ary 



No ____ b V OP PRINTING. 403 



la the coarse of the next year Spira published an edition of 

 Virgil, which though well printed is not to be compared with the 

 book last mentioned. 



In the year 1 472 Nicholas Jenson printed at Venice a most ele. 

 gant edition of Pliny's works ; he seems to have endeavoured to 

 excel his master Spira : both these beautiful editions of the works 

 of Pliny are in the Royal library in the Queen's house, and also in 

 earl Spencer's library, and they may be truly said to be in the per. 

 fection of the art. Jenson's edition of Aulus Gellius, printed in the 

 same year, doth him great credit. 



In 1470 printing was practised at Paris, Cologne, and Milan. 



In the year 1471, Sixtus Riessenger printed at Naples, and An- 

 drew Gallusat Ferrary. Henry Eggestein had a printing press at 

 Strasburgh. There were also presses in this year at Bologna and 

 at Lubec. 



In 1472, Bernard and Dominic Cenini printed at Florence : in 

 the same year printing presses were established at Padua, Parma, 

 Mantua, and Verona : in this year printing was practised in Sax- 

 ony, and in a few years afterwards in the most considerable parts 

 of Europe. 



Italy claims the honour of first printing in Greek characters. 

 In the edition of Lactantius's Institutes above mentioned, which 

 appeared in the 1465, the quotations from the Greek authors are 

 in very neat Greek letters. Earl Spencer has a fair copy of this 

 book. 



The first whole book that was printed in that language, is sup. 

 posed to have been the Grammar of Constantinus Lascaris in 4to, 

 produced from the press of Dionysius Palavisinus at Milan in 1476. 

 In 1481 the Greek Psalter was printed in that city, as were yEsop's 

 Fables in 4to. 



In 1486 two Greek books were printed at Venice, namely, the 

 Psalter, and the Hatrachomyomachia ; the former by Alexander, 

 the latter by Laouicus, both natives of Crete; these books are 

 printed in uncommon characters, the latter of them with accents 

 and spirits, and also with scholia. Earl Spencer has a fair copy 

 of this work. 



The folio edition of Homer's works, which was produced from 

 the press of Demetrius, a native of Crete, who first printed Greek 

 at Florence in 1488, eclipsed all former publications in this 



