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The Decorative Cartographic Title-Page Part One
- 1-11-1987
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However, full comprehension of all the allegorical complexities is not a pre-requisite to the pleasurable appreciation of many title-pages. They are often designed and engraved to the highest standards of excellence by artists who, it would seem, have often been specially commissioned by the publisher to produce the title-page alone, For instance, the signatures of important engravers such as Romeyn de Hooghe, Jan Luyken, Gérard de Lairesse, François Boucher and Wenceslaus Hollar appear on cartographic title-pages whereas these artists are much less well known as engravers of maps. One of the finest title-pages ever engraved is that signed by Romeyn de Hooghe for the Jaillot-Mortier Alias François, first published in Amsterdam in 1696. It allegorises a favourite theme of the time; Europe receiving the homage of peoples from all parts of the world. De Hooghe also shows Atlas supporting the heavens, Mars the god of war, and other mythological figures representing deities of wisdom, fertility, the earth and the seas.
History
The history of the title-page can be traced back to the 1470s. The earliest printed books followed the tradition of manuscript volumes in that a colophon at the end of the work gave details of the contents and the date and place of printing. Therefore, the first printed Ptolemaic atlases do not have a title-page and rely on a colophon for this purpose. In Italy and lower Germany the practice grew of incorporating the title of the printed book within a decorative frame at the front, a tradition based on the extra illumination often associated with the opening page of a manuscript work. Decorative woodcut borders of Renaissance patterns surround many incunable titles; often sections of these borders could be transferred from one book to another or even between printers. For instance, the complex figurative title-page border used by the Basle printer. Adam Petri, for an edition of the New Testament in 1522 re-appears on the reverse of Münster's map of France, printed by the same firm several decades later.[1]
These title-page borders owe their origin to classical and Christian traditions, combined with elaboration in the ornamental style of the time. The Isolario of Benedetto Bordone (1532) exemplifies the purely decorative border which, like a cartouche, frames the title of his book. Simon de Colignes, the Parisian printer of the works of Oronce Fine, offered a number of widely contrasting title-pages. The one for Fine's Quadrans Astrolabius (1534) has an interlaced criblé border, almost as if influenced by Islamic calligraphic patterns, Two years later, his Euclid is composed of Renaissance ornaments in quite a different style.[2]
The move away from woodcutting in favour of the more versatile technique of copper engraving coincided with the practice of binding together sets of maps into what we now know as an atlas. These atlases almost always had a title-page which, apart from the typographical information about the contents, the author, and the publisher or printer, communicated to the reader directly or allusively the contents of the work. Similar title-pages or decorative frontispieces were designed for books of topography, exploration or travel. With the maps often presenting entirely topographical information, the decorative frontispiece may have been the only truly pictorial element. As Walter Crane poetically reflects:
'In a journey through a book it is pleasant to reach the oasis of a picture or an ornament, to sit awhile under the palms, to let our thoughts unburdened stray, to drink of other intellectual waters, and to see the ideas we have been pursuing, perchance, reflected in them.'[3]
Forms of Title-Pages
In different guises, often combined, five types of title-page can be distinguished. These are title-pages in ornamental, compartmental, architectural, pictorial and cartographical forms.
As has been mentioned, the ornamental title-page was the first to make its appearance in fifteenth century Italy. Its cousin, the decorative cartouche, was developed by the French school from the 1530s onwards and yet further refined by Flemish and Dutch engravers later in the century. One of the most popular types of decoration used in both cartouches and title-pages was the 'strapwork' form of design, imitating the three-dimensional scrolling of intertwined lengths of soft leather, with the edges curling forward around the inscription. Later, we find the strapwork ornamented by garlands, swag, masks and cherubs, with butterflies, fishes and flowers being incorporated into the design. Gerard Mercator's own title-pages for the sectional parts of his Atlas (1595) are classic examples of this genre.
Variations on the strapwork theme are associated with the Dutch Mannerist school, and their designs were copied by English and French engravers of the later sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. William Rogers' title-page to the English translation of Linschoten's voyages (1598) combines elaborate Mannerist decoration with figures, scenes, and symbols associated with the Eastern travels of Linschoten and his contemporary Dutch seafarers.[4]
For reasons which are unclear, the wholly decorative title-page moved out of fashion in the early 1600s. However, the vogue returned a century later with the frame of the typographic title being composed of the instruments of map making, or the tools of agriculture, or the armaments of war. The bordered title-page to Herman Moll's Atlas Minor is an example from England. It is a complete contrast to the theatrical allegory of the De Hooghe-Mortier Atlas Novum and is in the form of a much more restrained rococo cartouche. A cleverly linked border composed of both architectural and natural features surrounds the central text detailing the sixty-two maps from the atlas. The border reminds the viewer of the arts of surveying, map making and navigation with (at the top) drawings of a globe and an armillary sphere. There are also charts and map making instruments; a protractor, set-square, ruler, parallels, cross-staff, plumb line and dividers. Further down, two putti demonstrate their skills. At the bottom Moll draws out attention to the husbandry of the land and the seas, with depictions of the tools of agriculture – a flail, hoc, harrow, rake, scythe, spade and basket. Fishing equipment includes a rod, line, nets and a paddle. Denizens of the sea cavort around a scalloped centrepiece behind which is a caduceus and a horn, perhaps representing peace and plenty.
In contrast to the complex allegorical title-page by de Hooghe, Moll's Atlas Minor is in the form of a much more restrained rococo cartouche. The frame seems to emphasise British advances in the sciences and the important home trades of agriculture and fishing. The Atlas Minor is not, however, a national atlas but a collection of maps of countries of the whole world, with only five maps out of sixty-two devoted to the British isles. Perhaps in this case the title-page engraver prepared his composition for one purpose, but it was taken up by Moll or his publisher for another. (By courtesy of the author).
The second form of design for the title-page was its division into separate compartments. The practice of introducing figures or scenic views into the design was a natural development of the free-flowing decorative border. The earliest examples are found among German title-pages of the 1530s and are well exemplified by the title-page to Sebastian Münster's Cosmographia from 1544 onwards. The top compartment presents effigies of the rulers of the civilised (European) world, seated in descending order of precedence on either side of the Holy Roman Emperor. Each ruler has his own escutcheon with his national coat of arms. Four middle compartments depict the great barbarian chiefs; among them those of Turkey, Tartary, and Islam. Each is armed, representing the very real threat that they offered to the European nations of the time. Finally, at the bottom is a panoramic compartment which presents to the reader some of the wonderful mysteries of the world – part fact and part fable – that Münster promises to unfold in his work.
Compartmentalised title-pages tended to be overtaken by more complex pictorial or architectural designs. But examples of their distinct pattern are not uncommon; for instance Heylin's Cosmographia of 1651 and Jansson's Alias Maritimus of 1650. A much later example is the mid-nineteenth century French atlas of Victor Levasseur, his Alias National: a romantic combination of the bordered and compartmental title-page.
Many title-pages are architectural in form. Classical architecture was one of the disciplines most eagerly studied during the Renaissance. Not only were the structural principles re-applied in practice but the use of architectural decoration can be seen both in the construction and in the detail of many paintings of the time. Title-pages came under architectural influence from the 1490s, with the central title typically supported on each side by two pillars. These stood on a base and were capped by a flat or curved pediment. Many variations on this basic theme were possible, allowing a range of symbolic meanings to be presented. For instance, the arch could suggest a triumphal gateway, such as the entrance to a walled city of medieval times. It could be represented as the proscenium to a theatrical display, or as a tableau in honour of a particular dignitary (perhaps the dedicatee); it could frame a topographical view or new discovery; or it could become a stately setting for figures with a symbolic or representational meaning. As well as the basic architectural design, there was also much scope for detail and decoration by means of swag, garlands, putti, satyrs, shells and masks.
The two great atlas compilers of the 1570s, Anton Lafreri in Italy and Abraham Ortelius in the north, both published their collections of maps under architectural title-pages, Lafreri's is derived more purely from classical sources. He uses a heavy Roman arch to surmount his central title and on either side are the figures of Ptolemy and Marinus, each standing on a circular pedestal. At the top, two figures are lying on an embellished fronton, inspired by Michelangelo's Medici monuments in Florence. In the concave middle part of the fronton kneels the figure of Atlas, the world on his shoulders.[5]
History
The history of the title-page can be traced back to the 1470s. The earliest printed books followed the tradition of manuscript volumes in that a colophon at the end of the work gave details of the contents and the date and place of printing. Therefore, the first printed Ptolemaic atlases do not have a title-page and rely on a colophon for this purpose. In Italy and lower Germany the practice grew of incorporating the title of the printed book within a decorative frame at the front, a tradition based on the extra illumination often associated with the opening page of a manuscript work. Decorative woodcut borders of Renaissance patterns surround many incunable titles; often sections of these borders could be transferred from one book to another or even between printers. For instance, the complex figurative title-page border used by the Basle printer. Adam Petri, for an edition of the New Testament in 1522 re-appears on the reverse of Münster's map of France, printed by the same firm several decades later.[1]
These title-page borders owe their origin to classical and Christian traditions, combined with elaboration in the ornamental style of the time. The Isolario of Benedetto Bordone (1532) exemplifies the purely decorative border which, like a cartouche, frames the title of his book. Simon de Colignes, the Parisian printer of the works of Oronce Fine, offered a number of widely contrasting title-pages. The one for Fine's Quadrans Astrolabius (1534) has an interlaced criblé border, almost as if influenced by Islamic calligraphic patterns, Two years later, his Euclid is composed of Renaissance ornaments in quite a different style.[2]
The move away from woodcutting in favour of the more versatile technique of copper engraving coincided with the practice of binding together sets of maps into what we now know as an atlas. These atlases almost always had a title-page which, apart from the typographical information about the contents, the author, and the publisher or printer, communicated to the reader directly or allusively the contents of the work. Similar title-pages or decorative frontispieces were designed for books of topography, exploration or travel. With the maps often presenting entirely topographical information, the decorative frontispiece may have been the only truly pictorial element. As Walter Crane poetically reflects:
'In a journey through a book it is pleasant to reach the oasis of a picture or an ornament, to sit awhile under the palms, to let our thoughts unburdened stray, to drink of other intellectual waters, and to see the ideas we have been pursuing, perchance, reflected in them.'[3]
Forms of Title-Pages
In different guises, often combined, five types of title-page can be distinguished. These are title-pages in ornamental, compartmental, architectural, pictorial and cartographical forms.
As has been mentioned, the ornamental title-page was the first to make its appearance in fifteenth century Italy. Its cousin, the decorative cartouche, was developed by the French school from the 1530s onwards and yet further refined by Flemish and Dutch engravers later in the century. One of the most popular types of decoration used in both cartouches and title-pages was the 'strapwork' form of design, imitating the three-dimensional scrolling of intertwined lengths of soft leather, with the edges curling forward around the inscription. Later, we find the strapwork ornamented by garlands, swag, masks and cherubs, with butterflies, fishes and flowers being incorporated into the design. Gerard Mercator's own title-pages for the sectional parts of his Atlas (1595) are classic examples of this genre.
Variations on the strapwork theme are associated with the Dutch Mannerist school, and their designs were copied by English and French engravers of the later sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. William Rogers' title-page to the English translation of Linschoten's voyages (1598) combines elaborate Mannerist decoration with figures, scenes, and symbols associated with the Eastern travels of Linschoten and his contemporary Dutch seafarers.[4]
For reasons which are unclear, the wholly decorative title-page moved out of fashion in the early 1600s. However, the vogue returned a century later with the frame of the typographic title being composed of the instruments of map making, or the tools of agriculture, or the armaments of war. The bordered title-page to Herman Moll's Atlas Minor is an example from England. It is a complete contrast to the theatrical allegory of the De Hooghe-Mortier Atlas Novum and is in the form of a much more restrained rococo cartouche. A cleverly linked border composed of both architectural and natural features surrounds the central text detailing the sixty-two maps from the atlas. The border reminds the viewer of the arts of surveying, map making and navigation with (at the top) drawings of a globe and an armillary sphere. There are also charts and map making instruments; a protractor, set-square, ruler, parallels, cross-staff, plumb line and dividers. Further down, two putti demonstrate their skills. At the bottom Moll draws out attention to the husbandry of the land and the seas, with depictions of the tools of agriculture – a flail, hoc, harrow, rake, scythe, spade and basket. Fishing equipment includes a rod, line, nets and a paddle. Denizens of the sea cavort around a scalloped centrepiece behind which is a caduceus and a horn, perhaps representing peace and plenty.
In contrast to the complex allegorical title-page by de Hooghe, Moll's Atlas Minor is in the form of a much more restrained rococo cartouche. The frame seems to emphasise British advances in the sciences and the important home trades of agriculture and fishing. The Atlas Minor is not, however, a national atlas but a collection of maps of countries of the whole world, with only five maps out of sixty-two devoted to the British isles. Perhaps in this case the title-page engraver prepared his composition for one purpose, but it was taken up by Moll or his publisher for another. (By courtesy of the author).
The second form of design for the title-page was its division into separate compartments. The practice of introducing figures or scenic views into the design was a natural development of the free-flowing decorative border. The earliest examples are found among German title-pages of the 1530s and are well exemplified by the title-page to Sebastian Münster's Cosmographia from 1544 onwards. The top compartment presents effigies of the rulers of the civilised (European) world, seated in descending order of precedence on either side of the Holy Roman Emperor. Each ruler has his own escutcheon with his national coat of arms. Four middle compartments depict the great barbarian chiefs; among them those of Turkey, Tartary, and Islam. Each is armed, representing the very real threat that they offered to the European nations of the time. Finally, at the bottom is a panoramic compartment which presents to the reader some of the wonderful mysteries of the world – part fact and part fable – that Münster promises to unfold in his work.
Compartmentalised title-pages tended to be overtaken by more complex pictorial or architectural designs. But examples of their distinct pattern are not uncommon; for instance Heylin's Cosmographia of 1651 and Jansson's Alias Maritimus of 1650. A much later example is the mid-nineteenth century French atlas of Victor Levasseur, his Alias National: a romantic combination of the bordered and compartmental title-page.
Many title-pages are architectural in form. Classical architecture was one of the disciplines most eagerly studied during the Renaissance. Not only were the structural principles re-applied in practice but the use of architectural decoration can be seen both in the construction and in the detail of many paintings of the time. Title-pages came under architectural influence from the 1490s, with the central title typically supported on each side by two pillars. These stood on a base and were capped by a flat or curved pediment. Many variations on this basic theme were possible, allowing a range of symbolic meanings to be presented. For instance, the arch could suggest a triumphal gateway, such as the entrance to a walled city of medieval times. It could be represented as the proscenium to a theatrical display, or as a tableau in honour of a particular dignitary (perhaps the dedicatee); it could frame a topographical view or new discovery; or it could become a stately setting for figures with a symbolic or representational meaning. As well as the basic architectural design, there was also much scope for detail and decoration by means of swag, garlands, putti, satyrs, shells and masks.
The two great atlas compilers of the 1570s, Anton Lafreri in Italy and Abraham Ortelius in the north, both published their collections of maps under architectural title-pages, Lafreri's is derived more purely from classical sources. He uses a heavy Roman arch to surmount his central title and on either side are the figures of Ptolemy and Marinus, each standing on a circular pedestal. At the top, two figures are lying on an embellished fronton, inspired by Michelangelo's Medici monuments in Florence. In the concave middle part of the fronton kneels the figure of Atlas, the world on his shoulders.[5]
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