Lutzenbur Gensis Ducatus Veriss Descript[io]

Map of Luxembourg taken from Lodovico Guicciardini's Descrittione di tutti I Paesi Bassi, printed in Antwerp by Plantin in 1581.

Lodovico Guicciardini (1521-1589), an Italian writer and merchant originally from Florence, arrived in Antwerp in 1541 and lived there until his death in 1589. His best-known work, the Descrittione di tutti I Paesi Bassi, was published in 1567 by the Antwerp publisher Willem Silvius. It was an influential account of the history and arts of the Netherlands, accompanied by maps of cities made by several leading engravers. It was a great success from the beginning, and many editions, translations, excerpts and adaptations have been published to date. In the first edition of the three original Italian publications of the Descrittione, Guicciardini describes the happy and prosperous Netherlands before the revolt against Spain. Only in the third Italian edition of 1588, published by Plantijn in Antwerp, does he show how the state of the country gradually changed because of the war. This was the last edition published in Antwerp. In 1589 both Plantin and Guicciardini died. It would have to wait until 1609 to see a new edition published in the northern Netherlands. As new editions appeared, the number of illustrations increased and some prints were replaced by others. The first four editions had mainly woodcuts, most of which covered the Southern Netherlands. In later editions only copperplates were used for an increasing number of engravings of cities and regions throughout the Netherlands.

Etching, in good condition.

Bibliography

Van der Vekene, Les Cartes Géographiques du Duché de Luxembourg. Editées aux XVIe, XVIIe, et XVIIIe siècles. Catalogue descriptif et illustré, no. 1.03; Guicc. Ill., Luxembourg-hertogdom 1.1.