1631 Köln: Johann von Kreps Oblong ICONES BIBLICAE PRAECIPUAS SACRAE SCRIPTURAE By after Matthäus Merian the Elder Good Religion

£1,500.00

1631 Köln: Johann von Kreps , Oblong
ICONES BIBLICAE PRAECIPUAS SACRAE SCRIPTURAE
Historias eleganter et graphicae repraesentantes = Biblische Figuren; darinnen die fürnembsten Historien in Heiliger Göttliger Schrifft begriffen…(Biblical Icons Elegantly and Graphically Representing the Main Stories of the Holy Scriptures…)
By after Matthäus Merian the Elder
Matthäus Merian der Ältere (or "Matthew", "the Elder", or "Sr."; 22 September 1593 – 19 June 1650) was a Swiss-born engraver who worked in Frankfurt, Germany for most of his career, where he also ran a publishing house. He was a member of the patrician Basel Merian family.

Format: Hardcover, Super octavo (8vo 7 × 11 178 × 279),Pages 129
Language: German/Latin
Dust Jacket: No Jacket, Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket

Published By: Johann Krebs, Cologne (Koln), Germany

Synopsis: Cologne (Köln) / Johann Krebs issue, 1631 (first Kreps issue).

A compact, image-led Bible in copper: 128 finely etched scenes spanning the principal narratives of Scripture, issued here as an oblong picture-book with an engraved title. A Cologne imprint closely related to the widely-collected “Icones Biblicae” suites associated with the Merian tradition (the series also appears in later expanded and reordered states).

A striking early 17th-century suite of biblical imagery—small, dramatic “stage-sets” of sacred history rendered with the lively line and atmospheric hatching typical of German Baroque book-illustration. The plates function as a visual concordance: creation and patriarchal scenes, prophetic and royal narratives, the life of Christ, and emblematic moments of judgement and revelation, each designed to be read quickly as a devotional prompt or teaching aid.
This kind of compact iconographic “core set” is notably desirable to collectors because it sits at the intersection of:
print-history (a portable, coherent suite of copperplates),
devotional culture (pictures meant to be “read” without text),
collector appeal (the plates also circulate independently in museum and printroom collections).

SKU: BTETM0002700
Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 2Kg

1631 Köln: Johann von Kreps , Oblong
ICONES BIBLICAE PRAECIPUAS SACRAE SCRIPTURAE
Historias eleganter et graphicae repraesentantes = Biblische Figuren; darinnen die fürnembsten Historien in Heiliger Göttliger Schrifft begriffen…(Biblical Icons Elegantly and Graphically Representing the Main Stories of the Holy Scriptures…)
By after Matthäus Merian the Elder
Matthäus Merian der Ältere (or "Matthew", "the Elder", or "Sr."; 22 September 1593 – 19 June 1650) was a Swiss-born engraver who worked in Frankfurt, Germany for most of his career, where he also ran a publishing house. He was a member of the patrician Basel Merian family.

Format: Hardcover, Super octavo (8vo 7 × 11 178 × 279),Pages 129
Language: German/Latin
Dust Jacket: No Jacket, Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket

Published By: Johann Krebs, Cologne (Koln), Germany

Synopsis: Cologne (Köln) / Johann Krebs issue, 1631 (first Kreps issue).

A compact, image-led Bible in copper: 128 finely etched scenes spanning the principal narratives of Scripture, issued here as an oblong picture-book with an engraved title. A Cologne imprint closely related to the widely-collected “Icones Biblicae” suites associated with the Merian tradition (the series also appears in later expanded and reordered states).

A striking early 17th-century suite of biblical imagery—small, dramatic “stage-sets” of sacred history rendered with the lively line and atmospheric hatching typical of German Baroque book-illustration. The plates function as a visual concordance: creation and patriarchal scenes, prophetic and royal narratives, the life of Christ, and emblematic moments of judgement and revelation, each designed to be read quickly as a devotional prompt or teaching aid.
This kind of compact iconographic “core set” is notably desirable to collectors because it sits at the intersection of:
print-history (a portable, coherent suite of copperplates),
devotional culture (pictures meant to be “read” without text),
collector appeal (the plates also circulate independently in museum and printroom collections).

SKU: BTETM0002700
Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 2Kg

Good - Present: engraved title + 128 plates (single-sided; versos blank). One plate is duplicated (the Sacrifice of Isaac scene appears twice). Accordingly, one subject from the standard 128-plate suite is absent—a not-uncommon issue in surviving plate suites, where plates may have been gathered or replaced at some point in the book’s history. (The missing subject can be identified definitively by matching the plates to a reference suite such as VD17.)

Later patterned-paper boards with printed/handwritten label; rubbing and edgewear, with bumps/scuffs consistent with age and handling. Internally generally clean and well-contrasted for the period, with scattered toning/foxing and occasional light handling marks. Margins with minor wear. Prior-owner pencil numbering and a bibliographic note on the front pastedown/blank.. Note: Format/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary. Please see photos as part of condition report