Description
A 1695 auction catalogue for the presses, fonts, and other items related to printing formerly belonging to the Blaeu firm of Amsterdam advertises a curiosity: 420 Dutch pounds of music notes, which sold for 5 stuyvers, 8 penningen (around 4 euros today). The Blaeus were hardly known for music printing; rather, it is their luxury atlases and scientific works that made their reputation. So what, pray tell, were they doing with a music font? In fact, this font was used by the Blaeus only four times, for publications contracted by Savoyard singer and publisher Amedée Le Chevallier. And the person who acquired it at auction was none other than Estienne Roger, whose music printing and publishing business would establish Amsterdam as the center of the music book trade by the early eighteenth century.This paper considers the tale of that font, from its likely origins in Brussels to its lively career in Amsterdam. Its simple design and suitability for quarto-sized publications ensured that it was appropriate for the most common sorts of publications of the time, from airs to sonatas, from sacred psalms to theory books. Though the font itself never left Amsterdam, it enlivened works composed in France, Italy, the German lands, and England. Raising questions regarding the material characteristics of the font and its economic history, I illuminate a network of printers and booksellers that would change the shape of the eighteenth-century music market.
| Period | 28 Jun 2018 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Lasting Impressions: Music and Material Cultures of Print in Early Modern Europe |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Salzburg, AustriaShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |