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Centum fabulae, 1566

in The Plantin Press Online

(545 words)

Record ID cp013114
Voet reference number 1162
Museum Plantin-Moretus
Author Gabriël FAERNUS (FAERNO)
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Note 1 Plantin printed in 1566 his first edition of Faernus's Centum fabulae, illustrated with 100 woodcuts. No copy known (RDB, page 47, 1565, no. 12, mentions a 1565-publication, without giving references; he can have confused with the 1566- or the 1567-edition).
Note 2 The cost-accounting note in Arch. 4, folio 101, gives the following details about 'fabulae 100 faërni': the entry is noted down on 8 September 1566; the printing of the 5½ sheets (i.e. 176 pages) cost 11 florins Carolus guilders 10 stuivers For the printing of the 1,600 copies 18 reams 5 'mains' of 'papier grand carré' were used, which, at 1 florins Carolus guilders 12 stuivers per ream, came to 29 florins Carolus guilders 4 stuivers, bringing the overall costs to 40 florins Carolus guilders 14 stuivers 'Qui est pièce ½ stuivers'. This means that the costs for making the illustrations were not taken into consideration.
Note 3 Details about these illustrations, copied from the 1563 Rome-edition, are given in other ledgers. The drawings of the 100 wood-blocks were executed by Pieter van der Borcht who received 6 stuivers a piece, i.e. 30 florins Carolus guilders for the entire job (cf. Arch. 3, folio 41, under the date of 29 December 1565: '…J'ay faict faire passé long temps les figures de la seconde partie des Emblesmes de Sambuc et des 100 fables de faernus en vers latins imprimées à Rome à Pierre vande[n] Borcht painctre à Malines qui sont en nombre 155 à 6 [stuivers] la pièce'; cf. also Arch. 36, folio 105, at the date of 28 February 1566). The woodcuts were executed by Arnold Nicolai and Gerard Janssen van Kampen. The latter was paid on 22 January 1567 (for 1566?) 12 florins Carolus guilders 8 stuivers for '18 fig[ures] de fabulae Aesopi fabulae faerni [= meaning very likely 18 'figures' of the Fabulae Faerni]' at 14 stuivers a piece (Arch. 31, folio 77). The remaining 82 woodcuts must have been made by Arnold Nicolai, who received 15 stuivers a piece (Plantin noted on 15 March 1566 the payment of 3 florins Carolus guilders for 4 'fig[ures] des 100 fables de Faernus': Arch. 31, folio 52; the other entries of payments made to Nicolai in those months are rather confusing and not very explicit, but that Nicolai cut the larger part of the blocks can easily be deduced from the fact that no less than 64 blocks bear his monogram: see following no.). This means that the total costs for the illustration amounted to 104 florins Carolus guilders 2 stuivers (drawings: 30 florins Carolus guilders; woodcuts: 74 florins Carolus guilders 2 stuivers).
Note 4 A copy was mailed to de Çayas on 19 December 1566 (Corr., I, no. 21, page 54).
Note 5 A single edition of Faernus's Fabulae is listed in Ms. 296, folio 6v (Fabulȩ Centum Gab. faerni, 16⁰, f[euilles] 5½, [price:] stuivers 2½), and M 164, folio 13v, which can refer to any of the editions published by Plantin.
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