Bressler und Aschenburg - Sovrani del Mondo - 1728-1729

THE SOVEREIGNS OF THE WORLD: FOUR VOLUMES WITH DOZENS OF ROYAL AND IMPERIAL COAT OF ARMS
An fascinating historical and genealogical atlas of the great monarchies of the world in the early 18th century.
Four volumes published in Venice in 1728–1729, in the revised Italian second edition.
From the emperors of Europe to the czars of Russia, down to the sovereigns of China, Japan, and Africa.
Dozens of woodcut heraldic shields accompany the genealogies of the ruling dynasties.
An work of notable historical, genealogical and heraldic interest, preserved in its rare complete form.

ABSTRACT
Important historical, political and genealogical repertory of the early 18th century, devoted to the reigning houses and the institutions of the principal states of the world. Published in Venice by Sebastiano Coleti in 1728–1729, this revised Italian second edition collects in four volumes a vast repository of information on dynastic genealogies, territorial extent, forms of government, religions, tax revenues, military forces, and the hereditary claims of the sovereigns. Particularly striking is the heraldic apparatus, consisting of dozens of woodcut shields illustrating imperial, royal and ecclesiastical insignia. The work extends from Europe to Asia and Africa, offering an extraordinary testimony to international political geography before the great transformations of the 18th century.

WHY TO BUY
The collectible interest of this copy lies mainly in the completeness of the four volumes, in the breadth of genealogical documentation, and in the rich array of woodcut heraldic shields. The Italian edition of 1728–1729 represents a particularly interesting testimony to the diffusion of European historical-political culture in the Republic of Venice. The numerous representations of sovereign armorial bearings, together with information on European dynasties, the emperors of China, the sovereigns of Japan and Asiatic and African monarchies, render the work appealing to collectors of heraldry, genealogy, diplomatic history and 18th-century Venetian books. The uniform rustic bindings are especially commendable.

MARKET VALUE
Indicative antiquarian market value: €400–550 for the complete set of four volumes. The completeness of the series and the heraldic apparatus support its collecting interest.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Four volumes. Rustic bindings in marbled cardboard, with handwritten paper labels applied to the spines, bearing the title and volume numbers. Small woodcut floral device on the title pages. Numerous heraldic coats of arms and dynastic insignia incised in wood. Indexing apparatus and bibliographic references. Margins of the pages partly untrimmed. Rustic bindings with small tears at the spines and hinges. Ancient handwritten labels preserved. Internally some natural browning and stains of time. Old restorations to the upper corners of pages 541–544 in volume II and 269–270 in volume IV. In old books with a long history there may be some imperfections, not always noted in the description. This listing includes AI Visualizations. Refer to the original photographs to verify the object's actual condition. Images are an integral part of the description. Pp.:
Vol. I: (2); 16nn; 444; (2).
Vol. II: (2); 4nn; 595; (2).
Vol. III: 4nn; 430; (4).
Vol. IV: (2); 4nn; 312; 28nn; (2).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
The Sovereigns of the World.
Venice, by Sebastian Coleti, 1728–1729.
Ferdinand Ludwig von Bressler und Aschenburg.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
In the early 18th century, knowledge of the reigning dynasties was a fundamental instrument for understanding European diplomatic and territorial equilibria. The succession of crowns, dynastic marriages, military alliances, and hereditary rights frequently determined the fate of states. Li Sovrani del Mondo was born in this cultural and political context, proposing itself as a universal repository of contemporary sovereign authorities. The first three volumes mainly delve into the Holy Roman Empire, its electors, the great princely families, and the European monarchies. The fourth extends the view to Russia, Poland, Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Persia, the Mogul Empire, Siam, China, Japan, and various African territories. The descriptions of arms, genealogies, and political institutions, accompanied by bibliographic references to the authors used, are particularly significant. The work thus provides an interesting snapshot of the world political order at the transition from the 17th to the 18th century, also documenting how European scholars represented non-European civilizations.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Ferdinand Ludwig von Bressler und Aschenburg, to whom the work is generally attributed, was a German-speaking scholar active from the late 17th century to the early 18th century, interested in the history of dynasties, genealogy and political structures of European states. His output sits within the tradition of historical-genealogical repertoires intended for diplomats, scholars, officials and educated readers. The attribution of the work should, however, be considered bibliographic, since the author’s name does not appear on the title pages of the edition described here.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
This is the second Italian edition, revised and corrected, published in Venice by Sebastiano Coleti between 1728 and 1729. The work belongs to the tradition of European dynastic and genealogical compendia that enjoyed particular diffusion from the late 17th to the early 18th century. The Venetian edition made accessible to Italian readers a vast collection of information on contemporary monarchies, updating it to the political context of the period. The four-volume structure, the substantial length of the text, and the woodcut apparatus testify to the editorial ambition of the project. Complete copies deserve particular attention, as multi-volume historical collections may today present with missing volumes or non-uniform bindings.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
The work constitutes a primary source for the study of genealogical and heraldic literature of the early 18th century. Of particular interest are the catalogs of the authors cited within the volumes, which document the use of chronicles, geographical treatises, dynastic histories, and descriptions of kingdoms. Among the referenced authors are several important witnesses to European literature on Asian territories and monarchies on the continent. The bibliographic identification of the edition is based on the Venetian title pages indicating second revised and corrected edition and the complete four-volume arrangement.