1540 BARBARO ON BLUE PAPER 1540 BARBARO ON BLUE PAPER | Page 21

Census of Aldine editions printed on blue paper
The main source of this census is Renouard, to which we have added notions
acquired from bibliographies and auction catalogues of the last two centuries. For
intellectual honesty and impartiality in drafting this census, we prefer to use prudence
by defining the examples listed as surviving copies rather than those ever produced,
even though the facts are very clear. It is also necessary to report those specimens,
identified as historical forgeries, which have been the subject of counterfeiting over
the centuries. This phenomenon, more common in the nineteenth century, is the
result of avid merchants who, in response to the growing demand for special copies by
important European collectors, tinted in blue ordinary white paper copies.
It may be possible that some entries have been quoted twice by our bibliographic
sources, due the lack of a precise database in the centuries. Despite this, our study has
attempted to cross-reference the collected data to avoid any omissions or repetitions.
CENSUS 1