Bourgogne, Mundi lapis Lydius, Antwerp, 1639, contemporary vellum

Bourgogne, Anton van. Mundi lapis Lydius sive vanitas per veritatem falsi accusata & convicta Opera D. Antonii a Burgundia Archi-diaconi Brugensis. Antwerp: widow of Jan Cnobbaert (Marie De Man), 1639

First edition of Bourgogne's emblem book, in which each emblem is given a positive and a negative, a "vanity" and a "truth". The emblems were engraved by Andreas Pauwels (or Pauli), after designs by Abraham van Diepenbeeck. Bourgogne provides his work with a table of the mottos, a summary of the contents, a list of the authors consulted, and a list of the people, objects and concepts mentioned in the work.

4to (191 x 145 mm). Roman type, 27 lines plus headline. collation: +-++⁴ +++⁶ A-Kk⁴ Ll⁶: 142 leaves. Engraved title-page, woodcut initials and tailpieces, engraved illustrations. (Title-leaf trimmed to plate mark along foredge, first few leaves slightly frayed at foredge.)

binding: Contemporary vellum (196 x 152 mm), foredge flaps. (Binding slightly soiled, upper hinge broken, pastedowns torn along turn-ins.)

acquisition: Purchased in 1990 from E.K. Schreiber, New York. references: Landwehr, Emblem books in the Low Countries 98; STCV 12917123; USTC 1004374