Courtiers and Cannibals, Angels and Amazons: The Art of the Decorative Cartographic Titlepage

Houten: Hes & De Graaf Publishers BV 2009. Square 4to. 272 pp. Hardback in colour illustrated jacket with some creasing to edges otherwise very clean and bright. Illustrated in colour throughout. From the blurb... 'This book aims to preserve and bring forward for wider appreciation the outstanding works of art that many engraved title pages and frontispieces represent. Over the time period covered by the present publication - roughly from the 1470s to the 1870s - very many printed books opened with an attractive decorative title page or frontispiece, sometimes both. In this book, a limited selection has been made from the wide field of known title pages, focusing primarily on cartography, geography, history, and topography, together with associated disciplines such as astronomy, travel, and exploration. A selection of 100 main and approximately 70 supplementary entries adequately covers specimens of different styles, formats, and national characteristics over a four-hundred-year period from the late fifteenth century onwards. The choice of decorative title pages and frontispieces includes examples emanating from Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands (including Flanders), France, Spain, England, and some later examples published in the United States. Richly illustrated, with many of the title pages presented full page and in full colour.' 9789061940609 . Very Good. Hardcover. 2009.