House of Aldus - Troy, NY - Stained Glass Windows on Waymarking.com

This stained glass window is behind the circulation desk at the Troy Public Library.

From the brochure available in the library:

"Perhaps the most acclaimed feature of the Hart Memorial Library is the lobby's 'House of Aldus' Tiffany window which, along with the building and its land was donated in 1897 by Mrs. Mary E. Hart in honor of her late husband William Howard Hart. As the perfect ornament for a library modeled after an Italian Renaissance palace, the window was designed by Frederick Wilson to portray Venetian scholar and master printer Aldus Manutius (1450-1515) at the height of his career in 1502. Aldus created an educational and commercial revolution by adapting the octavo format to secular texts, thereby generating the widespread circulation of inexpensive books. And this increase in portable volumes was one reason for the growth of public libraries. To suit his compact editions, Aldus also introduced a new, compressed type face designed by Francesco Griffo (a.k.a. Francesco of Bologna): the italic, yet another breakthrough in printing. In this window scene, Aldus presents to his associates the proof sheets of an octavo edition of the Divine Comedy by Italy's greatest poet Dante Alighierei. This work was the first to carry the famous Aldine trademark, a dolphin wrapped around an anchor (depicted with other Venetian trademarks in the window's border). Aldus appropriated this printer's device because it symbolized an old proverb, 'hasten slowly," which for him summarized the tensions between the idealistic world of scholarship and the pragmatic world of business - tensions that still afflict the modern library. Also present in the scene are Pietro Bembo, who edited the work and supposedly provided the inscriptin for the trademark; the engraver of the type (identified as Alberto Francia or Francesco Francia); and Alberto Pio, the dedicated student and patron of Aldus who - like Mrs. Hart - supplied the funds to create a work of both artistic beauty and technical skill. In addition to the memorial inscription is a quotation of Isidore of Seville (upper right corner) which perhaps expresses Aldus's own philosophy of life: 'Study as if you were to live forever and life as if you were to die tomorrow.'"

source: Troy Public Library brochure "Tiffany Windows in Troy"

The library's hours are:

Monday to Thursday: 9:00 am – 8:00 pm
Friday: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

When I walked in I spotted the window right away. When I told the librarians that I came to see it, they dimmed the lights in the lobby and turned on a light behind the window to make it glow.

Type of building where window is located: Other Address: 100 Second Street Troy, NY United States 12180 Admission Charge: 0.00 (listed in local currency) Days of Operation: Monday - Saturday Hours of Operation: From: 9:00 AM To: 8:00 PM

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