The books of Aldus Manutius possess an enduring appeal, for their sense of order and visual-semantic structure. After intensive examination of some Aldine books, Burnhill proposes a hypothesis about the co-ordination of the dimensions in type in this printing. It seems that a system of typographic measurement informed this work, two hundred years before such a system was made explicit in printing.
| availability | out of print |
| published | 2003.08.28 |
| extent | 144 pp |
| dimensions | 240 × 170 mm |
| illustrations | b&w pictures |
| binding | sewn paperback |
| ISBN | 0-907259-19-7 |
| ISBN13 | 978-0-907259-19-0 |
| price | £17.50 |
One hopes for Burnhill’s book that it unfolds its stimulating effects beyond the narrow circle of the historically interested – and into the world of book design. That its own production (paper, binding, page construction) need not be shy of the comparison with subject discussed is not the least praise that one can offer. It is a nice instance of the fact that writing on typography is always an exercise in self-reflection. The crystalline clarity that one encounters in Aldine production finds itself again in Burnhill’s reconstruction.
Roland Reuß, Text, no. 9, 2004
