This 1st Venetian edition was also the 1st to be printed with a commentary. In this case, the commentator is Jacopo della Lana (ca. 1278–ca. 1358), a contemporary of Dante. Della Lana wrote his commentary sometime after Dante’s death, but before 1328. It is considered among the best of the early criticisms along with those of Benvenuto da Imola, Guido da Pisa, and two of Dante’s three sons, Jacopo and Pietro. In this edition, however, the colophon incorrectly attributes the commentary to Benvenuto da Imola, perhaps to increase sales through name recognition (cf. Cachey, et al.). Includes Boccaccio's Vita di Dante and, at end, verses by Busone da Gobbio and by Jacopo Alighieri, and the Credo falsely attributed to Dante.

With the commentary of Cristoforo Landino. Register is missing; bound in vellum with leaves from an old manuscript as lining papers. Text very close to the 1491 edition (Benalius and Capcasa).

Venice : Bernardino Stagnino da Trino de Monferra, [24 Nov.] 1512
Cristoforo Landino’s commentary as edited by Pietro da Figino appears alongside Pietro Bembo’s text. Also includes the Credo, Pater Nostro, and Ave Maria only.

Venice : Francesco Marcolini. 1544
Only 4 editions of the Commedia were printed between 1530 and 1550. This one contained a new commentary by Alessandro Vellutello, who criticized Bembo’s text and used “different and older ones, those which are recognized as being less corrupt than all the others.” His commentary concentrated on exegesis of the text, rather than its historical and philosophical background. He included a life of Dante and several new diagrams of Inferno.

Venice : G. Giolito de Ferrari et fratelli, 1555.
The first time the adjective “divina” was added to the title. Edited by Lodovico Dolce, who revised the text using “very many ancient copies”, and who claimed to have used a copy of the poem belonging to Dante’s son. He devised an alternative to the traditional Landino and Vellutello commentaries, and used the margin space for short explanatory notes. He also included 2 indexes (words and subjects).

Riproduzione in facsimile della prima edizione della Divina Commedia in formato piccolissimo stampata presumbilimente a Venezia nel 1516 da Alessandro Paganini.

Lyon : G. Rouillio, 1571.
Reprint of the 1551 Lyon edition. Annotations by Alessandro Vellutello

Con tauole, argomenti, & allegorie; & riformato, riveduto, & ridotto alla sua vera lettura, per Francesco Sansovino fiorentiono.
Venice : Gio. Battista, & Gio. Bernardo Sessa, fratelli, 1596.
A 3rd printing of a 1564 edition by the Sessa family. Combined the editorial traditions of an eartlier period with those of mid 16th century. Folio format, text based on Bembo, surrounded by 2 commentaries of Landino and Vellutello, with the woodcuts of Vellutello's ed. of 1544 (see above). The text which follows the Aldine ed. of 1502 with a more modern orthography, is printed in italics, and is surrounded by the commentary in double columns, printed in Roman letters.

New York : Richard W. Ellis for Cheshire house, 1931.

Strassburg : Georg Husner, ca. 1474?

Strassburg, Georg Husner, ca.1474

From the binding of a later book, probably printed by Gutenberg, around 1455.

Otherwise known as "the 42-line Bible", Gutenberg's creation is considered the first printed book, and a monument of intellectual history.

A teaching collection of artifacts of early printing: leaves from incunables and other early printed books, type, composing sticks, printing "furniture". Also includes manuscript artifacts: leaves of medieval manuscripts, an entire sheep skin prepared as parchment, sheets of papyrus, woodblocks, engraving plates, lithograph stones, and more. Inventory available on request.

A hand-crafted recreation, by the type founder Stan Nelson, of a type mold like those in use in Gutenberg's time. Fully operational. Included in the Artifact Collection

1763. Uncut printed OCTAVO sheets, with an engraved map. Shows how a book looked before it was bound between covers, as it came off the printing press.

Uncut printed sheet in FOLIO. Handmade laid paper, showing deckle edge, watermark (no countermark), and vatman’s tears.

Uncut printed sheets in DUODECIMO.

Venice : Aldus Manutius, Romanus, Dec. 1499. Called "the most beautiful book ever printed", this is Aldus Manutius' masterpiece of Renaissance printing. With spectacular page layouts and woodblock illustrations.

Illuminated manuscript on parchment. Italy, late 14th cent. Ornamented with seven illuminated initials with extended marginal ornaments and broad floreated borders, including a large one at beginning of the text enclosing a portrait of the author.

Beautifully illuminated manuscript on parchment. Latin manuscript of the 15th century (?). Vellum; lines made with red ink.16 colored initials.Text written in black and red ink.11 pages with marginal ornaments.4 full pages illuminated.

Original pear wood block of a Chameleon Plant, used to illustrate Pietro Andrea Mattioli’s celebrated 1562 herbal. In the Artifact Collection. Printed books into the 17th century were most frequently illustrated with woodblocks. An early, less costly illustration technology, as the block could be set with the type.

Venice : Aldus Manutius, Romanus, Dec. 1499. Called "the most beautiful book ever printed". Exquisite woodblock illustrations help make this is a masterpiece of Renaissance printing.

Another early woodblock (17th century) that shows how books were illustrated.

France. 2 illustrations: Reliquary of St. Martha and the Holy Family. Copper plates (engravings) were widely used in the 18th century for book illustration. A more expensive process than woodblocks.

Cornelius Galle, engraver. 4 plates with portraits of S. Bonaventura; S. Carolus Borromaeus; S. Petrus de Alcantara; B. Paschalis

Wood engravings were widely used in the 19th century for book illustration. Smaller, finer in composition and detail than woodblocks.

Special Collections has at least 3 lithographic stones - the 19th century's revolution in printing images and text. Inquire in Special Collections

This book shows the step-by-step coloring process on many different lithographic stones.

Another book showing 24 different plates; one for each color of the lithographic printing process