Illustrated books -- Bibliography; Illustration of books; Printing -- History
With the second of the two ventures Henry Holland was also concerned,
but the expenses of the book were shared by Crispin Passe and an Arnhem
bookseller named Jansen. Its title reads: "Her[omega]ologia Anglica: hoc
est clarissimorum et doctissimorum aliquot Anglorum qui floruerunt ab
anno Cristi MD. usque ad presentem annum MDCXX." It is in two volumes,
the first containing thirty-seven plates, the second thirty. Two of
these represent respectively Queen Elizabeth's tomb and the hearse of
Henry Prince of Wales. All the rest are portraits of the notable
personages of the reigns of Henry VIII and his successors, some of them
based on drawings by Holbein, the majority on earlier prints, and all
engraved by William Passe (younger brother of Simon) and his sister
Magdalena.
[Illustration: XXXVIII. LONDON. J. MARRIOT, 1638
QUARLES. HIEROGLYPHIKES OF THE LIFE OF MAN. PAGE 22
ENGRAVED BY W. MARSHALL]
The next decade was far from productive of works illustrated with more
than an engraved titlepage and a portrait, but in 1630 appeared Captain
John Smith's _True Travels_ with several illustrations, one of them by
Martin Droeshout; in 1634-5 came Wither's _Emblems_, with plates by
William Marshall, and in 1635 Thomas Heywood's _Hierarchie of the
Blessed Angels_, with an engraved title by Thomas Cecill and plates
representing the several orders, Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones being
entrusted to John Payne, Dominations to Marshall, Powers and
Principalities to Glover, Virtues to Droeshout, etc. Some of the plates
record the name of the patron who paid for them, another suggestion
that it was money which stood most in the way of book-illustrating. In
1638 Marshall illustrated Quarles's _Hieroglyphikes of the Life of Man_,
with engravings, most of which seem chiefly made up of a candle, but in
one the candle is being extinguished by Death egged on by Time, and to
this not very promising subject (Plate XXXVIII) Marshall, the most
unequal engraver of his day, has brought some of his too rare touches of
delicacy and charm. In 1640 Wenceslaus Hollar, whom Thomas Earl of
Arundel had discovered at Cologne (he was born at Prague) and brought to
England, published his charming costume book _Ornatus Muliebris
Anglicanus_, and his larger work, _Theatrum Mulierum_, must have been
almost ready when Charles I hoisted his standard at Nottingham, since it
was published in 1643. After this the Civil War interfered for some time
with the book trade.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account