Complete Set of Gessner’s Rare Plates

Gessner, John Jacob. [SPECIMEN REI NUMMARIÆ, CUM PROLEGOMENSIS ET AMPLISSIMA VETERUM NUMISMATUM COLLECTIONE]. NUMISMATA REGUM MACEDONIÆ OMNIA QUÆ LABORIBUS CELL. VIRORUM CROPHII, LAZII, GOLTZII, PATINI, SPANHEMII, HARDUINI, BEGERI, WILDII, HAYMII, LIEBII & C. EX REGIIS ALIISQUE NUMISMATOPHYLAZIIS HACTENUS EDITA SUNT ADDITIS INEDITIS & NONDUM DESCRIPTIS QUOTQUOT COMPARARE LICUIT INTEGRA SERIE HISTORICA TABULIS ÆNEIS REPRÆSENTATA DIGESSIT DESCRIPSIT & NOTIS VARIORUM DOCTISSIMORUM VIRORUM ILLUSTRATA EDIDIT JOHANNES JACOBUS GESSNERUS TIGURINUS. Tiguri: ex Officina Heideggeriana, 1735–1738. Six parts, bound in three volumes. Folio [39.5 by 24.5 cm], later matching full tan morocco, front covers with impressed panels lettered in brown; spines with four raised bands, lettered in brown; brown endpapers. (2), 76, 75–126 printed pages [pages 123–126 misnumbered 223–226 and here corrected in an early hand], followed by engraved pages 227–278. Six finely engraved titles throughout plates: Numismata Graeca Regum atque Virorum Illustrium...; Numismata Graeca Syriae Aegypti et Arsacidarum...; Numismata Graeca Siciliæ, Judææ, Minorum Gentium et Virorum Illustrium...; Numismata Graeca Populorum et Urbium...; Numismata Antiqua Familiarum Romanarum...; and Numismata Antiqua Imperatorum Romanorum Latina et Graeca... 338 engraved plates of ancient coins in all, in several numbered series: [Volume II] 7 + 9 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 3 + 4 + 85 (plus bis plate 19*) = 121 plates; [Volume III] 34 + 183 = 217 plates. Woodcut headpiece and initial. Handwritten Index ad Numismata Regum &c. (4 leaves) and Index ad Numismata Populorum & Urbium (4 leaves) bound into second volume; handwritten Index ad Numismata Imperatorum (1 leaf) bound into third volume. Handwritten note regarding an 1850 Sotheby sale of an incomplete set affixed to binder’s leaf preceding printed title. Printed pages 75–226 [126] trimmed to slightly smaller size. Engraved text pages 279–354 not present. A few stains; binding somewhat rubbed, with scrapes at tail edges. Very good or better. Gessner’s monumental work, with all plates called for in the original publication. Generally known by the title given in brackets at the beginning of this description, it is, as Pinkerton noted, “rare, and, when met with, is very seldom complete” (Essay on Medals [1808], xvii). This set is lacking pages 279–354 of the text. Brunet describes the work well (entry 29698): “Cette collection, qui réunit presque toutes les médailles grecques et romaines connues à l’époque de sa publication, n’est pas fort estimée, parce qu’on y a admis sans critique des médailles fausses ou suspectes, et que d’ailleurs les planches sont médiocrement gravées. Néanmoins, comme les exemplaires complets sont rares, ils conservant une certaine valeur dans le commerce... Le titre de Specimen rei nummariæ, sous lequel ce mière livraison; mais comme chaque partie de l’ouvrage a son titre particular, il se recontre des exemplaires dont le premier titre n’est pas le même que dans les autres.” Brunet’s collation of the plates corresponds exactly to this set: some later bibliographies confuse the matter by including the engraved titles in their collation. Dekesel G91. Graesse 72: “un ouvrage très rare et recherché.” Hirsch 42 & 47. Lipsius 130 & 146–147.