Braun, Georg; Frans Hogenberg and Simon van den Neuwel. Civitates Orbis Terrarum. Five parts in three volumes. Cologne: Bertram Buchholtz, 1599– 1597

Braun, Georg; Frans Hogenberg and Simon van den Neuwel. Civitates Orbis Terrarum. Five parts in three volumes. Cologne: Bertram Buchholtz, 1599– 1597; Petrus von Brachel, 1606–[1612]; [Buchholtz or von Brachel, 1600]. Folio (15 15/16” x 11 1/8”, 404mm x 283mm). [Full collation available.]

Collated complete against Van der Kroegt/Koeman but lacking 2.29: Noviomagivm/Nijmigen. Bound in contemporary laced vellum with yapp edges and ties, with the “standard Civitates binding” offered by Hogenberg (although typically in calf). On the front covers, the parts indicated in ink manuscript (I.II, III. IV, V). On the spine, seven panels (vol. I partially re-backed) separated by silver-gilt rolls. Date of binding (?) silver-gilt to panels 2, 3, 5 and 6 (9, 0, 6, 1; i.e., 1609). Silver-gilt rosettes in panels 1, 4 and 7. All edges of the textblock gauffered gilt. Presented in custom green morocco-backed black cloth clam-shell boxes, lipped and lined in dark green velvet, made by Brockman. Conserved in 2021 by James & Stuart Brockman Ltd. (full report available). Vol. I partially re-backed (at the lower half) to style. Some soiling to the bindings generally. Text-block tanned, moderately in places. Five gatherings (2.5, 2.48, 3.23, 4.28, 5.12) were smaller, perhaps indicating their insertion from another set. Graphite annotations made to the dedication (I.1.A2r ) against the name of Rudolph II: “Imp. 12.8.e 1576/ Morto–20.Geno . 1612 Although Civitates Orbis Terrarum — Cities of the World — is the title given only to the first part of the work, it admirably describes what is otherwise named for its principal creators: Braun & Hogenberg. Georg Braun (Bruin in Dutch; 1541–1622) was the managing editor as well as the author of the descriptions appended to each plate. Frans Hogenberg (1543–1590) was fresh from his collaboration with Abraham Ortelius (the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum) when he suggested a complimentary account of the beacon of civilized life: the city. The project took some 40 years to come to completion; the first edition of part 1 was published in 1572, the first edition of part 6 was published in 1617 (the present set, as often, stops with part 5). As the cities of Europe (principally; there are views of cities on three additional continents: North America (Mexico and Cuzco, I.58), Africa (Cairo, Tangier, Casablanca; I.55- 57) and Asia (Aden, I.53; Calicut, I.54 and Jerusalem several times) grew in size and splendor, there was a desire to document their features and organization. In part an exercise in civic pride, the views Braun chose were often drawn by local artists, and so there is an aspect of self-presentation as opposed to the intended accuracy of atlases proper. Although Dutch atlases are sometimes described as a bibliographer’s nightmare, the Civitates is, properly, neither Dutch nor an atlas. Whereas other works of this sort often comprised a constantly-shifting buffet of updated plates that would replace one another, Braun and Hogenberg simply added new views and plans as they became available without replacing. Thus the work is unusually historicized, allowing the viewer to follow the development of, say, Jerusalem from 1572 (I.52) to 1575 (II.54) to 1588 (IV.58-59). The graphite inscription marking the regnal dates of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II is the only clue to the ownership of the present set, viz., by an Italian. Van der Krogt/Koeman IV.1 41:1.1(1599) – .2(1597) –.3(1606) – .4(1612) – .5(1600).