July 2014 |
16th- and 17th-Century Selfies

How did the booksellers devise such a unique format for a rare book catalogue? Waylaid for eight hours during a recent trip to London, McKittrick and Andrew Gaub batted around ideas for their next list. Gaub suggested a focus on portraits, and "selfies" quickly came to mind. With the help of their assistant, Kiley Samz, and their printer, Scott Vile of Ascensius Press, who designed the final piece, they produced three catalogues with six "selfies" each and released them over a four-week period.


Above: Carlo Luigi Riccardi, in an etched frontispiece from his 1783 Descrizione Del Luogo Di Grugliasco.
Right: Denis Fournier, in a full-page engraved portrait from his [1678] L' Anatomie Pacifique Nouvelle Et Curieuse.
Images: Courtesy of Bruce McKittrick Rare Books.