1545, Venice: AL SEGNO DELLA SPERANZA

No one knows the name of the typographer who for more than forty years published under the sign "Al segno della Speranza" (At the sign of Hope). The printer's mark depicts a woman personifying hope surrounded by various objects intended to represent material goods and pursuits. She advances with her right arm over her breast and her head turned toward the sun. Between 1544 and 1566, editions bore variations of the motto: "Miser, chi speme in cosa mortal puone" (He is wretched who places hope in mortal things).

These small format portable "pocket books" were especially favored by literate noblewomen. The volumes could be easily carried for use during occasional free moments, as well as during specific periods set aside for reading. Paganini had opened this market thirty years earlier with his 24mo series (1515-16) which included the Dantini. Now the Speranza publisher successfully targeted this growing market.