• Jacobus Strada (1507–1588). Imperatorum romanorum omnium orientalium et occidentalium verissimae imagines ex antiquis numismatis quam fidelissime delineatae. Addita cuiusque vitae descriptione ex thesauro Iacobi Stradae et per brevi elogio uniuscuiusque carmine, quod quasi epitome est historiae, ad iuu and am memoriam. Zurich: Ex Officina Andreae Gesneri, 1559.

Curatorial note:

In Imperatorum romanorum..., Jacopo (Jacobus) Strada, a renowned Italian architect and antiquary, presents striking portraits and brief biographies of each of the 118 emperors and rulers from Julius Caesar to the recently deceased Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (r. 1519–1556). The individualized woodcut portrait medallions by Hans Rudolf Manuel Deutsch (1525–1571) and Rudolf Wyssenbach (active 1545–1560) derive from drawings of antique coins and medals originally made by Strada for the Augsburg banker and collector Hans Jakob Fugger (1516–1575). Each biography was printed on the reverse of the ruler’s portrait. Trajan (r. 98–117), shown here, faces the biography of the preceding emperor, Nerva, his adoptive father. This lavish book may have been intended as a tribute to Strada’s patron, Ferdinand I of Austria, elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1558 after his brother Charles V. The intricate arabesque ornamental frames around the text are by Peter Flötner (1490–1546), whose designs were frequently used as pattern sources for the decoration of fashionable majolica, textiles, glass, and furniture.

and

Trajan 98-117

Bronze sestertius 103-11, mint of Rome

Numismatic Collection; on loan from the Princeton University Art Museum, from the bequest of Ernest T. DeWald, class of 1916.

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Title:
  • Imperatorum Romanorum omnium orientalium et occidentalium verissimae imagines ex antiquis numismatis quam fidelissime delineatae : addita cuiusque vitae descriptione ex Thesauro Iacobi Stradae et per brevi elogio uniuscuiusque carmine, quod quasi epitome est historiae, ad iuuandam memoriam.
Language:
  • Latin
Call number:
  • Oversize CJ985 .S87 1559f
Extent:
  • [6], 118, [2] leaves : portraits ; 48 cm.
Format:
  • Book
Type:
  • Portraits
Description:
  • Large woodcut medallion portraits of emperors and rulers within ornamental borders, each signed "R W" (quill pen symbol) and "HR MD" (wood engraver's knife symbol). Each portrait accompanied by a brief biography of its subject.
  • Woodcut printer's device on title-page and (in a different form) verso of final leaf. Elaborate woodcut border on title-page and a different border on both sides of leaves [2-5]. Woodcut historiated initials and tail-pieces after each biography.
  • SAX copy: Imperfect: leaves a6 and V6 lacking.
Publisher:
  • Tiguri : Ex Officina Andreae Gesneri, 1559.
Subject:
  • Numismatics—Rome
  • Numismatics—Byzantine Empire
  • Emperors—Rome—Portraits
  • Holy Roman Empire—Kings and rulers—Portraits
  • Portraits
Spatial:
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • Africa, North
  • Mediterranean Region; Mediterranean Sea
Created:
  • 1559-01-01T00:00:00Z
Date:
  • 1559
Location:
  • Marquand Library Oversize CJ985 .S87 1559f
Identifier:
  • ark:/88435/r207tt273
Edm rights:
  • No Known Copyright
Engraver:
  • Manuel, Hans Rudolf, 1525-1571
Artist:
  • Wyssenbach, Rudolf
Local identifier:
  • dcl:hc7
Creator:
  • Strada, Jacobus, 1507-1588
Author:
  • Strada, Jacobus, 1507-1588
Printer:
  • Gessner, Andreas, 1513-1559
References:
  • Adams S1919
  • Catalogo ragionato dei libri d'arte e d'antichità posseduti dal conte Cicognara 3019
Provenance:
  • SAX copy: Bookplate of Arthur & Charlotte Vershbow.
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