Bembo's italic is based on the work of calligrapher and handwriting teacher Giovanni Antonio Tagliente (sometimes written Giovannantonio). He published a writing manual, The True Art of Excellent Writing in Venice in 1524, after the time of Manutius and Griffo, with engravings and some text set in an italic typeface presumably based on his calligraphy.[15][16][17][a] (Tagliente did not only publish on handwriting, but also self-help guides on learning to read, arithmetic, embroidery and a book of model love letters.[18][19][20]) At the time italic fonts, based on calligraphy of the period, were often used in book printing as a way to save space and as an approximation of literary handwriting. It too, together with the work of his contemporary Ludovico Vicentino degli Arrighi, was imitated in France, with imitations appearing from 1528 onwards.[11]