Illustrated books -- Bibliography; Illustration of books; Printing -- History
In 1608 came Robert Glover's _Nobilitas politica et civilis_, re-edited
two years later by T. Milles as the _Catalogue of Honour_, with engraved
illustrations (in the text) of the robes of the various degrees of
nobility, attributed by Sir Sidney Colvin to Renold Elstracke, the son
of a Flemish refugee, and also two plates representing the King in a
chair of state and in Parliament. After this we come to two works
illustrated by an English engraver of some note, William Hole, Tom
Coryat's _Crudities_ (1611), with a titlepage recalling various
incidents of his travels (including his being sick at sea) and five
plates (or in some copies, six), and Drayton's _Polyolbion_ (1612,
reissued in 1613 with the portrait-plate in a different state), with a
poor emblematic title, a portrait of Prince Henry wielding a lance, and
eighteen decorative maps of England. In 1615 we come to a really
well-illustrated book, the _Relation of a Journey_, by George Sandys,
whose narrative of travel in Turkey, Egypt, and the Holy Land, and parts
of Italy, is accompanied with little delicately engraved landscapes and
bits of architecture, etc., by Francis Delaram. The work of the decade
is brought to a close with two print-selling ventures, the
_Basili[omega]logia_ of 1618 and _Her[omega]ologia_ of 1620. The former
of these works describes itself as being "the true and lively effigies
of all our English Kings from the Conquest untill this present: with
their severall Coats of Armes, Impreses and Devises. And a briefe
Chronologie of their lives and deaths. Elegantly graven in copper.
Printed for H. Holland and are to be sold by Comp.[ton] Holland over
against the Exchange." The full set of plates numbers thirty-two,
including eight additions to the scheme of the book, representing the
Black Prince, John of Gaunt, Anne Boleyn, a second version of Elizabeth,
Mary Queen of Scots, Anne of Denmark, Prince Henry, and Prince Charles.
Fourteen of the plates, mostly the earlier ones, are signed by
Elstracke, and Simon Passe and Francis Delaram each contributed four. It
need hardly be said that they are of very varying degrees of
authenticity as well as merit. Several of the later plates are found in
more than one state.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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