scale, speed, and accessibility of book production. 

PRINTERS’ MARKS: WHAT’S IN A BRAND? 

The emergence of printers’ devices, or printers’ marks, in the mid-fifteenth century coincided with the dawn of movable type in Europe. In the earliest printed books, these marks were relatively simple, often consisting of the printer’s initials, a small emblem, or a device borrowed from heraldry. Their primary function was practical: to identify the printer and distinguish one workshop’s output from another. Yet even in these early examples, printers recognized the value of aesthetics and symbolism. Typically appearing on the title page, colophon, or final leaf of a book, these devices often incorporated iconography, initials, or mottoes, carefully crafted to be distinctive and recognizable. In the earliest examples, printers’ devices were frequently heraldic or emblematic, featuring mythical creatures such as lions, griffins, or unicorns, tools of the trade like compasses or presses, and allegorical figures representing virtues such as Faith, Knowledge, or Industry. Many included Latin or vernacular mottoes, conveying the printer’s philosophy, dedication to learning, or ethical stance. The devices were usually engraved on metal or wood blocks, enabling them to be printed alongside the text. 

The significance of printers’ devices extended far beyond decoration. They functioned as an early form of branding, allowing buyers and collectors to recognize a printer’s work at a glance and signaling reliability, quality, and prestige. In the context of incunabula and other early printed books, where documentation is often scarce, these marks are invaluable for identifying the printer, the workshop, and even the city in which a book was produced. Printers’ devices also played a commercial role, distinguishing one printer’s output from another in increasingly competitive urban book markets. By the seventeenth century, printers’ devices had become an essential element of the European book trade. They signaled prestige, attracted customers, and created trust in the marketplace, while simultaneously serving as historical markers for bibliographers tracing the movement of texts, workshops, and styles.

Valerii Flacci Argonauticon …
Gaius Valerius Flaccus (fl. first century ce)
Paris: Simon de Colines, 1532
PA6791 V4 1532

Simon de Colines was active in Paris during the French Renaissance and worked exclusively for the University of Paris between 1520-1546, wherein he published cheap, small-format editions for the University’s students. Over the course of his lifetime, he published more than seven hundred separate editions, or nearly four percent of books published in sixteenth-century Paris. Colines can be recognized by his pressmark: the wild satyr, which represents the untamed, primal forces of the natural world.  

Qvinctvs Horativs Flaccvs
Horace (ca. 65-8 bce)
Antwerp: Christophe Plantin, 1564
PA6393 A2 1564

A French Renaissance humanist, printer, and publisher, Christophe Plantin settled in Antwerp, where he established the Plantin Press – one of the most prominent publishing houses of its time. His work helped make Antwerp a leading center of book production in Europe. During the 1560s, Plantin adopted his famous printer’s mark: a pair of compasses held by a hand emerging from a cloud, inscribing a circle, and encircled by the motto Labore et Constantia (By Labor and Constancy). The fixed point of the compasses symbolized steadfastness, while the moving point represented the effort needed to complete the circle. By 1575, his press employed more than twenty presses and seventy-three workmen, alongside various specialists who worked from their homes. 

Incipit Liber Primus Ioannis Gerson Cangellariju…  
Thomas à Kempis (ca. 1380-1471)
Venice: Peregrinus de Pasqualibus and Dionysius Bertochus, 1485
BV4820 A1 1485

Following his death in 1471, Thomas Kempis’ Imitation of Christ was published by Italian printers Pellegrino de Pasquali and Dionigi Bertocchi. Pasquali and Bertocchi published religious and legal texts out of Venice between the 1480s and early 1490s. This edition includes their woodcut printer’s device on page 104, and abstract design that features a circle (the earth) adorned by the patriarchal cross – reinforcing the idea of Christianity’s spiritual dominance over the world. This design was not unique to Pasquali and Bertocchi but used widely among many fifteenth-century printers. 

Dionis Nicaei Rerum Romanarum… 
Cassius Dio Cocceianus (150-235)
Lutetia (Paris): From the Workshop of Robert Estienne, 1551
PA3947 A2 1551

Accused in Paris of heresy, Robert Estienne fully embraced Protestantism in Geneva and devoted his time to publishing religious works, many for his friend John Calvin.  This editio princeps, or first printed edition, of Roman history by Cassius Dio was printed in Garamond’s type. It is one of the last books issued by Robert Estienne from his Paris press. Although Estienne used several pressmarks on his publications over the years, one of the most notable is the serpent and olive branch wrapped around a spear.  It was symbolic of wisdom in times of war and peace.  

Demosthenous Logon Tmema Proton 
Demosthenes (384-322 bce)
Venice: Corrected by Paulus Manutius, Son of Aldus, 1554
PA3949 A2 1554

Paulus Manutius, son of the great Aldus, printed two Latin editions in 1549 and 1551 before completing his first Greek edition in 1554. The famous Aldine printer’s device can be found on the titlepage and final leaf. The image, adopted by Aldus Manutius in 1502, features a dolphin wrapped around an anchor. It was derived from an ancient Roman coin and represents the classical motto festina lente, or “make haste slowly.” The logo served to identify the publishing firm and its high-quality, affordable books, distinguishing them from pirated copies.  

By illuminating the roles of artisans, merchants, and consumers, The Business of Books provides insight into the dynamic forces that have historically shaped the book trade, forces that continue to inform the practices of publishing, collecting, and readership today. 

To learn more about The Business of Books, visit the Special Collections Exhibition Gallery on Level 4 of the Marriott Library. 

(This exhibition is free and open to the public)