Remarkable
Renaissance
Books
by John Boardley
“With such a title one can expect something lavish within, and this work doesn’t disappoint. It’s a beautiful book.”
— The Arts Society Magazine
by John Boardley
“With such a title one can expect something lavish within, and this work doesn’t disappoint. It’s a beautiful book.”
— The Arts Society Magazine
John Boardley’s Remarkable Renaissance Books tells the story of extraordinary early printed volumes, from the very first titles printed in the fifteenth century to the groundbreaking scientific texts of the Enlightenment.
A celebration of innovation in the Renaissance age told through 18 of its earliest printed books. Including Gutenberg’s watershed Bible, a maths book illustrated by Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo’s observations of mountains on the Moon, Kepler’s treatise on a supernova, Robert Hooke’s discovery of microscopic honeycomb structures he coined cells, and Maria Sibylla Merian’s pioneering studies of metamorphosis, these beautiful books and their enthralling histories, prehistories and legacies chart the fascinating stories of readers, writers, printers, scientists, philosophers and artists and the part they played in forging the modern world. In addition to highlighting their production and reception, the author traces each book’s journey into print, painting a vivid and compelling picture of remarkable books authored by prodigious minds. This lavishly illustrated volume brings the early print culture of the Renaissance to life and will appeal to lovers of books and history alike.
Hardback
288 pages
Size: 259 × 237 mm
120 colour illustrations
Bodleian Library, Oxford Uni
ISBN: 9781851245482
Publication: 24 Oct, 2025
