Author: GOLTZIUS, H.- M. & G. LAURINUS
Title: C. Iulius Caesar sive historiae imperatorum Caesarumque Romanorum ex antiquis numismatibus restitutae liber primus ...
Description: Brugis Flandrorum, Apud Hubertum Goltzium Herbipolitam Venloianum, [Officina Goltziana], 1563. (Sept. 1562-63). Sm. in folio. W. engraved title, 1 engr. printer's mark and 540 copperengr. ills. of coins and medals on 57 pls. 17th c. full clf., rubbed and sl. faded, spine partly split, spine ends and corners dam.). (XX, X, IV, LVIII, VI, 232, XVI, XXXII pp.). (Overall some browning.; B1(a large tear) and E1 ( a smaller tear) not professionally rep.; text lined/ruled throughout; titlepage a bit short, righthand margin some wear to engr. surface.). Brunet II, 1653: Adams G 829: Funck 323: Belgica Typografica vol. I, 1294, not in vol. II.: Bibliotheca Belgica III, p. 246/7, item G 385: 'il examina près de millier de collections, dont il nomme les propriétaires. Les cabinets sont classés dans l'ordre des dates où ils reçurent sa visite.': Fairfax Murray (German) II, 477: 'Engraved title representing Julius Caesar and Rome, Mars, Venus, river gods and others: verso blank. ...Verses by Gul. Plantin in Latin, by Franc. Nansius in Greek ... ending with Melchior Barlaeus. Dedication by Goltzius to Ferdinand of Austria ...Another by J. Sambucus to the same ...Then a preface by Goltzius to his patron Marcus Laurinus lord of Watervliet, I4 - K1verso, dated Bruges, id. Jan. 1562. ... , the last page, is occupied by Goltzius' [printer's] device of a Roman matron holding a cornucopia from which flows a stream of coins. This is an engraved plate and measures 140 x 70 mm.: ..(said to be after Lambert Lombard).': Voet, II, 203: ' ... it was already clear by the late 1560s that the copper engraving was superseding the woodcut. The "Vivae imagines partium corporis humanis" of 1566 was a turning point in the development of book illustration in the Plantin Press - and in the West. It was one of the first publications with copperplate engravings in the Netherlands, though it was not the very first: Hubertus Goltzius, the Bruges engraver and publisher, had issued one in 1563. [note 6: Caesar sive Historiae Imperatorum...].: Updike II, 28: 'C. Julius Caesar ... it was printed at Bruges in 1563, and is a fine example of the sober use of some monumental roman types of a style much earlier than the date of the book. It is illustrated with copperplates, and its engraved title-page and colophon are most distinguished.': The woodcut initials were, for a part, engraved by Antonius Sylvius and some are monogrammed "SA". Sylvius also cut the blocks for Sambucus' emblem book which was published by Plantin in 1564. Hornik & Smith, Scienza Nuova II, p. 42 - 57: '[Up till now] ... no one has yet noticed, that it contains the first subscription list we know of ...': Prof. H. de la Fontaine Verweij, Wereld van het Boek, vol. I, p. 80 - 102: The first "Private Press" in the Netherlands. Marcus Laurinus and the "Officina Goltziana". In 1563 the first volume of the series appeared (of the intended 4 vols. on Greek and 5 vols. on Roman history). In the sequence this first volume was book nr. 2 of the Roman series. It is an impressive folio volume, worthy of the Maecenas Laurinus who financed Goltzius' entire printing business. It has a truly monumental engraved title page by Lambert Suavius after Lambert Lombard, its typography and letterpress in the best French tradition, make this book into one of the most beautiful Dutch books of the 16th century. At that time it was already known that the actual author of the text was the modest Marcus Laurinus. (In free transl. after Verweij, p. 86).: Le Loup (Ed.). Goltzius en Brugge (1983) Exh. catalogue, p. 48, 54, 63, 73, 132-133, 179/81: The year of publication engraved on the titlepage is 1572. In all copies a roman numeral I was added in ink. The visits Goltzius brought to the cabinets of numismatists all over Germany, Italy and France in the years 1558 - 1560 are described on folia "aa" to "cc". In 1556 he visited the collections in the Netherlands. On page 133/4 Le Loup extensively describes the symbolic portent of the engraved title.: Arnold, de Dietsche Warande, (Amst., 1879), 567/68: 'De in zijne drukkerij aanwezige lettersoorten, de smaak heerschende in de verdeeling der bladzijden, de fraaie etsen in sommige werken voorkomende, de zuivere afdruk, het papier, kortom alles werkt mede om de voortbrengselen zijner pers te maken tot typographische meesterstukken, ...': A good copy with some defects of the first Low Countries book with engraved copperplates and the first publication to appear from the private press known as "Officina Goltziana".

Keywords: numismatics W38Folio