Aldine Press

The 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 first book that was dated and printed under his name appeared in 1495. 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 intended for portability and ease of reading. According to Curt F. Bühler, the press issued 132 books during twenty years of activity under Aldus Manutius. After Manutius' death in 1515, the press was continued by his wife Maria and her father Andrea Torresani (Andrea Torresano), until Manutius' son Paulus (1512–1574) took over.

From the Wikipedia article “Aldine Press”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Aldine Press is no longer an active publisher (defunct since 1597). Its books may still be in print through successor companies or available second-hand and in libraries.