Original leaves from famous European books

  • Londion: The Folio Society, 1961
By [LEAF BOOK]
Londion: The Folio Society, 1961. Twelve Centuries of European Printing
The Folio Society's Monumental Leaf Book of Great Presses and Masterpieces

[LEAF BOOK]. Original Leaves from Famous European Books. London: The Folio Society, [1961].

One of only 100 sets compiled and issued by The Folio Society.

Large folio (22 x 15 3/4 inches; 560 x 400 mm.). Introductory descriptive leaf followed by twelve original leaves, each individually matted on gray card and accompanied by bibliographical commentary.

Housed in the publisher's navy blue cloth clamshell case, spine with gilt-lettered red morocco label. Some light wear to case, minor chipping to spine label, slight cracking at corners, and a small bump to upper front corner. A few leaves with light foxing or marginal toning; occasional offsetting from original mounting adhesive. Overall a fine, clean, and highly attractive set.

An exceptionally ambitious and beautifully conceived survey of the history of European printing, spanning more than three centuries of typographic achievement and incorporating leaves from some of the most celebrated presses and editions ever produced.

The contents comprise:
St. Augustine, De Civitate Dei (Rome, 1470)
Liber Chronicarum - the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493)
The Aldine Dante (Venice, 1502)
Ovid, Metamorphoses (Lyons, 1584)
Estienne's Herodotus (Geneva, 1592)
A Plantin Missal (Antwerp, 1610)
The Elzevir Sallust (1634)
Imprimerie Royale, Médailles (1723)
Ibarra Bible (Madrid, 1767)
Aesop's Fables (Paris, 1769)
De Imitatione Christi (Paris, 1788)
Thomson's Seasons (Parma, 1794)

Particularly desirable are the two incunable leaves - the Roman De Civitate Dei and the celebrated Nuremberg Chronicle - together with the finely printed Aldine Dante and examples from the great Plantin, Elzevir, and Imprimerie Royale presses.

The set was issued in an edition of only 100 copies and was intended not merely as a collection of fragments, but as a coherent historical panorama of European typography, illustration, scholarship, and book production. In both conception and execution it remains one of the most elegant twentieth-century "leaf books" ever produced.

Details

Title

Original leaves from famous European books

Author

[LEAF BOOK]

Condition

Unknown

Publisher

Londion: The Folio Society, 1961


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