printer's colophon

printer's colophon

Edinburgh // T & A Constable //Printers to her Majesty / / 1895.

Boxed in an ornate decorative frame with the four winds blowing from each corner is a central medallion showing a large sailing ship at sea, flying three flags. The medallion is surrounded by ornamental banners with the Latin motto: Firma Pererrat Aquas Et Constabilutar Eundo [trans: Something firm wanders through water and is made stable by moving, a paradox that play on "stable" and "firm" with respect to Constable's name and company, while also possibly alluding to the idea of moveable type making texts stable]

Pattrick Geddes & Colleagues

Spring 1895

Public Domain

Source: 1) Ryerson University Library Archives and Special Collections; 2) Private Collection (Dennis Denisoff)

Yellow Nineties 2.0, edited by Lorraine Janzen Kooistra, Ryerson University Centre for Digital Humanities

visit the Evergreen Volumes at Yellow Nineties 2.0

Nov. 17, 2015, KF
2 November 2017, ljk