A celebration of innovation in the Renaissance age told through 18 of its earliest printed books. "Remarkable Renaissance Books" tells the story of eighteen extraordinary early printed volumes, from the very first titles printed in the fifteenth cen...

An essential resource detailing the rich history of bookbinding during the Italian Renaissance. Anthony Hobson, former director of Sotheby's, devoted a lifetime of observation, travel, and study to the history of decorated bookbindings produced in I...

This exquisitely illustrated collection of essays by leading scholars and experts offers a glimpse into the Bodleian Library's collection of rare Japanese books and manuscripts. The Bodleian Library houses one of the oldest institutional collections...

A richly illustrated volume, which reproduces one of the finest collections of eighteenth-century ornithological art in its entirety. In 1786, Austrian natural history artist Ferdinand Bauer traveled to Italy and the Levant. The watercolors he creat...

Close-up photographs of plump apricots, juicy mangoes, crisp lettuce... these are familiar to us all through cookery books and garden guides. But seeing fruit and vegetables as detailed art, viewed through eighteenth-century eyes, is something very d...

Provincial towns in Britain grew in size and importance in the eighteenth century. Ports such as Glasgow and Liverpool greatly expanded, while industrial centres such as Birmingham and Manchester flourished. Market towns outside London developed as c...

During the Renaissance, artists and illustrators developed the representation of truthful three-dimensional forms into a highly skilled art. As reliable illustrations of three-dimensional subjects became more prevalent, they also influenced the way i...

What would a greengrocer say if you were to ask for half a dozen Grenadiers and a couple of Catsheads? In the course of the past century we have lost much of our rich heritage of orchard fruits, but with taste once again triumphing over shelf-life an...

How were the first fonts made? Who invented italics? When did we work out how to print in colour? Many of the standard features of printed books were designed by pioneering typographers and printers in the latter half of the fifteenth century. Altho...

Martin Lister, royal physician and fellow of the Royal Society, was an extraordinarily prolific natural historian with an expertise in shells and molluscs. Disappointed with the work of established artists, Lister decided to teach his daughters, Sus...