Typographorum Emblemata

Valérie Hayaert

The Legal Significance and Humanist Ethos of Printers’ Insignia

Since Alciato’s letter to the Roman bookseller Francesco Calvo dated 9th January 1523,770 the invention of emblems is closely linked to printers’ devices: Aldus’ anchor, Froben’s dove and Calvo’s elephant are a species of emblemata, which can be used as trademarks (pro insignibus gestamus). Denis L. Drysdall has convincingly studied a chapter of Alciato’s Parergon Iuris771 where the lawyer gives a brief account of Roman insignia: they began, he claims, as military symbols, such as the eagle carried on a pole in front of various legions and they moved to use by cities and by private individuals. The chapter then discusses the personal insignia of emperors and the legal ...