Little Books and Big Ideas in the 17th Century

Jennfier Larson, Professor of Classics at Kent State University, will discuss the types of books 17th-century printers considered suitable for miniature and small formats and their relationship to the greater intellectual currents of the century. The relationship between type size and book format, which may be governed by aesthetic or pragmatic factors, is considered. Many of Larson’s books come from the Golden Age of Dutch printing, and examples by the Officina Plantiniana, Caesius/Blaeu, Janssonius, Maire, and the Elzevirs will be shown.