"Aldus and His Dream Book" is a tribute to the life and work of the pioneering scholar-publisher, Aldus Manutius (1449/50-1515).
Helen Barolini's text discusses Aldus, his education, his publishing vision, his typographic innovations, and his famous Venetian press. At the same time, this book reproduces all the illustrations, and many of the full pages, from the Aldine press edition of Francesco Colonna's "Hypnerotomachia Poliphili," which many consider the most beautiful book printed in the Renaissance. It also includes a bibliography of works on Aldus and the "Hypnerotomachia."
This edition is certain to appeal to the historian, bibliophile, art historian, designer, and student of the many psychologically rich and emblematic illustrations that have delighted and intrigued generations of readers and scholars.
The third printing completely resets the text, using digital typefaces that approximate the original even more closely, offers newly reproduced images of the art pages, and includes an updated Bibliography.