Ottley, William Young: An inquiry into the origin and early history of engraving: upon copper and in wood ; with an account of engravers and their works, from the invention of chalcography by Maso Finiguerra to the time of Marc Antonio Raimondi (Band 1) (London, 1816) [Cicognara, 266A]

220

SPECULUM HUMANAE SALVATIONIS. [chap. m.

Veldener published, at Culenbourg, a new edition of the work, in
the Dutch language, containing the impressions of the same blocks;
the whole printed in a quarto size,—Veldener having caused each
of the blocks to be sawed down the central pillar, into two pieces,
for that purpose.

Moreover, two out of the four earliest editions of this work, are
printed in the Dutch language, such as it was commonly spoken
in the fifteenth century, in that part of Belgium which is now
called Holland ; but which was never generally used in the more
southern provinces of the Netherlands, where the Flemish language
formerly prevailed, as it does at present.*

To all these arguments it may be added, that the paper-marks
found in the four earliest editions of the Speculum, do not occur in
books of the fifteenth century, printed in any part of Germany,
south or east of Cologne; (if we except one mark which is found in
some of the books of Schoeffer, printed at Mentz) but, for the most
part, resemble those commonly found in the early printed books
of the Low Countries, and more especially in those of Holland;
and that some of these marks occur, exclusively, in the books of
the early Dutch printers. Upon this point, however, the reader
may require evidence in support of my assertion, and he is, there-
fore, here presented with the tracings of these paper-marks (at least
all those which occur in the two copies of the book before me)
carefully made from the originals, and accompanied with the
authority of an eminent bibliographer, as to the ordinary occur-
rence of most of them in the earliest printed books of Holland and
Flanders.-f-

* This I say upon the authority of a gen- Serna Santander," 8vo. Bruxe/ks, 1803,) that
tleman, to whom I have shewn the Dutch although the paper-mark of a book can, of
Speculum, and who, having resided many itself, ueither enable us to discover the name
years at Utrecht, is thoroughly conversant of the printer nor the age of the book ; never-
both with the Dutch and Flemish languages. theless, it may often lead us to well-founded

■f Santander, the writer in question, pro- conjectures as to the place of its impression,
perly observes, (" Supplement au Catalogue " En effet," says he, " j'oserai bien affirmer
des Livres de la Bibliotheque de M. C. de la " qu'on peut connoitre aussi aisement par