Il mare essaminato
Il mare essaminato is a 1656 Italian treatise on tides by Domenico Panaroli, printed in Rome by Per il Moneta, and aimed at scholars and readers of natural philosophy. Its pictures are letterpress pages: a list of names set in serif type beside large drop capitals, a chapter list headed by an ornate foliate woodcut initial, and a table of contents title, with show-through from the reverse side visible behind the text, which a designer might take as a model for classic typographic hierarchy and decorative initials.
