Dzieło Vesaliusa w oprawie Mistrza Dawida a problem początków księgozbioru króla Zygmunta Augusta

Abstract

VESALIUS’ WORK IN MASTER DAVID’S BINDING AND THE BEGINNINGS OF KING SIGISMUND AUGUSTUS’ BOOK COLLECTION

The article focuses on a copy of Andreas Vesalius’ famous work De humani corporis fabrica libri septem Basel, J. Oporinus, 1543, currently kept in the Wrocław Ossolineum. The authors examine first of all the fate of the book from the 16th century till the present, an analysis facilitated by e.g. Sylwester Roguski’s ownership note placed on the title page in 1586. Next, they analyse the binding made in Master David’s Kraków workshop. The analysis suggests that the book was purchased and then bound for Sigismund Augustus between 1543 and 1547. Consequently, it appears as the only known book from the king’s collection before it began to be systematically expanded in 1547 on a large scale.