Virgil Solis' double-sided woodcuts: “St Matthew" & “St Mark”, 1560

Virgil Solis (1514–1562)

Double-sided woodcut: (Recto) “St Matthew the Evangelist (Matt. 1)”; (Verso) “St Mark the Evangelist (Mark 1)”;  (TIB titles), 1560 (and 1562 with the strapwork border as shown here), from the series of 220 woodcuts in woodcut borders by Vigil Solis, published in 1562 by Sigmund Feierabend (1528–1590) in Frankfurt and printed by Johann Rasch (fl.1556–1562) and David Zöpfel (aka David Zephelius) (fl.c.1555–1563), as illustrations to “Biblische Figuren des Alten Testaments / Biblische Figuren des Neuwen Testaments”.

Archive.org offers an online view of these prints in their context in the publication: https://archive.org/details/VirgilSolisBible1562/page/n117/mode/2up.    

Regarding the publication in which these prints feature, the Curator of the British Museum advises: “The first edition was published in 1560. [This print with its strapwork frame features in] the second, enlarged edition, with 74 new images and woodcut borders from the 1561 Bible. The New Testament part is wrongly dated 1552 on the title-page” (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1870-0625-191-411). Note that the title page to the edition of shown by Archive.org shows the date “MDLXII” (1562): https://archive.org/details/VirgilSolisBible1562/page/n115/mode/2up. 

Woodcuts printed on both sides of laid paper trimmed with a small margin around the strapwork borderline and backed with a support sheet with a window so that each side of the sheet may be seen.

Size: (sheet) 14.2 x 16.9 cm.

“St Matthew the Evangelist (Matt. 1)” lettered with the artist's initials at lower left, "V", and at lower right, "S"; and showing the initials of the publisher on tablet at lower centre, "S.F.".  

“St Mark the Evangelist (Mark 1)” lettered with the artist's monogram at lower right, "VS".

TIB 19 (Part 1) 1.103 and 1.104 (Jane S Peters & Walter L Strauss [eds.] 1987, “The Illustrated Bartsch: German Masters of the Sixteenth Century”, vol. 19 [Part 1], p. 336).

Condition: strong and well-printed impressions showing very few signs of wear to the printing plate, trimmed around the strapwork borderline(s) with small margins and laid onto a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper that is window-cut allowing both sides of the sheet to be seen. The sheet is in an excellent condition with no tears, holes, folds or significant stains.

I am selling this superb double-sided leaf of woodcuts for a total cost of AU$227 (currently US$151.73/EUR137.28/GBP120.85 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this small but visually arresting double-sided leaf of woodcuts, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This sheet of prints has been sold