Seville, En Casa de la Viuda de Nicolas Rodriguez, 1671.. FIRST and ONLY EDITION. Folio (31.2 x 21.2 cm.), contemporary vellum (slightly soiled, repaired, recased, new endleaves). Total of 20 engravings, some folding, many with emblems (see below). Double-rule borders on each page, with ample margins. Crisp and clean, but the plate showing the Giralda with repairs (a bit crude) in upper portion at the fold, affecting the sky. Overall in good condition. (4 ll.), 343 pp., engraved title, 2 engraved portraits, 9 large folding engravings, 9 folio-size engravings. *** FIRST and ONLY EDITION of the finest Spanish festival book of the seventeenth century. Hofer described it as "The best illustrated Iberian book, by all odds, contained in the Harvard Collection." It records the festivities connected with the canonization of D. Fernando III, for which elaborate decorations were made at the Cathedral of Seville - some of them by the important Sevillan artist Juan de Valdés Leal. The portrait of D. Fernando III was engraved from a design by Murillo. The title-page and the portrait of D. Carlos II are after Francisco Herrera. The large plates show several aspects of the exterior of the Cathedral of Seville, decorated for the occasion, as well as the main doorway, the high altar, etc. The smaller engravings, each divided into 4 sections, show emblems and devices. One of these was engraved by Lucas Baldes, age 11 ("Lucas Baldes F. de edad de 11 A's"). The plates were designed by Murillo and Velázquez, and engraved by Matías Arteaga. Fernando III (1199-1252) reigned as King of Castile from 1217, King of León from 1230, and King of Galicia from 1231, securing the permanent union of the crowns of Castile and León. He annexed Seville and Córdoba back to Spain - the most substantial territorial gains to that point in the Reconquista. Fernando died in Seville and was buried in the cathedral there by his son and successor, D. Alfonso X (el Sabio). He lies in a gold-and-crystal casket through which his face can still be seen. Fernando III was canonized in 1671 by Pope Clement X, and has since been known as Fernando el Santo, San Fernando, or San Fernando Rey. *** Palau 335597. Hofer 86. Praz 397. Campa, Emblemata Hispanica Z29. El Libro de Arte en España nº 82. Escudero 1736. Vindel 2987. Simón Díaz, Impressos del siglo XVII 1304 (calling for 7 preliminary leaves, no doubt in error, because the preliminary matter, described in meticulous detail, agrees with that in our copy; moreover, all other bibliographies agree with our collation - perhaps the error was influenced by Escudero, who says 7 preliminary leaves, but counts as 3 of these leaves the engraved title, the engraved portrait of D. Fernando III, and that of D. Carlos II). See also E. Garvey, "Francisco Herrera the Younger: A Drawing for a Spanish Festival Book," Harvard Library Bulletin, 1978, 28 ff. Not in Salvá. Heredia 1166, 4978 and 4979. Jisc locates copies in 4 locations (British Library, Glasgow, University of London ULRLS, and 2 at Manchester). NUC: DLC, IaU, NNH, MH, NN, CtY, DFo.
