Bartolozzi Metz Knight (1 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Folio, 56 x 44 cm. 1st ed, published between 1792-1800. Rebound in moroccan leather over finely marbled boards. 92 stipple-engraved, color plates, some mounted, some on pink paper. The first work is complete with 84 portraits on 83 plates. Additionally, includes The Court of Francis II, also by Holbein, often bound together (8 additional color plates). All edges gilt. Perforated library stamp on title. Portraits of Hans Holbein and his wife trimmed at bottom edge. According to the Ray, "This Magnificent Work Is Surely The Finest Early Example Of English Color Printing." "In every way a splendid book, the colour printing reproducing with extraordinary fidelity the original designs . No copies were issued to the public until the stock was acquired many years later by Messrs. Bohn, who added them as a Supplement to copies of the earlier work." Abbey, Life 205 & 206; Ray English 19; Brunet III, 259-260 ('ouvrage magnifique'); Lewine pp. 243-4; Lowndes p. 405. This is an oversized or heavy book, which requires additional postage for international delivery outside the US.