Aldus Manutius

Timeline

1. c. 1449–1494Venice · VeniceBorn in Bassiano in the Papal States, he studied Latin and Greek humanist courses in Rome and Ferrara and served as tutor to the Pio family. Around 1490 he moved to Venice, gathering Greek scribes and scholars from Crete and elsewhere, planning to preserve and edit classical texts through printing, preparing editorial and type work for his venture.
2. 1494–1500Venice · VeniceHe founded the Aldine Press in Venice around 1494. In March 1495 he printed Constantine Lascaris's Erotemata; from that year to 1498 he issued five volumes of Aristotle's works in Greek, and printed Theocritus, Aristophanes, and Pietro Bembo's Aetna. The 1499 Hypnerotomachia Poliphili represented the peak of his illustration and page design. He organized the 'Nea Akademia' to discuss textual criticism in Greek.
3. 1501–1515Venice · VeniceHis 1501 Virgil was the first book printed entirely in italic, paired with octavo enchiridia pocket format, making the classics portable. The dolphin-and-anchor device was adopted around the same year. The italic was cut by Griffo and later spread and widely imitated after their partnership broke down. Aldus made his will in January 1515 and died on 6 February; Lucretius's De Rerum Natura was among the last books printed in his lifetime.