On March 14, 2024, Reid Byers will speak to the Aldus Society at 7:00 pm at the Thurber Center in Columbus, Ohio on the subject of the design of the private library. His book, The Private Library, was chosen by The Washington Post among the top fifty non-fiction books of 2021.
An innovative and progressive printer, Aldus Manutius’ initiative to publish humanist texts in portable, octavo editions had a great influence on the democratization of book ownership and the dissemination of ideas. He is credited with the creation of italic type. [To credit him with the creation of the Renaissance would not strike the shield of truth very far off-boss.] – RB