Mundus symbolicus in emblematum universitate formatus, explicatus, …

Hermann Demen, Köln, 1687

Second Latin edition, here with the often missing engraved title page by Johann Heinrich Löffler.

Description: 2 parts in 1 vol., heavily decorated blind-stamped contemp. pigskin over wooden boards, spine with 4 raised bands, title blind-stamped, 2 clasps (one removed). Folio: 35 × 23 cm; pp. [52], 738 [recte 740]; [8], 276 [recte 268], [206]. 1 engraved title page, 2 printer’s marks, 8 headpieces, 34 large emblematic engravings printed in text.

Ref.: Landwehr 483; VD17 23:000500R and 23:000501Y

Condition: Boards slightly bowed and somewhat stained, one clasp removed. Endpapers, first and last leaves wormed, with minor loss of text or illustrations. Occasional light foxing and slight waterstaining. Underlining in index “Authores e quibus emblemata …” (pp. 50–52). Last blank of vol. 2 missing.

Notes: The Mundus Symbolicus is widely regarded as the most comprehensive encyclopaedia of emblems of the 17th century, created by the Augustinian canon Filippo Picinelli (1604–1679). Guided by the belief that the world created by God could be read as a book of symbols, Picinelli began to collect and describe emblems. This culminated in the creation of his renowned magnum opus, the “Book of Emblems”, which, at over a thousand pages, was conceived with encyclopaedic aspirations. Initially published in Milan in 1653 under the title Mondo Simbolico, the Latin translation by Augustin Erath in 1681 served to elevate the work to the status of a widely sought-after reference work among the intellectual and artistic elite of the Baroque era.