Chapter 5 Flashcards
xylography
The technical term for the relief printing from a raised surface that originated in Asia
Typography
Printing with independent, movable, and reusable bits of metal or wood, each of which has a raised letterform on one face
Watermark
A translucent emblem produced by pressure form a raised design on the mold and visible when the sheet of paper is held to the light; used in Italy by 1282
Block Printing
relief printing in which image and lettering were cut from the same block of wood
Ars Moriendi
- “Art of dying”
- Advised one on the preparation for and meeting of the final hour. Death was an ever-present preoccupation die to the great cycles of bubonic plague, called Black Death, which claimed 1/4 of the European continent’s inhabitants during the 14th century and caused 1,000 villages either to vanish completely or to be critically depopulated
Block book
A woodcut picture book with a religious subject matter and brief text. Image and lettering were cut from a block of wood and each page was printed as a complete word-and-picture unit
biblia pauperum
- “bible of the poor”
- a compendium of events in the life of Christ, including testimony about how Old Testament prophecy was fulfilled
forty-two-line bible
the first typographic book.
textura
a square, compact lettering style commonly used by German scribes of Gutenberg’s day- the first to be used as movable type
ligature
the joining of two letters next to each other to create a more even spacing and greater legibility
Punch
A steel bar with a character engraved into the top, pressed into softer matrix to make a negative impression of a letterform from the punch
Matrix
soft copper or brass used to make a negative impression of a letterform from the punch
letters of indulgence
The earliest dated specimens of typographic design and printing are the 1454 letters of indulgence issued in Mainz. Letters of indulgence were issued by Pope Nicholas V, who granted these pardons of sins to all Christians who had given money to support the war against the Turks
Rubrication
The application of red-ink initials and titles to a printed book by a scribe
Psalter
A version of the Psalms for liturgical or devotional use
Colophon
An inscription or note placed at the end of a book or manuscript giving the title, the name of the scribe or printer, the dare and place of printing, and sometimes the type used
Master of the Playing Cards
an unidentified artist who created the earliest known copperplate engravings of a set of playing cards using birds, animals, and wild men as images
Copperplate engraving
Engraving is printing from a an image that is incised or cut down into the printing surface. To produce a copperplate engraving, a drawing is scratched into a smooth metal plate. Ink is applied into the depressions, the flat surface is wiped clean, and paper is pressed against the plate to receive the inked image
Procupius Waldfoghel
in Avignon, France, a goldsmith who was involved in the production of “alphabets of steel” around 1444, but with no known results
Laurens Janszoon Coster
The Dutchman of Haarlem who explored the concept of movable type by cutting out letters or words from his woodblocks for reuse
Johann Gensfleisch zum Gutenberg
- late 14th century- 1468
- Of Mainz, Germany, first brought together the complex systems and subsystems necessary to print a typographic book around the year 1450
Johann Fust
- c.1400 - 66
- A wealthy Mainz burgher and merchant from whom Gutenberg borrowed money to continue his work. In 1455, as Gutenberg’s work neared completion, Fust suddenly sued Gutenberg. The courts ruled in favor of Fust, who seized possession of Gutenberg’s printing equipment and all his work in progress. Gutenberg was locked out of his printing shop. Fust entered into an agreement with Gutenberg’s skilled assistant and foreman, Peter Schoeffer, and established the printing firm called Fust and Schoeffer
Peter Schoeffer
- c.1425-1502
- Gutenberg’s skilled assistant and foreman, who established a printing firm with Johann Fust and married Fust’s daughter.
- An artist and designer experienced as an illustrator and manuscript dealer, and a scribe at the University of Paris in 1449, Schoeffer quite possibly played a key role in the format development and type design for the 42 line Bible. If so, he may have been the first typeface designer
Fust and Schoeffer
Started by Johann Fust and Peter Schoeffer, it became the most important printing firm in the world, establishing a 100 year family dynasty of printers, publishers, and booksellers
