Copyright in the Renaissance: Prints and the Privilegio in Sixteenth-Century Venice and Rome

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The Astrolabe

An ancient instrument for solving problems of location and distance, as well as time

Astrolábon órganon is the word used in Ptolemaeus Syntaxis 5.1 to describe a form of armillary sphere consisting of both fixed and rotating rings for determining the ecliptic co-ordinates of stars. Also called astrolabe were two-dimensional representations of the celestial sphere: over fixed disks with a representation of the horizon of the earth (in each case for a specific geographic latitude) and its parallels up to the zenith lies a rotating representation of the heavens (called ‘spider’ or ‘net’) with zodiac and indicators for some of the brightest stars. On the back is an indicator (‘alidade’) with visor plates for calculating the height of the stars. The astrolabe allows its user to determine the hours of day and night, the positions of stars, and the height and depth of objects on earth (mountains, buildings, wells). The oldest extant descriptions of the flat, planispheric astrolabe come from Iohannes Philoponus, 6th century AD, and (in Syrian) from Severus Sebokht, c. 660 AD. Indirect references may date back as early as Theon (4th cent.). Between the 8th and the 9th centuries the Arabs appropriated the knowledge of the astrolabe. At the end of the 10th century and again in the 12th century, they passed it on to Western Europe, where astrolabes were constructed up until the 17th cent. Today, one Byzantine astrolabe (from 1062) is extant, as are some 750 Arabic-Islamic astrolabes and approximately the same number of European astrolabes.

This information is abstracted from Brill's New Pauly, the English edition of the authoritative Der Neue Pauly, Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. The encyclopaedic coverage and high academic standard of the work, the interdisciplinary and contemporary approach and clear and accessible presentation have made the New Pauly the unrivalled modern reference work for the ancient world. For more information see www.brillsnewpauly.com or visit our website catalog: www.brill.nl/bnp
Brill’s New Pauly and the complete original Der Neue Pauly, the recognized standard reference works for students and scholars of the ancient world are also available online. This dual-language edition offers basic and advanced search facilities and is fully browsable. New English translations are added as they become available. See www.paulyonline.brill.nl for more information and a demo version.

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Publications & Services> Books> Book Series> Copyright in the Renaissance: Prints and the Privilegio in Sixteenth-Century Venice and Rome

Christopher L.C.E. Witcombe

Books

Available
Publication year: 2004


Series:	Studies in Medieval and Reformation Traditions, 100
ISBN-13 (i)The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) has been changed from 10 to 13 digits on 1 January 2007:	978 90 04 13748 6
ISBN-10:	90 04 13748 3

Cover:	Hardback
Number of pages:	xxxiv, 414 pp. 37 illus.

List price:	€ 166.00 / US$ 246.00

Table of contents

List of Illustrations
List of Abbreviations
Preface

Introduction

PART I. SURVEY
1. Printmaking in Sixteenth-Century Italy
2. Copyright in Venice and Rome
3. Proprietorship, Licensing, Censorship
4. Printed Images and Copyright in Venice before 1517

PART II. RECIPIENTS
5. Prints Granted Copyright in Venice before 1517
6. Publishers of Prints and Books in Venice after 1517
7. Publishers of Prints and Books in Rome
8. Engravers and Copyright in Venice and Rome
9. Painters and Copyright in Venice and Rome
10. Maps and Geographical Prints
11. Prints and Books on Architecture
12. Writing Manuals and Pattern Books

Appendix A. Handlist of Prints Granted and/or Published with a Privilegio (1498–c. 1605)
Appendix B. Copyright Elsewhere in Italy and Europe

Bibliography
Index
I. Names, Subjects, and Titles
II. Places and Locations

Readership

Renaissance art historians and everyone interested in the early history of printing and publishing (prints and books), plus anyone interested in copyright, legal history, Renaissance culture, and European intellectual history.

About the author(s)

Christopher L.C.E. Witcombe, Ph.D. (1981) in Art History, Bryn Mawr College, is Professor of Art History at Sweet Briar College. He has published extensively on Italian Renaissance painting, prints, and architecture.

This study examines the emergence and early history of copyright in Venice and Rome, focusing in particular on the privilegio and the use made of it by printers, publishers, engravers, painters, architects, mapmakers, and others in the sixteenth century to protect their commercial interests in various types of printed images. These include separately sold engravings, woodcuts, and etchings, as well as illustrations in books.
The first part of the book surveys printmaking and the privilegio in sixteenth-century Venice and Rome together with the related issues of licensing and censorship. The second part documents many of the recipients who were granted the privilegio.
The book introduces the reader to the richly competitive world of printmaking and print publishing in Renaissance Italy.

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