SO M E
GEN ERAL
A SPEC TS
OF
TH E
P R I N T E R ’S M A R K . F R O M what has alread y been stated, it will .be seen that the Pri nte r’s Mark plays a by no means unimp ortant part in the early histo ry of illustration, — whet her the phase be serious or gro fust and scHOEFFER. tesque, sublime or ridiculous, we find here manifold examples, crude as well as clever. Althoug h it cannot be said with truth that the Mark as an instituti on reache d, like typography itself, its highe st degre e of perfectio n at its inception, some of the earl ier examples, neverthe less, are also some of the most perfect. Th e evolution from the small monogr am, gener ally in white on a black ground, to an e labor ate picture occupyi ng from a quarte r to a whole page, was much less gradual than is gene rally supposed. Th e unambitious marks of the first printers were clearly adopted in consonan ce with the trade rs’ or me rch an ts’ marks which began to be so general ly