OVID 1591, Miniature Metamorphoses with Latin descriptions and Woodcuts from Plantin-Moretus

This rare 1591 book by Ovid is a valuable, though incomplete, collector’s edition, featuring an Antwerp Latin abridgement of the Metamorphoses. Published by Petrus van der Borcht, this hardcover book is an original first edition, making it a unique and sought-after piece for book collectors. Illustrated with fine prints by Plantin-Moretus, this miniature book is a limited edition item originating from Belgium, adding to its historical and cultural significance.

A charming and celebrated Plantin-Moretus miniature Ovid, prized for its dense sequence of mythological engravings and compact oblong format. Although distinctly defective, this copy preserves the greater part of the illustrated cycle and remains bibliographically secure, with the ending substantially intact. The surviving leaves are, by your account, in notably good condition, with very few tears, marks, or other faults, which materially improves the appeal of an incomplete copy of this kind.

OVID, Publius Ovidius Naso. P. Ovidii Nasonis Metamorphoses argumentis breuioribus ex Luctatio Grammatico collectis expositae; una cum viuis singularum transformationum iconibus in aes incisis. Antwerp: Ex Officina Plantiniana, apud Viduam & Ioannem Moretum, 1591. Oblong 12mo or small oblong 16mo (approximately 10 x 11 cm; this copy measuring about 3 1/4 x 4 3/4 inches). Modern cloth-backed boards.

Defective, but substantial copy, lacking the engraved title and preliminary matter, and wanting pp. 1–6, 9–16, 19–20, 22–24, 35–56, 71–74, 85–86, 89–90, 93–94, 103–110, 119–120, 131–132, 137–138, 147–148, 157–158, 227–228, 241–242, 253–254, 257–262, 279–280, 291–292, and 325–326. Copy begins at p. 7 and extends to p. 362, with terminal index apparently present. Of the 178 engravings recorded for the edition, 144 survive in this copy, each with Latin explanatory text on the opposite page. The standard bibliographic record describes the edition as containing an engraved title, an Ovid portrait on p. 4, 361, [20] pages, an index, and signatures A–Z⁸, a⁸.

Note on importance: this 1591 Antwerp edition is one of the most attractive small-format illustrated Ovids of the late sixteenth century, issued by the Plantin press under Jan Moretus. Collectors of Plantin books, emblematic illustration, and Renaissance Ovids will appreciate the value of this little tome.