shantell | Jan. 28th, 2018

Johann Gutenberg’s Forty-two-line Bible, also known as the Gutenberg Bible or the Mazarin Bible (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016, para. 1), is the first typographic book. A large book (30 x 40.5 cm pages), it is laid out in two columns of justified type with a 2.9 cm margin dividing them. The first nine pages of the book contain forty lines per column, and the tenth contains forty-one. The remainder of the 1,282-page volume is set with forty-two lines per column, hence the name of the book. With an average of 33 characters per line, “each page had over 2,500 characters set from a fond of 290 different characters” (Meggs & Purvis, 2016, p. 80).

Because so many different characters were used, with a variety of ligatures, the book achieved the same sort of variety and richness seen in the illuminated manuscripts which inspired it. Indeed, illuminated text and illustrations remained part of the book in spite of the use of moveable type. Blank spaces were left in order for decorative capital letters to be hand-drawn by scribes. Originally, Johannes Gutenberg wished to print the book in two colours, but this proved too difficult at the time. Instead, illuminators added illustrations and red text, initials, and headers (Meggs & Purvis, 2016, p. 80).

References

Encyclopedia Britannica. (2016). Gutenberg Bible. Retrieved January 28, 2018, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gutenberg-Bible

Meggs, P. & Purvis, A. (2016). History of Graphic Design (6th Edition). Hoboken, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Question

I’ve long been intrigued by marginalia (images, notes, and doodlings in the margins), and marginalia was used in both illuminated manuscripts and the Gutenberg Bible. Some examples may be found for illuminated manuscripts here (https://io9.gizmodo.com/5896008/medieval-monks-complained-about-their-jobs-in-the-margins-of-ancient-manuscripts ) and for the Forty-two-line Bible here (http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/permanent/gutenbergbible/ransomcenter/). Why do you suppose marginalia is not discussed in the Meggs & Purvis text when it was a ubiquitous form of textual/graphic communication in books of the time?

I'm thinking of designing a set of postage stamps based on bats of Canada.

Here's information about stamp design for Canada Post.

More information here about what goes on a Canadian stamp:
https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/kb/details.page?article=what_are_permanent_s&cattype=kb&cat=sending&subcat=generalinformationps

Batwatch.ca tracks bats in Canada with the help of citizens.

There are 18 known species of bat in Canada. I don't have time to do a series of 18, so I'll have to narrow it down. I'll include the most common species.

The most common species of bat is the little brown bat. It's in every province and territory except for Nunavut. There are no known bat species in Nunavut.
The second most common species is the northern long-eared myotis, which lives in every province/territory except for PEI and Nunavut.
The big brown bat is one of the largest bat species in Canada. They may be found in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick.
The silver-haired bat has silver-tipped fur and is endemic to British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Northwest Territories.
The red bat is colourful. The male is red-orange, and the female yellow-maroon. They live in Northwest Territories, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.
The hoary bat is the largest of the bats in Canada. They live in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Northwest Territories.