272. "The Holy Bible", printed by Christopher Plantin, Latin, Antwerp, 1583, with 91 engravings, rare collector's item

Starting price

EUR 1.000

Sold

EUR 8.000

Session

Tue, 19 July 2022 19:00

Brought to you by

The Antwerp printing house of Christophe Plantin (c. 1520-1589) was known for the exceptional quality of its richly illustrated books. For this 1583 Latin Bible, Plantin provided a rich repertoire of engraved illustrations. Engravings made from etched copper plates added detail and depth to the pictorial illustration, but these prints were also more expensive and difficult to produce than woodcuts. While the pages of books with woodcut illustrations were printed in one operation, printing pages with copper engravings required two different presses, one for the movable type and one for the engraved plate. Although engraved illustration required considerable time, labour and budgetary expenditure, and sometimes resulted in uneven page design or faulty registration, the artistic effect was often far superior to that of wood engravings. Format in 12º with 477 unnumbered pages, with text in two columns, printed in black ink, with engravings by Pieter van der Borcht (1545-1608) and Pieter Huys (1519-1581), Crispin van der Broeck (1524-1591), Jan Wierix, Jan de Sadeler and Abraham de Bruyn depicting biblical scenes. The volume covers the Old Testament from Genesis to Maccabees. Binding made in leather, on cardboard, with the spine divided into 7 registers, with the title "Biblia Sacra", the publisher "Plantin" and the year "1583", decorated in gold, with vegetal elements and central medallion on both covers, representing the coat of arms of Austria. The state of preservation is very good.

Dimensions

width 30 cm, height 44 cm, custom 44 × 30 cm

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