Imagines at Figuræ Bibliorum. Images et Figures de la Bible. Beelden ende figuren wt den bybel
first edition [3], 60 [of 61] leaves. Engraved title and fifty-nine (of sixty) engraved plates (19 x 25 cm plus margins) affixed at gutters to
1582 · [Antwerp
by (Plantin, Christopher, publisher) [Borcht, Petrus van der (illustrator), and Hendrik Janssen Barrefelt (commentary)]
[Antwerp: Christopher Plantin, 1582. First edition. [3], 60 [of 61] leaves. Engraved title and fifty-nine (of sixty) engraved plates (19 x 25 cm plus margins) affixed at gutters to tabs. Text in triple columns on versos in Latin, Dutch and French. 1 vols. Oblong 4to (19 x 25 cm plus margins). Lacking plate sixty. Tear across upper forecorner of plate 27 neatly mended; plate 50 severely torn and mended, the mend costing a substantial portion of one column of text on verso; a few other very short marginal mends or occasional splits along tabs at gutters; seven plates - including the title - show old tidemarks which, although present and affect the images, are not terribly offensive; other occasional marginal smudging and soiling; still, a reasonably good example of a very rare book. First edition. [3], 60 [of 61] leaves. Engraved title and fifty-nine (of sixty) engraved plates (19 x 25 cm plus margins) affixed at gutters to tabs. Text in triple columns on versos in Latin, Dutch and French. 1 vols. Oblong 4to (19 x 25 cm plus margins). Engraved Scenes from the Old Testament. First edition of this collection of fine engravings of scenes from the Old Testament, executed by one of the most prominent and productive of Plantin's artists. The production does not bear a formal imprint and the letterpress on the engraved title is affixed on slips within small panels within the overall engraving. A fourth panel includes a quotation in Latin from Isaiah: the entry in OCLC derived from the copy at the British Library suggests that copy may have a slip bearing an imprint, albeit fictitious, in its place: "Exprimebat Iacobus Villanus, Anno Domini M.D. LXXXI." After the engraved title, each of the following rectos bears a full-plate engraved scene, with explanatory text in three languages printed on the verso of the preceding leaf in triple columns. The three preliminary leaves print tri-lingual prefatory notes, recto and verso. The author of the explanatory text, was the spiritual leader of the religious sect that split off from Henrik Niclae's "Family of Love." The new group was christened by later scholars as the "second Family of Love," and Plantin and members of his circle entertained associations with its membership. Its leader was referred to as "Hiël" (Life of God) and assumed the occasional pseudonym "Renatus Christianus." The engravings capture a broad range of Old Testament scenes, from the literal and occasionally somewhat pastoral, to vivid depictions of spiritual and allegorical subjects. (Inventory #: 259283)