Plantin-Moretus Museum Main Library
Details
- Type
- Library
- Web site
- http://museum.antwerpen.be/plantin_moretus/collectie2_EN.html
- Description:
- The collection of old books contains over 25,000 volumes. The lion's share of them is in the beautiful, main library, , included in the museum visit.
The museum also possesses more than 600 manuscripts from the 9th up to the 16th century. Plantin and the Moretuses used this collection as a source of inspiration for their future publications.
Among the highlights of 15th century Flemish miniature art are the 'Froissart Chronicles'.The two-volume Bible (1401 - 1402) made for king Wenceslas of Bohemia is a magnificent example of Czech miniature art.
One of the finest books printed before 1501 (incunabula or cradle-books) is without doubt the Thirty-six-Line Gutenberg Bible, made with the type of the inventor of book printing. Post-incunabula (books printed between 1501 - 1540) are also amply represented.
The Plantin-Moretus Museum owns copies of nearly 90% of the entire book production of the printing company. The collection contains many first editions of the work of the Flemish humanist Justus Lipsius (1547 - 1606). The very first dictionary of the Dutch language is also in it. Although he was of French extraction, Plantin took the initiative to produce this Thesaurus Theutonicae linguae. Schat der Neder-duytscher spraken.
Abraham Ortelius' famous atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, printed by C. Plantin from 1579 onwards, can be found in the large collection of atlases of the museum. It was put on display in the Mercator exhibition (1994), the Ortelius exhibition (1998) and the Orbis Terrarum 'Ways of Worldmaking' exhibition in 2000, and it met with a lot of enthusiasm.
The magnificent library is still of great interest to historians and bibliophiles. Part of the library's catalogues can be accessed through Anet. The complete book collection has been catalogued on index cards, which can be consulted in the reading room. - Added By
- cirdan747
- Contacted
- Not contacted
- Venue ID
- 34347
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