Erhard Ratdolt
Encyclopedia
Erhard Ratdolt was an early German printer. From Augsburg
, he was active printing in Venice
, where he worked from 1476 to 1486.
There he produced a Kalendario (1476) for Regiomontanus
, and editions of the Historia Romana of Appianus (1477), and Euclid's Elements
(1482), solving the problem of reproducing mathematical diagrams. Other works were the Poeticon astronomicon
, also from 1482, Haly Abenragel
(1485), and Alchabitius (1503). Erhard Ratdolt is also notable as having produced the first known printers type speciman book (in this instance a broadsheet diplaying the founts with which he might print).
He returned to Augsburg, where he continued in business as a printer. His innovations of layout and typography, mixing type and woodcut
s, have subsequently been much admired. His printing influenced that of William Morris.
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
, he was active printing in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, where he worked from 1476 to 1486.
There he produced a Kalendario (1476) for Regiomontanus
Regiomontanus
Johannes Müller von Königsberg , today best known by his Latin toponym Regiomontanus, was a German mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, translator and instrument maker....
, and editions of the Historia Romana of Appianus (1477), and Euclid's Elements
Euclid's Elements
Euclid's Elements is a mathematical and geometric treatise consisting of 13 books written by the Greek mathematician Euclid in Alexandria c. 300 BC. It is a collection of definitions, postulates , propositions , and mathematical proofs of the propositions...
(1482), solving the problem of reproducing mathematical diagrams. Other works were the Poeticon astronomicon
Poeticon astronomicon
Poeticon astronomicon is a star atlas and book of stories whose text is attributed to "Hyginus", though the true authorship is disputed. During the Renaissance, the work was attributed to the Roman historian Gaius Julius Hyginus who lived during the 1st century BC However, the fact that the book...
, also from 1482, Haly Abenragel
Haly Abenragel
Abû l-Hasan 'Alî ibn Abî l-Rijâl was an Arab astrologer of the late 10th and early 11th century, best known for his Kitāb al-bāri' fi ahkām an-nujūm. He was a court astrologer to the Tunisian prince al-Mu'izz ibn Bâdis in the first half of the 11th century...
(1485), and Alchabitius (1503). Erhard Ratdolt is also notable as having produced the first known printers type speciman book (in this instance a broadsheet diplaying the founts with which he might print).
He returned to Augsburg, where he continued in business as a printer. His innovations of layout and typography, mixing type and woodcut
Woodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
s, have subsequently been much admired. His printing influenced that of William Morris.
External links
- Erhard Ratdolt - first publisher of Euclid
- G. R. Redgrave: Erhard Ratdolt and his work at Venice. London, 1894