Arcana:

(HOEFNAGEL, JORIS) (BOCSKAY, GEORG). Hendrix, Lee & Thea Vignau-Wilberg. Foreword by John Walsh. Preface by Thomas Kren. Malibu, CA: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 1992. First Printing. 12mo. Gilt-Stamped Cloth in Slipcase. Illustrated Book. Near Fine/No Jacket - As Issued. 414pp, 170 color illustrations. Text in English. Designed by Lorraine Wild. "In 1561-62 Georg Bocskay, imperial secretary to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I, inscribed the Mira calligraphiae monumenta as a testament to his preeminence among scribes. He assembled a vast selection of contemporary and historical scripts, which nearly thirty years later were further embellished by Joris Hoefnagel, Europe's last great manuscript illuminator. This book, now in the collection of the Getty Museum, is reproduced here in complete facsimile form, accompanied by a commentary that includes a full description; a discussion of the work's patron, Rudolf II, and his cultural and historical milieu; biographies of Hoefnagel and Bocskay; and an analysis of the manuscript's role in their careers. The manuscript's remarkable calligraphy will be of particular interest not only to scholars but to collectors, graphic designers, and typographers as well". Designed by the estimable Lorraine Wild, this gem-like volume faithfully reproduces the manuscript's exquisite plates alongside translations of the original text and iconography. A most handsome example of the exceedingly uncommon 1992 first J. Paul Getty Museum printing of this important work in the publisher's gilt-stamped linen slipcase that shows some light soiling along with minute fraying to the seams of the cloth along two of the edges. 0-89236-212-X Inventory Number: 026159