Beschreibung:

Antonio LAFRERI. Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae . Rome: Antonio Lafreri, planches datées 1544-1583 [parues peu de temps après]. Ouvrage très important du XVIème siècle, nombreuses gravures, reliés en un volume qui illustre la ville historique de Rome et d'autres vues. Median broadsheets (501 x 353mm). This set comprises a core group of 99 Lafreri plates on 98 sheets original to the volume; 27 Lafreri plates added in the 17th century, 4 Lafreri plates from another copy loosely inserted at the end, 27 additional plates not in Huelsen and not by Lafreri or his descendants bound in; 8 plates on 4 sheets illustrating the theme of Septem Urbis and 5 others loosely inserted at the end. (Contemporary remargining to title and many plates, some marginl spotting and light staining, old worming affecting title and the margins of first few plates, neat repairs to folds and margins, a few plates shaved affecting image, a few plates browned.) 17th-century German vellum (repaired at edges, later endpapers). Provenance : early numbering in ink; Baron Mattencloit (18th-century ownership inscription on title-page); 20th-century French catalogue slip, annotations and Huelsen numbers in pencil. A FINE COPY with an early German provenance of Lafreri's Speculum , the most important 16th-century book of prints on the historical city of Rome. The series illustrates the sculpture and architecture of both ancient and modern Rome. A prospective purchaser, pilgrim or traveller, would order his Speculum from a series of prints, as advertised by Lafreri in his catalogue of 1573, to be made up according to preference and means; each set of the Speculum is therefore unique in its arrangement. The order of the core group of these plates follows broadly that given in Lafreri's catalogue of 1573, herer cited by Huelsen numbers: 1a, 2a, 3a, 4a, 5a, 6a, 8a, 7a, 9a, 10a, 11a, 12a, 13a, 14, 15a, 16a, 17a, 18a, 20a, 21c, 22a, 23a, 24a, 25d, 26a, 29a, 30a, 30e, 31a, 32a, 117a, 125a, 126a, 109a, 33c, 38a, 39a, 40a, 41a, 42a, 43a, 142, 45a, 44a, 78a, 79a, 28a, 27a, 51a, 52a, 50a, 47a, 48b, 49a, 54a, 62a, 65a, 67a, 71e, 68a, 81a, 82a, 83a, 84a, 85a, 86a, 80a, 153a, 87a, 141a, 140a, 89b, 90a, 91a, 92a, 93a, 94a, 95a, 97a, 98a, 100a, 101a, 115a, 113a, 114a, 129d, 102a, 103a, 104a, 105a, and 107a (order as bound). The ommissions in the composition of the original set of 98 sheets are revealed by the plate numbering 1-133 in an early hand. When the volume was bound in the 17th century, extra plates were added making this copy more representative not only of the variety of prints published by Lafreri, but also of the choice between different versions. They are: 2b, 110a, 37c, 35d, 36c, 34b, 46a, 31f, 53a, 55a, 88a, 59c, 70a, 56a, 72a, 136a, 128c, 92c, 144a, 96a, 130c, 99a, 165a, 106a, 132a, 133a, 131a. Loosely inserted at the end are four more Lafreri plates, namely 61c, 89d, 11d, and 60d. The additional plates include works by or after Peter-Paul-Rubens, J.-B. Coriolanus, Michele Lucchese, and Polidor da Caldora. The title and many of the smaller prints have been neatly remargined, presumably so that the original owner had a set of uniform proportions. There are several watermarks, including Woodward 9, 61, 199, 223, 231, and 232, and there are two differing trees in shields that are similar to Woodward numbers 131-135. The remargining has Woodward 231 and 232, and a M in a shield resembling Briquet 8392 and Woodward 323 and 324. A similar 'M' watermark and a similar hammer and anvil watermark are shown in G.H. Beans, Some 16th Century watermarks in maps prevalent in the 'Iato' Atlases (1938), nos 42 and 76. Antonio Lafreri moved from France, his native country, to Rome in about 1540. With his uncle, Claude Duchet he founded a printselling and publshing business which quickly acquired an European reputation. In 1553 Lafreri went into partnership with his one-time rival, Antonio Salamanca Lafreri was careful to commission the best artists and engravers, including Ja