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The Dr. George Levitine Collection features over 300 rare books dating from the 16th through
19th centuries. These books reflect Professor Levitine’s interest in emblems, iconography and
the interactions between art and society. This selection highlights themes illustrating the
breath and depth of the collection. All rare books in the Dr. George Levitine Collection are
accessible via the Maryland Room, the reading room for the University of Maryland Libraries
Special Collections.
Iconography
Emblemata, et aliqvot nvmmi antiqvi operis, ioan. sambvci.
Antwerp, 1569.
An emblem book produced from the noted press of Christopher Plantin. Plantin first printed
this title in 1564, with subsequent editions appearing in 1566, 1569, 1576, 1584 and 1599.
These frequent reissues, the use of woodcut illustrations and the small format (12 cm.) all
attest to the popularity of emblem books in the Low Countries and beyond. As was typical of
almost all emblem books, the moral lesson or motto is illustrated both via image and verse.
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Iconologie ou la science des emblemes devises, etc.
Amsterdam, 1698.
Cesare Ripa’s seminal work on the study of emblems and other images was first published in
Rome in 1593. Ripa’s enduring influence is evident in this late 17th century edition with a
frontispiece that enshrines Ripa using imagery the author would have undoubtedly appreciated.
The Levitine Collection also includes a mid-18th century Italian edition of Ripa’s work.
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Dictionnaire iconologique ou introduction a la connoissance des peintures, sculptures,
medailles, estampes, etc.
Gotha, 1758.
Produced at a time when the French Encyclopedie set the standard for the Enlightenment goal of
organized knowledge, this iconological dictionary compiled by Honore Lacombe de Prezel was
published in the German city of Gotha. It demonstrates both the cultural dominance of
France in 18th-century Europe and the growing interest in a systematic understanding of art.
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Art & Artists
Abregé de la vie des peintres, avec des reflexions sur leurs ouvrages.
Paris, 1699.
The author, Roger de Piles, was an influential critic who championed the "Rubenist" faction in
the debate over artistic standards of taste in the late 17th century. His triumph over the
"Poussinists" led to his election to the Royal Academy and the wide dissemination of his books.
Culture in absolutist France was closely controlled by a system of government-sanctioned
academies and official patronage in support of works such as this.
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Considérations sur les révolutions des arts.
Paris, 1755.
Guillaume-Alexandre de Mehegan (1721-1766) wrote this analysis of current trends in art at a
time when Enlightenment ideals were challenging official interpretations of good taste in art.
Another example of changing attitudes in the second half of the 18th century is the essay
"Sur l’education des femmes" (On the Education of Women) which is appended to this work.
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Culture & Society
Aphorismes de M. Mesmer.
Paris, 1785.
On the eve of the French Revolution, many were literally entranced by Franz Anton Mesmer’s
theories and demonstrations of animal magnetism. Three Parisian editions of this title and at
least one from provincial France were published in 1785. Robert Darnton has written that
the writings of French mesmerists took on the flavor of revolutionary propaganda in what
became a preview of the collapse of public confidence in all established sources of artistic,
scientific or political authority.
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Notable among the titles in the Dr. George Levitine Collection that document the cultural life
of France in the second half of the 18th century is a full set of Memoires secretes by
Bachaumont and his successors. The Memoires secrets are an important source for
understanding cultural and literary events in the decades preceding the French Revolution.
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