Gregory's Server
Happy Mastodon for Android 2.0 release day! As the blog (https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2023/07/mastodon-for-android-update/) mentioned, there are a few easter eggs throughout the app. A cute one you might notice are these markers at the end of lists.
They're called fleurons and they date back to movable metal type in the 15th century, when they acted as terminators to blocks of text. The one we're using in the app is an Aldine Leaf, the emblem of Aldine Press. We tried to ask permission but Aldus Manutius is suuuuper dead.
More details for history nerds:
As typography advanced, fleurons become more complex and intricate. Combinable ones got used to form borders and patterns. These designs became an art form unto themselves. Below is the title page of Christophe Plantin’s 1567 type specimen with a fleuron border.
So when you see fleurons scattered around the app, take a moment to appreciate the centuries of typographic tradition they represent. Or don’t!