Month: October 2017
Astronomicum Caesarium.
The Astronomicum Caesarium (“The Emperor’s Astronomy,” 1540) by Petrus Apianus is a monumental example of European book arts of the sixteenth century, and one of the most beautiful books ever produced.
The author and producer, Peter Bienewitz (1495–1552), was the son of a shoemaker. He took the name Apianus (Latin for “bee man,” more or less a translation of his German surname), while a student at the University of Leipzig. Apianus worked as a mathematician and cosmographer (and astrologer) in the employ of emperor Charles V (1500–1558), whom he may have tutored. The Astronomicum Caesarium was produced for the emperor in folio format (about 18 x 13 in.) in a limited edition (about forty copies survive but the original run might not have been much larger).
A delightful guide from Pierrick Calvez. Click the screenshot (from a section representing “contrast”) for the five-minute guide.
Screen shot from Pierrick Calvez’s Five-minute Guide to Better Typography.
Orbis sensualium pictus, 1659, by Comenius (Czech, 1592-1670). English translation by Charles Hoole (English, 1610-1667). Sheet from printed book.
The Orbis sensualium pictus, often described as the first children’s picture-book, sought to use animal sounds to teach children the alphabet. The author, Jan Amos Komenský, who took the Latin name Comenius, was an early champion of universal education. The book was originally published in German and Latin, and translated into English the following year by Charles Hoole, an English cleric and educational writer. A sheet from that translation is displayed above.
Left: Vatican City, 3 Oct. 2009. Right: Antigua, Guatemala, 4 Jan., 2002.
Living wall at SFMOMA, with detail of Maquette for Trois disques, 1967, by Alexander Calder (American, 1898-1976), metal and paint, The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection.