61 - [HISTORY - GHENT] - [SCHELLINCK, Theodore]

[HISTORY - GHENT] - [SCHELLINCK, Theodore] An Alphabetical, Reasoned List of the People of Ghent Who Have Earned an Immortal Reputation in the Clergy, in Public Office, in War, or in One or Another Field of the Arts, Letters, and Sciences. [Ghent, D. J. Vanderhaeghen, 1829] In-8°. Full period Lavalier calf. Smooth spine decorated with gilt and embossed motifs. Title label in black morocco. Covers surrounded by a gilt garland. Guilloché edges. Marbled edges. Normal wear and tear; one corner is dog-eared. First edition of this pioneering prosopographic directory and biographical dictionary, dedicated to the illustrious figures of the city of Ghent. In it, historian Theodore Schellinck lists, in alphabetical order, the citizens of Ghent who have distinguished themselves over the centuries in religious orders, municipal magistracy, military service, as well as in the arts, literature, and sciences. The volume opens with a beautiful engraved portrait of Marcus van Vaernewyck as a frontispiece by Charles Onghena. It also contains, bound in as originally published, the second topographical piece: Aenwyzings-tafel der kerken, kloosters, kapellen, openbare gebouwen, pleinen, markten, straten, waterloopen, bruggen, enz. included in the map of Ghent (Ghent, D. J. Vanderhaeghen, 1829, 28 pages). These two texts were printed as appendices to the major reprint of Vaernewyck’s chronicle published that same year; they are presented here separately. References: Graesse, VI, 301; Bibliotheca Belgica, V, 241; Vander Haeghen, Bibliographie Gantoise, III, 12042. Provenance: from the Library of Philippe Kervyn of Volkaersbeke (bookplate) Included: GUICCIARDINI, Lodovico Beschryving van Antwerpen, Mechelen, Lier en Turnhout. Antwerp, J. E. Rysheuvels, 1854. In-8°. Midnight blue glazed half-calf. Spine with 4 raised bands decorated with double gilt fillets. Leather patch on the front cover. Interior in very fresh condition. A mid-19th-century edition of this famous historical and topographical description, excerpted from the masterpiece by the Florentine writer and merchant Lodovico Guicciardini (1521–1589), *Descrittione di tutti i Paesi Bassi* (1567). The text is presented here in the classic translation by the eminent philologist and lexicographer of the Ancien Régime, Cornelis Kiliaan (1528–1607). This regional edition focuses specifically on the Marquisate of Antwerp and the Lordship of Mechelen, offering an irreplaceable account of the economy, institutions, arts, and monuments of these cities in the late 16th century. References: Bibliotheca Belgica, G-124; van der Marck, 82. Provenance: from the library of Philippe Kervyn of Volkaersbeke (ex-libris)