EXAMPLE 547
Representative of the large variety of devices in use by American printers and publishers
An interesting feature of some early Venetian books is the use by printers of decorative devices designed upon the winged Lion of St. Mark. Recent adaptations of this device are the Oswald Press imprints (Examples [539-A] and [539-B]) and the ornament on a title by Bruce Rogers (Example [538]). The Lion of St. Mark is interesting in its significance. Tradition has it that long ago, when John Mark, the missionary companion of Paul, was traveling by way of Aquileia (Roman Secunda) for the purpose of preaching the gospel of Jesus, he found himself, after a violent storm, on one of the Rialto Islands that now form the city of Venice. In a dream an angel appeared saluting him (Pax tibi Marce Evangelista meus) and announcing that on those islands his bones would some day find peace. In fulfilment of this prophecy, in the year 829, several Venetians went to Alexandria, where the body of Mark had been buried, removed it surreptitiously, and took it to Venice. Such was the enthusiasm caused by this event that St. Mark supplanted St. Theodore as the patron saint of the city. “Viva San Marco” was heard as the battle cry of the Venetians, and the winged lion, symbolic of St. Mark, became the glorious sign of the republic. In Venice today there are numerous statuary reproductions of the winged Lion of St. Mark, holding with one claw a book of the gospels. The exposed pages of the book usually contain the salutation of the angel. The story of St. Mark’s vision and of the bringing of the body to Venice is pictured in mosaic work in St. Mark’s Church, Venice, where his bones rest.
The four-winged beasts mentioned in the fourth chapter of Revelations are accepted as symbolic of the four evangelists, the winged lion typifying St. Mark.
Example [543] shows four designs with motifs taken from ancient sources. The Matthews-Northrup device of the mythical phœnix rising from the fire is emblematic of immortality; the torch probably signifies the intellectual light resulting from the invention of printing. The Winthrop Press imprint has already been mentioned as having relation to the ancient Typothetæ arms. The Binner-Wells design suggests that of Froben, by the shape and lettering between lines. The possible derivation of the Gould Press device from the Venetian master printers’ emblem has been suggested.
The unique mark of the De Vinne Press (Example [545]) probably pictures a page from a manuscript book. The legend connected with the Greek lettering is mythical and has to do with one Prometheus, who, while chained to a rock, tells of the benefits he conferred on mankind. A literal translation of the Greek at this point reveals the appropriateness of the quotation as used: “And further, I discovered for them numeration, most striking of inventions; and composition, nurse of the arts, producer of the record of all things.”
Three imprint-devices, based upon architectural motifs, are shown in Example [544]. In the Rogers design the architectural panel is surmounted by a silhouetted heraldic figure that adds much to the attractiveness of the device. A Colonial architectural panel frames the title of the Bartlett-Orr Press. The Egyptian winged ball, asps and open book are well blended with the monogram circle that fits the Roman arch in the Trow imprint.
EXAMPLE 548
Decorative imprints constructed with typefounders’ ornaments and suitable type-faces