Erhard Ratdolt’s Index characterum, the earliest known type specimen, Poem Pamphlet No. 3

Erhard Ratdolt’s Index characterum, the earliest known type specimen by Riccardo Olocco.

Erhard Ratdolt was one of the most successful and acclaimed printers of the 15th century. He was also a pioneer of new techniques and in 1486 he printed the earliest known type specimen. In this essay Riccardo Olocco analyses the only surviving copy of this single sheet with a discussion on the circumstances of its production and descriptions and identifications of the roman and rotunda types according to existing bibliographical references. The pamphlet is accompanied by a facsimile of the original type specimen.

Typeset in Instant and an unreleased italic version of Almost Roman. More info at poem-editions.com.