Deutsche und Osterreichische Exlibris 1500-1599

The British Museum holds the world's largest collection of bookplates, but only the British and American ex-libris have so far been published. This catalogue, written in German, describes for the first time the outstanding collection of sixteenth-century German and Austrian bookplates in the Museum, mainly from the bequests of A.W. Franks and M. Rosenheim. Over five hundred ex-libris are listed and reproduced, including many that can be attributed to artists like Albrecht Dyrer, Hans Burgkmair, Lucas Cranach, Jost Amman, Hans Sibmacher and Matthias Zyndt. The different types of bookplate, including copies, reproductions using later printing techniques and new works in the style of earlier artists, are discussed in detail. The nineteenth-century fashion of collecting bookplates as works of art is also considered.