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(January 2010)| Aldine Press was the printing office started by
Aldus Manutius in 1494 in Venice, from which were issued the
celebrated Aldine editions of the classics (Latin and Greek
masterpieces plus a few more modern works). The Aldine Press is
famous in the history of typography, among other things, for the
introduction of italics. The press was the first to issue
printed books in the small octavo size, similar to that of a
modern paperback, and like that intended for portability and
ease of reading. The press issued 127 editions during the
lifetime of Aldus. The press was continued after Aldus’s death
in 1515 by his wife and her father until his son Paolo
(1512–1574) took over. His grandson Aldo then ran the firm until
his death in 1597. Due to the firm's commercial success many
pirated editions were also produced in Lyons and elsewhere.
Today, antique books printed by the Aldine Pr