Franzini, Girolamo.

Palatia procerum Romanae urbis. Rome, 1599, 96 leaves
Templa deo, et sanctis eius Romae dicata. Rome, 1599, 96 leaves
Icones statuarum antiquarum urbis Romae. Rome, 1599, 112 leaves



Together 4 volumes bound in 2, 16mo (100 x 74mm.), 4 titles with woodcut vignettes, 388 full-page woodcut illustrations with captions, eighteenth-century citron morocco gilt, gilt edges

Jesuit College in Paris, faded inscription on Templa title-page

Fine and complete copies of these rare works. No comparable copies have appeared at auction in over 30 years (the Kissner copy, sold at Christies, 3 October 1990, lot 150, described as "unusually complete", lacked 38 illustrations).

"These Franzini blocks were extremely popular and used for the illustration of many guides to Rome for more than a hundred years. Many of the prints in these volumes were however never used elsewhere, and they form an important record of the monuments, palaces and churches that could be seen in Rome at the end of the 16th century" (Kissner Collection of Books on Rome).