This 1540 edition of Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War is printed in the original Greek and features woodcut initials as well as a printer's device. In addition, it has been heavily annotated in both Greek and Latin.

Printers’ Devices

Printers’ devices were a common design element of early modern books.  These woodcuts (which often appeared on title pages of texts) were used as a way of quickly identifying the printer of a work.  Typically, they would feature the printers’ sign, initials, or name along with other ornamental decor (which usually had some sort of symbolic resonance with the printer's name or history).

Devices from the 16th and 17th centuries follow a variety of different strategies in their design and subject matter.  Popular device designs include images surrounded by a motto (image 1), heraldic coats of arms (image 2), and emblematic groupings of animals and objects (image 3).

Though the utility of printers’ devices relies on their recognizable nature, some printers were known for having multiple devices.  Like Joseph Froben--who had numerous devices, one of which can be seen here--Andreae Wecheli’s printers’ device went through a few updates over the years, as you can see from two devices (Image 3) found in UNC HSL Special Collections.

To learn more about printers’ devices, come look at some of these works in person at UNC HSL Special Collections, or head over to Wilson Library Special collections to read their copy of Hugh William Davies’ Devices of the Early Printers....

Image 1: Dioscorides Pedanius. Pedanii Dioscoridis... (1549, located in the UNC HSL Special Collections)

Image 2: Athanasius Kircher. Athanasii Kircheri e Soc. Jesu... (1658, located in the UNC HSL Special Collections)

Color Our Collections

Word of the day: Vulning

The pelican (perhaps here another bird) piercing its breast to feed its young from the blood appears as a motif symbolizing the sacrifice of Christ. This activity is also known as vulning, from the Latin word for wound.

We look forward to trying to slip this word into casual conversation all day.

Order of the Phoenix

Device of Adriaan Vlacq, a mathematician and, later, publisher in a 1657 work on philosophy and scholarship, printed in the Hague.

Three heads are better than one.

Woodcut device for 16th century Swiss printer Johann Herwagen in the works of Italian historian Sabellico (1436?-1506), printed 1560.

Brand: Apple

Three Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports for connecting computers or network devices

Wireless networking router based on the 802.11n draft standard

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USB port turns external hard drives, printers, and other devices into network resources

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This is a solid wireless router for all-Mac and mixed Windows/Mac networks.