OVIDIUS Naso, Publius

Copper engravings after Hendrick Goltzius, illustrating Ovid's Metamorphoses Album in-folio oblong. Series of 45 (of 52) copper engravings, the last 6 mounted. Engravings: 175 x 250 mm, paper size: 295 x 380 mm. The 6 mounted plates are printer darker and more beautifully (older prints?). Marginal waterstaining on 3 plates, not affecting the image, some folds in the middle of the first plates. On 3 plates a prudish hand censored some nudity using brown ink. First published 1589-1615. These plates were originally published in three sets (of respectively twenty, twenty and twelve plates), each separately numbered and later numbered consecutively (which explains the double numbering on the plates). The 6 last plates of our series (probably older) don't have a double numbering. Claes Jansz Visscher and Robert Willemsz de Baudous published later editions as their addresses appear on some of the plates: plates 1 and 21 bear Visscher's address; plate 44 bears Baudous address. Latin captions by Franco Estius and G. Rijckius. 19th c. binding in half cloth Ref. New Hollstein 532-551. Later edition of Mannerist copper engravings after Goltzius, printed after 1615, probably 18th century, except for 6 engravings from the original series Amsterdam C.J. Visscher