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.
