Guicciardini - Descrittione di tutti i Paesi Bassi - 1581

THE GREAT THEATER OF THE LOW COUNTRIES: THE FIFTEENTH-CCENTURY FANTAS DELIGHTS, SPLENDIDLY ILLUSTRATED
Splendid illustrative run consisting of 54 geographical maps and city views engraved in copper by Adam de Bruyn after drawings by Crispijn van den Broeck.
Masterpiece of historical geography and Flemish publishing of the 16th century, the Descrittione di tutti i Paesi Bassi by Lodovico Guicciardini constitutes the first and most authoritative systematic representation of the Seventeen Provinces of the Low Countries. Printed in Antwerp by Christophe Plantin, the most famous European typographer of his time, the work combines geographical description, history, economy, commerce, institutions and urban life in a monumental synthesis destined to become the reference text on the region for more than a century. Extraordinary iconographic apparatus, consisting of dozens of geographical maps and city views engraved in copper, among the most ambitious illustration programs of European publishing in the late Renaissance. The present exemplar belongs to a rare avantilettera issue, characterized by the absence of the royal coat of arms and the portrait of Philip II in the preliminary plates, a peculiarity that increases its historical and bibliographic interest.
MARKET VALUE
The Plantin editions of Descrittione di Guicciardini represent one of the most important monuments of Flemish typography of the 16th century. Complete copies of the maps and views generally reach values between €3,000 and €8,000, with higher results for copies particularly fresh, in contemporary bindings or belonging to rare issues such as the one described here. The presence of the complete iconographic apparatus constitutes the main valuation element.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Splendid illustrative apparatus consisting of 54 geographical maps and city views engraved in copper by Adam de Bruyn after drawings by Crispijn van den Broeck. Contemporary full parchment binding, spine with five raised bands, with title handwritten and a red-painted compartment; signs of wear. Allegorical frontispiece engraved in copper, title-page within an architectural frame, presence of the two preliminary plates in avantilettera state: the coat-of-arms plate does not bear the arms of Philip II of Habsburg, king of Spain and ruler of the Low Countries, while the following plate preserves the frame intended for his portrait completely empty. This preliminary state of the edition testifies to an initial phase of Plantin’s production and constitutes an element of notable interest for the editorial history of the work. Guicciardini’s coat of arms engraved on wood on full page. The Mechlin and Gelderland maps are applied. Restorations and strengthening at the margins of several maps, browning and physiological foxing. In old books, with a centuries-long history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 20nn; 558; 18nn; (2).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Descrittione di tutti i Paesi Bassi, altrimenti detti Germania Inferiore.
Antwerp, Appresso Christophano Plantino, 1581.
Lodovico Guicciardini.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The present exemplar has bibliographic characteristics of particular interest. It is indeed conformant to the digital copy at the National Central Library of Rome and preserves 54 geographical maps and views engraved, while some bibliographic surveys report copies with 55 plates. The main feature of the present exemplar is the presence of the two preliminary plates in avantilettera state: the coat-of-arms plate does not bear the arms of Philip II of Habsburg, king of Spain and ruler of the Low Countries, while the following plate preserves the frame destined for his portrait completely empty. This preliminary state of the edition testifies to an initial phase of Plantin’s production and constitutes an element of notable interest for the editorial history of the work.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Lodovico Guicciardini (1521-1589), nephew of the historian Francesco Guicciardini, was born in Florence but spent much of his life in Antwerp, where he settled in 1538 as a merchant. His deep knowledge of the Low Countries enabled him to create one of the most important geographic-descriptive works of the European Renaissance. The Descrittione dei Paesi Bassi brought him international fame and remained for decades the reference text on the region.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
A Florentine merchant and writer, Lodovico Guicciardini left Italy in 1538 to settle in Antwerp, where he gained direct knowledge of the Flemish provinces and their commercial systems. The Descrittione di tutti i Paesi Bassi, first published in 1567, was the first organic and detailed description of the cities, principalities, institutions, and economic activities of Germania Inferior and brought the author immediate fame across Europe. The 1581 edition constitutes the first printed by Christophe Plantin and the second Italian edition. Of particular charm are the views of Tournai and Cambrai, left intentionally image-free and accompanied by the famous note: “per causa della guerra non s'è ancor potuto havere il ritratto di questa Città al naturale,” a rare testimony of the direct impact of war events on the editorial production of the time.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Adams, G-1408.
STCN, censimenti delle edizioni plantiniane.
Voet, The Golden Compasses. A History and Evaluation of the Printing and Publishing Activities of the Officina Plantiniana.
Van der Heijden, Oude Kaarten der Nederlanden.
Koeman, Atlantes Neerlandici, Guicciardini 31.
WorldCat, censimenti internazionali dell'edizione del 1581.
ICCU / OPAC SBN, localizzazioni italiane.
Plantin-Moretus Museum, cataloghi delle edizioni plantiniane.
NNBW, voce "Guicciardini, Lodovico".
Treccani, voce "Guicciardini, Lodovico".
Cockx-Indestege, Christophe Plantin and his Contemporaries.