Adam Pilinski - APOCALYPSE [MONSTERS, DEMONS, TORTURE...] - 1882

DESCRIPTION: I present at auction a bibliographic opportunity truly extraordinary: the monumental work "Monuments de la Xylographie, I: L'Apocalypse", reproduced in facsimile from the historic Firmin-Didot Library exemplar by the celebrated engraver Adam Pilinski and published in Paris in 1882 by Adam Pilinski et Fils.

EXCLUSIVITY AND INSTITUTIONAL PROVENANCE

This work represents a treasure of maximum bibliophilic rarity:

+ Strictly Limited Edition: Limited to only 100 copies printed ("Tiré à cent exemplaires"), making it one of the most reduced facsimile enterprises of the 19th century.

+ Only Known Copy in Private Collection: The vast majority of the few surviving copies are kept under strict conservation in prestigious international institutions. This copy is, with almost total certainty, the only one available on the private market worldwide.

+ Most of the copies of the 100 printed that survived are in restricted access in Institutional Libraries according to WorldCat (about 40-50 copies). This is the only known copy in private hands. A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO ACQUIRE AN EXCLUSIVE BOOK WITH ITS ORIGINAL COVERS AND THE LEAVES INTACT, NOT YET BOUND. A COPY JUST AS IT LEFT THE PRINTING PRESS.

ABOUT THE ORIGINAL WOODCUT WORK (15th CENTURY):

To understand the historical value of this facsimile, it is essential to contextualize the jewel of incunabula from which it comes:

+ Origin of the Original Work: It corresponds to the famous Incunabula Apocalypse (Blockbook Apocalypse), originally printed in the mid-15th century (c. 1450–1452) in the Low Countries/Germany.

+ Birth of Printing: Blockbooks or woodcut books are among the earliest incunabula where both image and text were carved entirely by hand on a single wooden page. This Apocalypse is contemporary and even immediately preceding Gutenberg's movable type Bible, representing the very origins of the printed book in the West.

+ Bibliographic Classification: As the title indicates, this reproduction collects the iconic apocalyptic iconography cataloged in reference bibliographies as the First Edition according to Baron von Heinecken and the Fifth Edition according to Sotheby.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS AND COPY DETAILS:

+ Full Title: Monuments de la Xylographie. I. L'Apocalypse. Première édition d'après le Baron de Heinecken et cinquième d'après Sotheby.

+ Author / Facsimile: Reproduced in facsimile traced and engraved meticulously by Adam Pilinski (Corresponding Member of the Académie de Clermont-Ferrand).

+ Preliminary Study: Introduction and historical note by Gustave Pawlowski (Curator of the Firmin-Didot Library and Official of Public Instruction).

+ Editorial and Printer’s Tone: Paris, Chez Adam Pilinski et Fils, Éditeurs (4, Place de la Sorbonne), 1882.

+ Illustrations: Masterful complete facsimile reproduction of the incunabular woodcuts of the medieval Apocalypse, showing iconic scenes of the apocalyptic iconography such as Saint Michael’s fight against the Dragon, the beasts with seven heads, and the visions of Saint John.

AN UNREPEATABLE OPPORTUNITY. NOW OR NEVER.

PUBLICATION YEAR: Paris, France 1882. 1st EDITION
LANGUAGE: French and Latin (Original Versions)
SIZE AND PAGINATION: Dimensions: 35 x 27 cm. Pagination: [2] + Title Page + 7 + [48] pp.
CONDITION: Original cloth folder binding, with some abrasions and signs of aging, as shown in the photos. Flat spine. The interior is in generally good condition, as shown in the photos. Leaves in quires with wide margins and uncut, because the work was distributed that way to be later sent to a binder. The fact that the work is preserved in its original printing state makes it even more exclusive and probably the only copy so preserved.

DON'T MISS OUT. YOU DECIDE, NOW OR NEVER.

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