Opuscula Mythologica Physica et Ethica with the frontispiece placed on the left hand side and title page on the right.]]> Thomas Gale]]> Books]]> Opuscula Mythologica Physica et Ethica (1688) with the frontispiece sitting on the right hand side.]]> Thomas Gale]]> Books]]> Dodona’s Grove (1641). Its later use raises a question of plate ownership.]]> James Howell]]> Books]]> Ian Rogerson]]> Books]]> Book of Household Management: ‘The coloured plates are a novelty not without value.’ This colourful lithographic frontispiece depicting cherries, apricots and peaches, grapes, oranges, and other such delectables, conveys at least the food side of her 1861 classic. As seen from the sub-titles on the title-page opposite the frontispiece, the book also contains information ranging from the ‘cook’, ‘valet’, and ‘maid-of-all-work’, to ‘sanitary, medical and legal memoranda.’]]> Isabella Beeton]]> Books]]> Supplication of Saints, an extremely popular devotional aid containing a meditation on Christ’s life, death, and passion. Because the book contains prayers by Queen Elizabeth, a frontispiece image of her is attached. While many pictures of good Queen Bess aimed to reflect her agelessness, or contained associated symbols, like the rose, this particular woodcut is rather primitive. Its use in this late 17th century publication is at odds with some of the more sumptuous frontispiece illustrations extant from the Elizabethan times onwards.]]> Thomas Sorocold]]> Books]]> ___]]> Books]]> Britannia, is full of symbolism. At the top, Britain, personified, sits on a rock with spear and standard in hand. The map of Britain, imprinted with the names of pre-Roman tribes, is flanked by Neptune and Ceres, depicting fertility on both land and sea. At the bottom, a ship, Stonehenge, Roman baths, and a church symbolise Britain’s formidable navy, her history, and strong Christian faith, respectively. Despite its position, to the right, this engraving is essentially a frontispiece, not a title page.]]> [Willliam Camden]]]> Books]]> Giovanni Stringa]]> Books]]> Sculptura (1662), which contained the first announcement of the art of mezzotint, and which was the first book on the history of engraving published in England. This work also contains an allegorical engraved frontispiece designed by Evelyn himself and engraved by Abraham Hertochs, the Dutch engraver. Evelyn’s seated girl represents the Graphic Arts; Geoffrey Keynes, his bibliographer, called the image ‘painfully banal’.]]> John Evelyn]]> Books]]> Travels to China (1804) recount an early Western visit to that country, but it is also the first book on China to be illustrated by aquatint, a process that gives tonal effects to an image, like a wash of watercolour. William Alexander, also a member of the expedition, drew the portrait of ‘Van-ta-gin’ that forms this very colourful frontispiece. It was engraved by Thomas Medland (c.1765–1833), who also executed the other four aquatint illustrations in the book.]]> John Barrow]]> Books]]> la manière anglaise. One English master was Charles Turner (1774-1857), who specialized in portraiture. Here he has worked his magic to form a frontispiece of ‘Mrs Siddons’ after a painting by Sir Thomas Lawrence.]]> James Boaden]]> Books]]> The Imitation of Christ, by German priest Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471), is one of the most widely read Christian texts in history; it has gone through hundreds of editions. This particular volume was printed by John Hayes, Cambridge University Printer, in 1685.]]> [Thomas à Kempis]]]> Books]]> Resolves, while still a teenager; it was first published in 1623. The frontispiece to this 1661 edition, albeit on the right hand side, is a reworking of that which appeared in the 1628 edition. The poem, to the left, provides an explanation for the symbolism in the engraving by Robert Vaughn (c.1600-64). Opinion and Ignorance have been anthropomorphised and are trying to pull the world down while Wisdom (Sapientia) and Truth (Veritas) pull it towards Heaven, and therefore Enlightenment. As Saenger (2006) states ‘The frontispiece emblematizes the spiritual dynamics with which the text is meant to engage the reader.']]> Owen Feltham]]> Books]]> Companion is a catechetic work intended for use as a guide to the ‘Festivals and Fasts of the Church of England’. The frontispiece of this edition shows two Saints of the Church in the act of martyrdom. In the foreground, Stephen, who was falsely accused of blasphemy, is being stoned to death; and in the background, James the Greater, one of Jesus’ Apostles, is being beheaded by Herod Agrippa (11BC- 44AD). Above both of these scenes, angels appear holding crowns and palms, to be bestowed on the martyrs as they make their ascension into the Kingdom of God. This engraving, by Flemish engraver Michael van der Gucht (1660-1725), is a reworking of the same from a previous edition.]]> Robert Nelson]]> Books]]> Catalogue of the Pepys Library, Vol. III Prints and Drawings (1980). Pepys, like others at the time, did not differentiate between ‘frontispiece’ and engraved title-page; they lumped them together. Special Collections has 14 identified ‘frontispieces’ owned by Pepys. The 1653 Elzevir edition of Bacon is no. 36, described by him as ‘three male figures standing round a globe on a pedestal (with title).’]]> Francis Bacon]]> Books]]> Catalogue of the Pepys Library, Vol. III Prints and Drawings (1980). This Special Collections' copy shows a glade in a wood, with soldiers and civilians; in the foreground St Cyprian stands blindfolded with hands in prayer; behind, a warrior prepares to strike him with a sword; above, Fame, in an oval ray of light, extends a laurel wreath.’ Drawn by Wilhelm Sonmans, the image was engraved by Michael Burghers (c.1647–1727), a Dutch artist who lived in England. ]]> Cyprian]]> Books]]> Essay on the First Book of T. Lucretius, its first appearance in English. The frontispiece was designed by Mary, Evelyn’s wife. Evelyn had training as a draftsman and he must have given her some instruction on composition. Although the head in profile in the wreathed medallion is supposed to be Lucretius, it is, as commentators have noted, very much like Evelyn himself.]]> John Evelyn]]> Books]]> Anatomy was written to get Burton out of a bout of depression. The work also contained a poem explaining the ‘frontispiece’, which was engraved by Christian Le Blon. The engraver must have known Burton’s intricate text well, because each of the ten panels depict symbols and emblems that relate closely to the content.]]> Robert Burton]]> Books]]> Anatomy of Melancholy (1628) lacks the explanatory poem, here is the 1866 printed version, offering descriptions and meanings to many of the emblems and symbols used: e.g. Frame II: Jealousy, including a kingfisher and a swan.]]> Robert Burton]]> Pamphlets]]> John Nalson]]> Books]]> Anabasis of Alexander the Great’s conquests (4th cent. BC) would have to resort to Google to decipher the imagery in the frontispiece. Victory, personified, stands upon the peoples Alexander has vanquished – the Persians, the Egyptians, the Punjabis. The scene in the distance represents his Siege of Tyre, now in Turkey. Alexander, a military genius, built a mole or pier upon which to stand his siege towers. He breached the heavily fortified walls of the castle built on the island and conquered the city-state – ‘Tyre was his [military] masterpiece’ (Cartledge, 2004).]]> [Arrian of Nicomedia]]]> Books]]> Edited by Richard Bentley]]> Books]]> Argonautics is a frontispiece – it is labelled as such. The scene most probably depicts Jason leaving Queen Hypsipyle and the island of Lemnos. The engraving from the artwork of one ‘W. Hamilton’ is by Charles Grignion (1721-1810). After training in Paris and London, Grignion embarked upon a career as an historical artist and engraver. His early style is characterised as ‘energetic’, ‘elegant’, ‘bold’ and original’; the ODNB describes him as having a ‘light draughtsmanlike style in the French tradition’. Engraving well into his 80s, Grignion’s style suffered with old age and he died in poverty. Despite this, he is thought to be the ‘Father and Founder of the English School of Engraving’.]]> Francis Fawkes]]> Books]]> Present State of England in 1669; another two editions followed in the same year. The book is a record of every aspect of English society, and described as a ‘strong monarchist panegyric’. Over 30 editions were printed within 100 years, and each editon's frontispiece engravings represented a change, or not, of monarch. In 1684, Charles II (1630-85) was king after the Restoration in 1660. He is flanked by the two men who filled the highest-ranking offices in the Kingdom: on the left William Sancroft (1617-93), the Archbishop of Canterbury (left), and on the right, Francis North, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, who holds the purse in which he keeps the actual Seal.]]> Edward Chamberlayne]]> Books]]>