Original scientific paper

TYPOGRAPHIC KNOWLEDGE OF BLAŽ BAROMIĆ

FRANE PARO

Abstract

Spovid općena (‘General Confession’) is typographically unattractive little book. This is the only work by Blaž Baromić characterised by a ‘printing mark’. On the basis of size and proportion of the only preserved copy, a geometric analysis of formal components of the book was conducted and some lesser known facts of printing art in the time of incunabula came out. A printing plan was reconstructed – method of harmonisation of all surfaces – due to formatting of the printing form in a quart. The body size (German Kegelhöhe) as a basic unit in a manual proto typometer was established. This is Cicero of Baromić Senj Press, with the size (4.12 mm) very close to German letter size called Reinländer or Brevier (11 Didot's dots or 4.136 mm). All typographic sizes in Spovid are possible to measure with hole units without rest in duodecimal measure system and their role can be supported in Pythagoras’s and Christian symbolic of numbers.
Geometrical analyses of the book reveals the extension of Baromić’s knowledge and answers to the question: why in this little book (not in a Missal) a proportional sign was printed, why this sign has a form of sexton (1 : √3) and why is placed on the third page of the last ternion?

Keywords

Spovid općena; General Confession; Blaž Baromić; typography

Hrčak ID:

42860

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/42860

Publication date:

30.12.2008.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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