Numismata virorum illustrium ex Barbadica gente.

Folio: front., [6]-164 pp. + suppl. 35-[1] pp. (very sl. soiling and foxing on front., title-p. and last f., some marg. stains).

19th-c. garnet morocco, double frame with gilt fillets on the boards, gilt-tooled spine with raised bands, pink morocco doublures surrounded by gilt fillets and roll, ivory silk endpapers, a.e.g. (sl. rubbed, but good condition). Nice copy.

First edition of this rare and beautiful work, published posthumously under the patronage of Cardinal Barbarigo (1658-1730) and dedicated to his nephews, to whom he thus offered a glorious panorama of the history of their ancestors. The text was mainly written by the Jesuit Father Giovanni Saverio Valcavi (1701-1781), whose name appears in Barbarigo's preface and in the approbation. Complete with the supplement printed in 1760 (cf. approbation), written by Ange-Antoine Fabro. The illustration (suppl. incl.) superbly engraved by Robert Van Audenaerde (1663-1743 or 1746), Ghent artist established in Italy (c. 1689-1723) before returning to his home town, includes 262 vignettes (none repeated): 1 allegorical frontispiece, 1 crowned cypher on title, 1 large head-piece and 1 historiated initial on dedication, 85 large allegorical head-pieces with medals, 85 historiated initials and 88 tail-pieces also with allegorical figures and sometimes coats of arms. Ref. Brunet IV:138-139. - Kat. Berlin 4268. - DBS VIII:372. - Dict. des peintres belges 981. Prov. [Georges Petit].