Look at me, an insignificant student, reviewing an article from the New York Times as if I have and right to judge or criticize; however, it's happening.
Today's review is over this article, where a tribute is being paid to a man named Aldus Manutius. There is currently an exhibition of the man's books, printed over 500 years ago. The article termed it "A Legacy More Lasting Than Bronze." A fair statement, seeing as there are plenty of examples of his work that might be the first ever.
Books from the press Aldus founded in Venice in 1494 are known as Aldines. Gutenberg may have invented the movable-type printing press to create his monumental Bibles, but anyone who has ever sat in a cafe, or in the bath, with a paperback owes a debt to Aldus and the small, cleanly designed editions of the secular classics he called libelli portatiles, or portable little books. -- paraphrasing JENNIFER SCHUESSLER
So, it seems to me that this "Manutius" basically invented book binding as we know it today. At some point in the article, it mentions one of his books being the first to see a "page intentionally left blank."
To sum things up, I'm glad I looked at it; however, it is the New York Times, so as expected it was not the most lively. Above all, it's still a newspaper and the articles might be a little bit bland for my taste. I'd recommend the site to someone looking for information above colorful pictures, but for art in itself, it's still only news.
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