** Introduction ** Overview ** Forerunners ** Spread of Emblem Books ** Parallel and Evolving Forms ** Emblematic Influences: Art and Architecture ** Emblematic Influences: Literature and Coins** List of Emblem and Related Books in Special Collections ** Bibliography of Secondary Literature **

Two other visual structures that combine text with image—similar to the emblem—are Italian imprese and French devices (or devises). However, as a general rule, the only text these devices have is a motto and often lengthy commentary.

Commentary became quite extensive in emblem books as well. For example, Alciati’s original 212-page book had no commentary at all. By 1581, Claude Mignault’s commentary produced a book with 760 pages; the 1621 edition grew to 905 pages. Imprese and devices are usually directed at one person or family—like a coat-of-arms—instead of being intended for the education of the general public. The impresa and device existed both before and after the emblem genre, which began to die out in the early 18th century. Theories of impresa and devices were developed by two 16th and 17th century contemporary critics: an Italian, Paolo Giovio, and a Frenchman, Pierre Le Moyne. Paolo Giovio is credited with the defining and establishing the rules for the imprese.

Additional forms of devices are printers’ marks or printers’ devices. Early printers used these devices to leave a more memorable mark for consumers, much as logos do today. With all these categories in flux, writers and translators in the 17th and 18th centuries freely interchanged the terms impresa, emblem, and device. Often these words would even be combined in a title, making it difficult to categorize the books and keep the images distinct. However, the extent of overlapping and interchange between the structures places in question the need for precise distinction.

One other type of book appeared later, but still combined image and text. The iconology is a compilation of iconic or symbolic images and descriptions of ideas. Here, Poetry is personified by a woman with musical instruments. During the 17th century, Cesare Ripa introduced his Iconologia, which grew both in popularity and in size, reaching a total of five volumes.