Vassar College Digital Library

Caligula de Bazaleriis, 1503 -- Printer's Mark

Image
Access Control
Date
1503
Description
Main (Thompson) Library location: South wing -- End window. The earliest available records concerning Caligula de Bazaleriis (c.14-- – c. 15--) locate him in Bologna in 1490. There he may have begun to work with printer and relative, Bazalerius de Bazaleriis, who published books dated as early as 1480. De Bazaleriis printed independently for over a decade, from 1492 to 1504. Over the course of this relatively short career, however, he managed to issue a number of significant publications, especially the works of Italian writers and humanists including Giovanni Garzoni, Dante Alighieri, and Giovanni Bocaccio. The latest work attributed to de Bazaleriis is entitled Bucolica by Titus Calpurnius Siculus from 1504. Caligula de Bazaleriis used a modified orb-and-cross as the basis of his mark; the lower portion of the symbol is a heart instead of the traditional orb. Within the heart are the initials K.B., likely references to his name, suggesting that he originated outside of Italy. The two-barred cross is typically known as a "patriarchal cross."
Note
Photograph by Amy Laughlin

This project was created by Katherine Durr (VC '15) as part of the Ford Scholar program under the supervision of Professor Ron Patkus in Summer 2013.

Subject (Corporate Body)
Subject (Topical)
Subject (Geographic)
Genre
Details
Identifier
vassar:32730
Local Identifier
pmarks_photo_SW2_001
Extent
1 item
Type
Rights
These materials are made available for research and educational purposes. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine the copyright status of materials in the Vassar College Digital Library.
Additional Media
"The Mark of the Renaissance Printer" blog post by Katherine Durr, 2013 Vassar Ford Scholar: https://library.vassar.edu/blog/The-Mark-of-the-Renaissance-Printer