We start by examining the pervasive, intimate connection between collections of prints and books evident from the incunabula period onwards throughout Europe and England. Although examples of nobles and the clerical elite who housed prints in their libraries may be best known, numerous other collectors, ranging from successful merchants to government officials and scholars, similarly regarded prints and books as natural bedfellows. These observations, along with the uncommon wealth of information pertaining to the European print trade present in the archives of the Plantin-Moretus Press of Antwerp, validate this study of booksellers’ significant, multifaceted involvement in this trade. The resulting bounty of novel revelations concerning the thriving market for prints in the period under consideration (ca. 1550-1640), are presented in the subsequent chapters.

Following introductory remarks on agreements for coloring prints, an overview of how both colored and plain prints were priced, and the quantities in which they were sold, we present the managers of the Plantin-Moretus Press and examine their involvement in the print trade. Beginning with the founder of the Press, Christopher Plantin, who dabbled in the sale of prints before he established his business printing and selling books, we document the various means by which he and his successors, the Moretuses, engaged in and supported the European print trade. Simultaneously presenting the ways in which clients requested prints, we relate how the booksellers’ responses to these inquiries changed with time.

Naturally, Plantin and the Moretuses could not deal in prints without the active involvement of print sellers in Antwerp, then an important center for print production in Europe. We discuss who among the myriad figures involved in this trade engaged Plantin or the Moretuses to facilitate their own dealings and who were the primary suppliers of the prints sought by the Press’s own clients. Revealing not simply the criteria imposed by some sellers prior to any sale (cash up front, for example) and the array of prices charged by different individuals, we also document the quantities in which they sold their wares and the means by which they were willing (or not) to satisfy clients in distant locals.

We conclude by shifting the focus to the demand side of the equation and examine which Antwerp print publishers were revered in which markets. Whenever possible, we also consider the wishes of specific individuals or general subgroups within society (nobles, religious orders, or merchants, for example). In addition, we demonstrate how Danzig (Gdańsk), Cologne, and Frankfurt rivaled, if not surpassed, their more famous counterparts, such as Paris, as vibrant points of exchange for the print trade. Finally, the appendices detail exactly what individual print publishers charged for specific prints, many of which are still preserved in collections today, as well as the buyers cited in these records. Simultaneously, tables provide succinct overviews of these exceptional records of the prices charged by print publisher and for prints sold in bulk, either colored or plain.

Between 1620 and 1624, the Antwerp printer Hendrik Aertssens published three texts by Jesuit authors, each of which was illustrated with engravings by Boёtius à Bolswert, namely: Herman Hugo’s Pia desideria, Antoine Sucquet’s Via vitae aeternae, and Jean Bourgeois’s Vitae passionis et mortis Jesu Christi … mysteria. This unprecedented examination of the sales of these publications via the Plantin-Moretus Press of Antwerp provides an exceptional and unexpected perspective on their initial international distribution. In particular: the contrast between the poor reception of Bourgeois’s text and great popularity of the illustrations in London, the persistent requests for Sucquet’s work, and the remarkably large purchases of Hugo’s by London booksellers. Consequently, this article documents how disparate the demand for Aertssens’s illustrated Jesuit editions was and that their impact extended beyond the standard reach of the Jesuit community.

This dissertation examines the illustrated decorations in secular cantata manuscripts from 17th- and early 18th-century Italy, a previously understudied visual culture at the intersection of music, drawing, and elite sociability. These manuscripts often include small pen-and-ink drawings, vignettes, and ornate initials that have long been dismissed as anonymous embellishments.

A central outcome of this research is the attribution of a group of manuscript drawings to the celebrated architect and scenographer Filippo Juvarra, revealing a lesser-known chapter in his early graphic production in Rome. These images demonstrate his technical skill and engagement with musical culture during his formative years. The dissertation also revisits the multifaceted career of Carlo Antonio Buffagnotti, a composer and printmaker in Bologna. Another key case study is the manuscript I-Rc MS 2478, preserved at the Biblioteca Casanatense in Rome.

Through close visual analysis, archival research, and iconographic comparison, the study reconstructs artistic contributions that were previously anonymous or misunderstood. It demonstrates how these drawings served as tokens of prestige, friendship, or authorship, functioning as visual performances that reflected the cantata’s refined and often intimate musical world.

By restoring visibility to forgotten artists and neglected images, this research invites a broader understanding of how music, art, and identity interacted in early modern Europe. It offers a new way to read historical sources, one that values visual traces as meaningful forms of cultural memory and contributes to ongoing efforts to connect musicological and art-historical perspectives.

NA

Naarden Celebrates Handel: A Month of Music, History, and Discovery
This autumn, the city of Naarden will be immersed in the world of one of the most iconic composers of the Baroque era: Georg Friedrich Handel (1685–1759). From October 10 to November 10, the first-ever Dutch Handel Days will take place, a unique collaboration between the Comenius Museum Naarden, the internationally acclaimed organist, harpsichordist, and conductor Ton Koopman, and the Dutch Handel Society.
The festival offers a rich program of concerts, masterclasses, and a special exhibition at the Comenius Museum titled Handel in Naarden. From the Collection of Ton Koopman. Visitors will have the rare opportunity to view unique prints, manuscripts, and personal objects from Koopman’s private collection—including an authentic harpsichord from his own home. These items tell the story of Handel’s life, his musical genius, and his enduring influence on the Baroque tradition.
Children are invited to explore Handel’s world through a playful musical treasure hunt, designed to spark curiosity and creativity while introducing them to the composer’s extraordinary works.
Ton Koopman (born in Zwolle, 1944) is a leading authority on Baroque music and historical performance practice. With his Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, he has produced numerous landmark recordings of Handel and Bach, earning international recognition for his scholarly and artistic contributions.
Throughout the Handel Days, a variety of events will take place in collaboration with the Dutch Handel Society and Ton Koopman. These include concerts and masterclasses featuring Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. For the full program, visit the Dutch Handel Society’s website: Händeldagen – Nederlandse Händelvereniging.
The museum will also host exclusive guided tours led by Ton Koopman and Anna Bianco (curator of the Ton Koopman collection) on October 18 and 29, and November 8. These tours offer a deeper insight into the exhibition and the historical context of the works on display.
Whether you're a seasoned music lover or a curious newcomer, the Dutch Handel Days in Naarden promise an inspiring journey into the life and legacy of one of music history’s greatest figures.

"The Goncourt Brothers and the Language of Etching" explores the significant and often surprising links between printmaking and literature during the nineteenth-century French etching revival. This book offers a fresh perspective on the revival through the work of Edmond and Jules de Goncourt: novelists, diarists, art historians, collectors, and etchers.

Using an interdisciplinary approach that centers the embodied process of both etching and writing, "The Goncourt Brothers and the Language of Etching" identifies new intersections between word and image in the Goncourts' wide-ranging work. From the brothers' etched illustrations for their groundbreaking history of eighteenth-century French art, to their efforts to translate techniques from printmaking into their experimental prose, each chapter offers a close analysis of printed image and printed text. This book not only brings critical attention to the brothers' understudied work as printmakers, but also provides new insight into pressing questions about the purpose and value of creative labor in nineteenth-century France.

Illustrated publications and the role of market forces in shaping representations of Egypt at a time when European colonial interests in the region were at their peak, with 80 color and black and white illustrations.

In the nineteenth century, following Napoleon Bonaparte’s 1798 campaign in Egypt, new possibilities of travel and improvements in printing technology saw an emergence of publishing ventures in France and Britain dedicated to the production of albums and travel accounts featuring images of Muslim Egypt and Islamic architecture and catering to a growing European fascination with the East.

Visualizing Egypt analyzes the context and process of production of these highly illustrated publications, from their conceptualization to the finished product and its afterlife, from marketing to the sales of these books, and from circulation to their reception by nineteenth-century audiences. By tracing the long, arduous, and often risky publishing journeys of the makers of these books, including publishers, writers, and artists, such as the Frenchman Émile Prisse d’Avennes, Paulina Banas reveals a complex terrain of changing market demands, collaborations, and conflicting views, and the unsettled authorship of these works, prompting us to think more profoundly about artistic and intellectual exchange in the world of nineteenth-century Orientalist book production.

Visualizing Egypt considers nineteenth-century book illustrations on Egypt and the “Orient” not merely as expressions of enduring ideology and colonial propaganda, but as representations shaped by the often-overlooked commercial exigencies of the growing publishing industry and the reckless competition within it.

“Artistic printing techniques” consists of two high-quality boxes containing 45 original prints and
explanatory texts available in German, French or English. a general introduction to the relief, intaglio,
planographic and screen- printing techniques, as well as detailed explanations of the 19 processes
employed to produce each individual print.
The artist, Marcel Gähler, created this collection of original prints using the same subject of a dog
lying down to illustrate 19 different techniques. The graphic arts specialist, Hildegard Homburger,
contributes explanatory texts describing the techniques and the characteristics and distinguishing
features of each process. Together they provide a descriptive basis for studying the subject and
identifying the most important printmaking techniques.
For more information, please contact the publisher Michael Rothe: mail@rothe-drucke.ch
https://www.rothe-drucke.ch/de/landing.html