Vol. 1 title: OVID'S | METAMORPHOSES | IN LATIN AND ENGLISH, | TRANSLATED BY | THE MOST EMINENT HANDS. | With HISTORICAL EXPLICATIONS | Of the FABLES, | WRITTEN IN FRENCH BY | The ABBOT BANIER, | MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY OF INSCRIPTIONS | AND BELLES LETTRES. | TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH. | Adorned with Sculptures, by B. Picart, and other able Masters. | VOLUME THE FIRST. | [Device] | AMSTERDAM, | Printed for the WETSTEINS and SMITH. | MD CC XXII || — Pagination: [26 – Half-title, frontis., t.p., dedic., The Bookseller's Preface To This Edition, Mr. Banier's Preface To The French Translation, Contents], [1] 2-247 – Text of books 1-7, with illus., [1 blank].
Vol. 2 half-title: OVID'S | METAMORPHOSES | IN LATIN AND ENGLISH | TWO VOLUMES || — Pagination: [2 – half-title / blank], 249-524 – Text of books 8-15, with illus., incl. 3 leaves of pl., [4 – Index]. Three leaves between pages 264 and 271 are included in the pagination as pp. [265-70] but do not carry page-numbers or letterpress text. They each carry two prints on their rectos and are blank on the verso. Vol. II without the engraved title page.
The names of the translators are given in the list of Contents as Dryden, Addison, Eusden, Arthur Mainwaring, Croxall, Tate, Stonestreet, Vernon, Gay, Pope, Stephen Harvey, Congreve, Ozel, Temple Stanyan, , Catcot, Rowe, Samuel Garth, Welsted.
The frontispiece is signed as made by
B. Picart. The six plates on pages [265, 267, 269] are all signed as painted by
C. Le Brun and engraved by
Iakob Folkema.
Of the 124 illustrations, most are unsigned by a draughtsman, but some are signed as designed by
G. Maas, one as designed by Jul. Romain, two as designed by G. Maas and drawn by
J. de Wit, one as drawn by 'HA', one as painted by C. le Brun, one as made by B. Picart, one as designed by
P. Testa and drawn by B. Picart, one as designed by
S. Le Clerc, one as designed by B. Picart. Many are signed by their engravers -
Philip à Gunst (one as directed by B. Picart and engraved by Phil. à Gunst),
J. Vandelaar (or I. Wandelaar),
Martin Bouche,
Jan Schenck, 'MB',
Petr. Paul. Bouche, Iakob Folkema, W. Jongman,
Fred. Bouttats.
The title-page vignette of Volume I is signed as drawn by
B. v. Overbeke and engraved by
F. Mulder. Many tailpieces are signed 'VLS'.
The book is dedicated by the publishers, R. and J. Wetstein and W. Smith, to the Countess of Pembroke.
[Description is cited from the
Royal Academy of Arts]
Physical description: Two large 4to volumes, first title page printed in red and black, added engraved title in the first volume; half-title in the second volume; illustrated throughout with copperplate engravings in text; text printed in parallel columns in Latin and English; three leaves extraneous to collation each with two engravings in the second volume; bookplate pasted to the front endpaper in each volume: Ex Libris Theodore C. Tebbetts (Theodore Charles Tebbetts, American, 1871 – 1920) designed after
Francis Carruthers Gould (British, 1844 – 1925); pages 517-520 of the second volume torn with loss of bottom blank corners and a word or two; original full leather, spines tooled elaborately in gilt; some boards detached, endcaps and corners rather worn, contents bright and fresh.
Size: Large 4to; 47.5 x 31 cm.
Surprisingly, there is only limited information about Michel Hoyer in Spanish Wikipedia; other language versions of his biography do not exist. Another author mentioned in the book is some anonymous Augustinian from Cologne.
Regarding the illustrations. In our copy, the frontispiece is missing. It was probably ripped off by some unscrupulous seller of antique prints.
The image on the missing frontispiece is this:
The names of the artists engraved in the bottom of the stone: E. Quellinus, delin. to the left and P. de Jode, fecit. to the right. We can infer that the other illustrations in that book are produced by the same duo. The image represents three cherubs: one with Athena's serpent in his left hand and a cardinal's hat in his right hand; another in Athen's helmet on his head and her owl beside his feet, with the staff of Mercurius (serpent-twined staff adorned with a winged hat) in his left hand, and the House of Chigi - Della Rovere coat of arms in his right hand; the third cherub depicted with the Hercules attributes - lion pelt and a club.
Regarding the publisher. Henricum Aertssens or Hendrik Aertssen, 1586-1658. Besides the other books, he published PIA DESIDERIA by Herman Hugo in 1636 [1621 french edition by Jean Cnobbartin in Antwerp in his collection LIB-1657.2018]. According to Nina Lamal [2], nothing is known about career of this publisher, besides what's said in Adresboek van zeventiende-eeuwse drukkers, uitgevers en boekverkopers in Vlaanderen / Directory of seventeenth-century Printers, Publishers and Booksellers in Flanders / Vlieger-De Wilde, Koen De (editor). The list of his publications can be seen here.
Other artists who turned to the figure of Blessed Giovanni Chigi were Abraham van Diepenbeeck (painter) and Conrad Lauwers (engraver). The print is in Rijksmuseum, in Amsterdam.
Here we see a more complex composition but with a clear reference to the work of Quellinus and de Jode: The cherub in Athena's helmet takes away the old coat of arms of the Chigi, and the other cherub points out to the new one, with papal symbols of St. Peter's keys, another cherub carries the papal tiara. Rijksmuseum dates the image as 1642 - 1685; most probably it is ca. 1655, when Fabio Chigi became Pope Alexander VII, and propaganda was focused on promoting his outstanding ancestor Giovanni, who died 300 years before. Giovanni Chigi is depicted here resurrected, accompanied by the archangel, and receiving the blessing from Jesus on the cross.
1 - Michael J. Walsh. A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West, p. 308.
2 - Nina Lamal. Publishing military books in the Low Countries and in Italy in the early seventeenth century in 'Specialist Markets in the Early Modern Book World', ed. Richard Kirwan, Sophia Mullins, Leiden: Koninklijke Brill, 2015, pp. 232-233.
![George Cruikshank. George Cruikshank's Fairy Library. Hop-O'-My Thumb. Jack and the Bean-Stalk. Cinderella. Puss in Boots. — London: George Bell and Sons, 1885. — pp.: [2] blank, [2] first half-title with blank verso, [i-ii] second half-title with blank verso, [2] frontispiece plate with blank recto, [iii-viii] title, colophone, editor's note, list of illustr. [2] title with blank verso, [1] 2-101 [3] blank, 24 plates with protective tissue, unpag. — Colophon: This edition is limited to 500 copies, with India paper impressions. The former editions have been from lithographic transfers. The plates were retouched under Mr. Cruikshank's direction shortly before his death, and have not been used since until now.](https://varshavskycollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/LIB-2454.2020-f-1-500x500.jpeg)
![[Barham, Richard Harris]. The Ingoldsby Legends or Mirth and Marvels by Thomas Ingoldsby, esquire / First, Second and Third Series - 3 volumes; Illustr.: George Cruikshank and John Leech. — London: Richard Bentley, 1840-1847. — Vol. 1: Printed by London: Samuel Bentley, 1840. pp.: ff, [2 blank] [i ht] [ii colophon] [title, verso blank] [iii] iv-v [vi blank] [contents, list of ill.] [blank, etching on verso] [1] 2-338 [339] [7, incl. orig. FC and Sp.] bf, 6 plates: 1 by Buss, 3 by Leech, 2 by Cruikshank. — Vol. 2: Printed by London: S. & J. Bentley, Wilson, and Fley, 1842. pp.: ff, [2 blank] [i ht] [ii colophon] [title, verso blank] [v] vi-vii [viii blank] [contents, verso blank] [blank, etching on verso] [1] 2-288 [6, incl. orig. FC and Sp.] bf, 7 plates: 3 by Leech, 4 by Cruikshank. — Vol. 3: Printed by London: S. & J. Bentley, Wilson, and Fley, 1847. pp.: ff, [2 blank] [i ht] [ii colophon] [title, verso blank] [iii] iv-vi [contents, list of ill.] [blank, portrait on verso] [1] 2-364 [6, incl. orig. FC and Sp.] bf, 6 plates: 2 portraits, 2 by Leech, 2 by Cruikshank.](https://varshavskycollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/LIB-2483-1.2020-c-1-500x500.jpeg)