Florentius Schoonhovius / Crispijn van de Passe - Emblemata or Emblems Book - 1618

BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF EMBLEMS by the Dutch poet and jurist Florentius Schoonhovius (1594-1648) and illustrated with 76 amazing plates engraved by the Dutch painter Crispijn van de Passe (1564-1637) and his sons. Rare first edition with beautiful emblems depicting moral scenes, esotericism, magic, animals, spells, occultism, prophecies, memento mori, comedy, teachings on nature and the destiny of man. All illustrations are well engraved with intact margins, with great contrast and definition, one of the best productions of Dutch illustrators of the 17th century.

The volume opens with the full-page portrait of Florentius Schoonhovius or Floris van Schoonhoven son of the Gouda's mayor and governor, Dirk Jocobsz Schoonhoven (a friend of Hugo de Groot) and Niesje Verharst (daughter of the Gouda mayor Floris Verharst), attended Latin school with Wilhelmus Traudenius in Gouda and then studied philosophy and law in Leiden from 1611. The book then continues with dozens of emblems depicting life in the Netherlands in the 17th century, the existential dramas of man, animals, biblical and esoteric scenes. For each numbered emblem there is an illustration, a motto, a quatrain and then an explanation in 1-3 pages.

The evocative images are by Crispijn van de Passe and his family studio, he was a great Dutch engraver, painter, draftsman and miniaturist of the Golden Age. He worked in Antwerp from 1580 to 1588, where, in 1585, he became a member of the local Guild of Saint Luke as a master engraver. He later also worked in Aachen from 1588 to 1589, in Cologne from 1589 to 1611 and finally in Utrecht from 1611 to 1637. Crispijn van de Passe was the founder of a dynasty of engravers comparable to the Wierix family and the Sadelers. His studio mainly produced portraits for the European nobility, but also prints of religious, mythological and allegorical subjects and books. Due to his style he can be considered to belong to the Haarlem Mannerist school. Beautiful work with an impressive series of emblemata with fine detailed illustrations drawn with great skill.

Title: Emblemata Florentii Schoonhovii I.C. Goudani, Partim Moralia Partim Etiam Civilia. Cum Latiori Eorundem Ejusdem Auctoris Interpretatione...(The Emblems of Florentius Schoonhovius I.C. Goudani, Part Moral and Part Civil. With a Wider Interpretation of Them by the Same Author…). Published by Andries Burier, in Gouda, 1618. Text in Latin.

Description: in 4° size H 197 x 160 mm or 7,8 by 6.3 inches. Pages [12]-251-[1 bl.] pp. Old hard parchment in very good condition, intact and minor defects as per photo. Pages are clean and in good condition, small stain on the title, rare defects and few water stains without gravity. Rare first edition of this famous collection illustrated with an engraved title, a portrait and 74 half-page figures in burin. The engraving work, of great finesse, shows great detail in the illustrations and excellent contrast and sharpness. Text in Latin. BEAUTIFUL BOOK WITH 76 ILLUSTRATIONS.

References: Praz, 17th-Century Imagery II, p.151; Landwehr Low Countries, 727; STCN 831298537; USTC 1026879; Praz, p. 493; Emblems Books Leiden, n° 464; Ilja M. Veldman, Crispijn de Passe and his Progeny (1564-1670), Studies in prints and printmaking. Rotterdam: Sounds & Vision Publ., 2001.

Shipping: via UPS, protected, INSURED and fully tracked package. Estimated time for Europe 3-5 working days. Shipping within one working day. You can combine shipping if you purchases several items from us, saving money and time.