STIRLING MAXWELL’S ILLUSTRIUM IMAGINES

It was a very nice little reminder by Joel Orosz about Andreas Fulvio and the 500th birthday of his charming “Illustrium Imagines” in last week’s E-Sylum. I recently purchased a really beautiful example of the second issue of Fulvio’s Renaissance gem, published on 15 November 1517. It was William Stirling Maxwell’s copy; his important library was sold by Christies, in London in May 1958. Here is a short description of the volume currently in my stock.

THE EARLIEST ILLUSTRATED NUMISMATIC BOOK - A TRUE RENAISSANCE GEM

FULVIO. Andrea. Illustrium Imagines. Rome, Jacopo Mazzocchi, 15 November, 1517. Octavo, (162 x 99mm); 120 leaves printed in italic, the majority with superb woodcut medallion portraits within ornate foliate architectural borders; title within simple woodcut border, printer’s device on final leaf; title page a fraction short; leaves K2-3 transposed. Particularly clean and fresh. Nineteenth-century polished smooth tan armorial calf, gilt, with the arms of William Stirling; expertly re-backed; speckled page edges.

This is the first book to use medallion portraits of illustrious men and women in order to provide historical illustrations and moral example. It is the second issue of the first edition - the first issue being printed just 7 days earlier, on 7 November. There are 204 medallion portraits, each 32mm to 58 mm in diameter, and each within a border, and with descriptive text below. The portraits, white on black, were long attributed to Ugo de Carpi; however, more recently they have been assigned to Giovanni Battista Palumba. There are eight different border designs, and the portraits were based on the coins in Mazzocchi’s own collection of coins and medals.

Dekesel F15

See: Cunnally. John: Images of the Illustrious. The Numismatic Presence in the Renaissance. Princeton, 1999; pp. 52-86.

See: Numismatics in the Age of Grolier. An Exhibition at the Grolier |Club, New York. 11 September- 24 November 2001, pages 18-20.

See: Illustrium Imagines incorporating an English Translation of Nota by Roberto Weisss. Accompanied by a leaf from the first illustrated numismatic book. Crestline, 2001.

Sir William Stirling-Maxwell (1818-1878) arms on binding and engraved bookplate- his sale Christie’s 20-23 May 1958

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: OCTOBER 29, 2017: Happy Birthday, Illustrium Imagines (http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n44a12.html)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web