The UB launches the fifth edition of Sponsor a Book to restore three 16th-century bibliographic treasures
The books selected for the 2025 edition are very diverse in subject — religious, technical and literary — but share an exceptional bibliographic and artistic value.
The books selected for the 2025 edition are very diverse in subject — religious, technical and literary — but share an exceptional bibliographic and artistic value.
A unique Bible, between art and liturgy
The first volume is the Bíblia sacra, printed in Antwerp in 1583 by Christophe Plantin, one of the most important printers of the European Renaissance. It is a majestic edition, in folio format and profusely illustrated with burin engravings, including 94 biblical scenes and five large folded prints with maps of the world and the Holy Land. Some engravers are leading names of the period, such as Crispin van den Broeck, Jean Sadeler and Johan Wierix.
This edition of the Bible, heir to the critical revision of the Vulgate by theologians at the Catholic University of Louvain, was published by Plantin thanks to Philip II’s financial support, despite the fact that the printer supported the Dutch rebellion against the Spanish monarchy. The volume is part of the collection from the Carthusian monastery of Santa Maria de Montalegre (Tiana), as shown by an old topographical signature. It also includes interesting handwritten signs for liturgical use — such as marginal letters, reading indications or signs in red — which probably date from the 17th century and reveal the active use made by the Carthusian monks.
The world of trades, masterfully illustrated
The second piece is De omnibus iliberalibus sive mechanicis artibus… liber (Frankfurt, 1574), a book that offers a visual and textual overview of more than one hundred trades and professions present in the bourgeois cities of the 16th century. This is a Latin edition with 132 high-quality woodcuts showing craftsmen, tradesmen and workers in full activity, surrounded by their tools and everyday scenes. In addition to its artistic value, the book is a first-rate documentary source for the history of work and urban life in modern times.
The edition is the result of a collaboration between the printer and engraver Sigmund Feyerabend, the prolific illustrator Jost Amman and the humanist Hartmann Schopper, who adapted the explanatory verses accompanying the engravings into Latin. The copy at the UB probably comes from the convent of Sant Josep in Barcelona, through the bequest of José Jerónimo Besora, and contains interesting handwritten annotations, including Catalan translations of the names of the trades made in the 17th century.
Virgil illustrated: a classic through images
The third work is an edition of the Opera Vergiliana printed in Lyon in 1517 by Jacques Sacon. The volume brings together Virgil’s Bucolics, Georgics and Aeneid, and incorporates a rich critical apparatus with humanist commentaries and a preface by Cristoforo Landino. The edition stands out for its numerous accompanying woodcuts, inherited from the famous Strasbourg edition of 1502, by Sebastian Brant.
The woodcuts, attributed to what is known as the master of the Grüninger workshop, are of great detail and considerable size, and depict scenes adapted to the imagery and cultural context of northern Europe at the beginning of the Renaissance. Thus, the classical figures are dressed in medieval costumes or with exotic elements such as turbans, and the landscapes are reminiscent of Germanic cities and forests. All of this forms a visual interpretation of Virgil’s texts with a clearly teaching and learning intention.
A consolidated campaign, a living heritage
The campaign launches on 22 April on the website. Contributions can be made directly from this portal, and sponsors can benefit from tax advantages depending on their contribution.
In addition, the University offers donors a series of cultural rewards, such as UB CRAI merchandising products, guided tours of the Rare Book and Manuscript CRAI Library, the restoration workshop and the Digitisation Centre (CEDI), and tickets to concerts in the Historic Building’s Paranymph Hall.
The Sponsor a Book campaign has become an annual event to contribute to the conservation and dissemination of the University’s cultural heritage. In the 2024 edition, thanks to the contributions of 96 people, the economic objective was exceeded and three works of great value were restored: a Flemish edition of Quevedo’s Obras, a volume of plates of Diderot’s Encyclopaedia and the second volume of Nicolas de Fer’s the Atlas curieux.
With this new call for collaboration, the UB invites everyone to help make it possible for three new bibliographic treasures to once again shine in all their splendour and be made available to the public thanks to digitization. Sponsoring a book is also a way of living and sharing culture.
La campanya Apadrina un llibre es consolida com una cita anual per contribuir a la conservació i la difusió del patrimoni cultural de la Universitat. En l’edició de 2024, gràcies a les aportacions de 96 padrins, es va superar l’objectiu econòmic i es van restaurar tres obres de gran valor: una edició flamenca de les Obras de Quevedo, un volum de planxes de l’Encyclopédie de Diderot i el segon volum de l’Atlas curieux de Nicolas de Fer.
Amb aquesta nova crida a la col·laboració, la UB convida tothom a fer possible que tres nous tresors bibliogràfics tornin a lluir amb tot el seu esplendor i es posin a l’abast del públic gràcies a la digitalització. Apadrinar un llibre és, també, una manera de viure i compartir la cultura.