Booked early

You can admire these books yourself in the university library on the city campus, near the front desk on the ground floor, during the opening hours of the library. The exhibition will be active from the 12^th of February to the 18^th of April 2026. Every book is fully digitized and can be viewed on the library's digital platform. On this website, you can read about the 6 incunabels featured in this exhibition. 

This project was realized by the staff of the Special Collections and the staff of Public Services at the city campus: Jolien Cuyvers, Jef De Ridder, Maartje De Wilde, Björn Rzoska, Victorine Van Mieghem en Jana Wabbes.

Our sincerest thanks goes out to the anonymous donor, to the godparents of these books (John Arblaster, Pierre Delsaerdt, Lisa Demets, Christian Laes, Sanne Mouha and Herman Van Goethem), to the Departments of Transport and Infrastructure of the University of Antwerp, and to the staff of the Heritage Library Hendrik Conscience. 

What is so special about incunabula?

Incunabula are the books printed before 1501, so they are the oldest printed books in Western tradition. These earliest printed books are a witness to one of the most important and influential inventions of the era: the printing press that uses movable type, which was invented by Johannes Gutenberg around 1450. The new technique quickly spread through Europe. These incunabula offer a unique glimpse into both process and product innovation of the late Middle Ages, a revolution that enabled the quick spread of knowledge to an ever-growing audience. Books could be quickly fabricated and promptly sold to a wider audience, wheras the industry previously relied on the slow, expensive and time-consuming process of copying a text manually.  Bookmaking suddenly became both more economical and more sustainable. This history also made incunabula a sought-after collectible early on. So, many things to be excited about!

Aurelius Augustinus, De civitate Dei. With commentary by Thomas Waleys and Nicolaus Trivet. Leuven: Johannes of Westfalen, 14^th of October 1488. 

University of Antwerp, University Library, Special Collections: MAG-P 15.544.

Proud godparent: John Arblaster, director and associate professor at the Ruusbroec Society.

"The importance of Augustinus cannot possibly be overestimated." (John Arblaster)

The importance of Augustinus is exemplified in Joe Biden’s inaugural speech, where he quoted book 19, chapter 24 of De civitate Dei. Here, Augustinus describes how the people are united around the objects they adore. 

Church father Augustinus describes his magnus opus as “the battle between the transitory, earthly city and the eternal city of God”. With the fall of Rome fresh in his memory, Augustinus wrote the 22 parts of the De civitate Dei between 413 and 426 and the text became pivotal for the development of Christian theology.

This edition dates from 1488 and is printed in the southern Low Countries by Johannes of Westfalen, who first collaborated with Dirk Martens, who became the first printer of the region. Then, Westfalen independently set up shop in the budding university city of Leuven. This specific edition contains the comments of two 13^th century theologists: Nicholas Trivet and Thomas Waleys. It is the only edition of that time printed in Leuven and only 3 copies remain in Belgium. In total only 24 known copies remain.

In the first half century, printers heavily experimented with the format of their books. Part of the craft still relied on the tradition of manuscripts. For example, title pages did not appear until years later, early printed books just started their text on the first page (or the ‘incipit’), and the bibliographical information only appeared in the back (called the ‘colophon’). These printers also thought about the organisation of information, so they formed tables of contents to guide the reader through the text. This edition still lacks pagination or foliation, but worry not. Owners often provided their own.

Typical for a text like this, this incunable is designed to fit both the base text and the 13^th century comments is printed around in a different font size.

Reading list:

• Fr. David Vincent Meconi, S.J. (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Augustine's City of God. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021.
• Severin Corsten, "Johann von Westfalen", from: Neue Deutsche Biographie, Bd. 10 (1974), Berlin, Duncker und Humblot, pp. 575-576. Consulted on the 4th of February 2026.

Jacobus Philippus de Bergamo [or Giacomo Filippo Foresti], Supplementum chronicarum. Brescia: Boninus de Boninis, 1^st of December 1485.

University of Antwerp, University Library, Special Collections: MAG-P 14.1083.

Proud godparent: historian Lisa Demets. 

"This chronicle is a universal chronicle and in fact, that way of 'doing history' is becoming hip again. Think of Harari, for example, who wrote Sapiens." (Lisa Demets)

The Supplementum chronicarum combines aspects of an encyclopaedia and a chronicle, since it contains both a chronological timeline and clarifications of certain subjects. This 1485 copy is part of the second print run of this popular world chronicle. From 1503 on, this book would be published under the name Novissimae hystoriarum omnium repercussiones. This edition, printed in Brescia by Bonino de Boninis (1454-1528), a pioneering Croatian bookmaker, who provided the text with a vertical line in the margins to indicate the chronological nature.

The composer editor, Jacobus Philippus Foresti (1434-1520), was an Augustinian monk who resided in the abbey of Bergamo. However, producing a chronicle of this size is not a one-man job. Foresti drew from the works of Vincent van Beauvais (ca. 1184-1264), Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) and Antonio Pierozzi (or Antonius van Firenze, 1389-1459). The Supplementum chronicarum contains different tables of contents for this reason, to credit where credit is due. Interesting about this edition is that Foresti knew to cite various Arab scholars, and that he provided a separate table for important women, something which he copied from Boccaccio. These pages provide the reader with a convenient tool to navigate the information in this sizable book.

This copy is decorated with various colorful initials (also called Lombards) in red and blue inks, chosen by the owner to replace the printed guard letters. About a hundred known copies of this edition survives, only three of which reside in Belgium. Interestingly, the handwritten provenance suggests that this book at one time belonged to Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn (1545-1617), prince-bishop of Würzburg.

Reading list:

• Wim François, 'Foresti's World Chronicle' from: Manuscripts & Precious Books in the Maurits Sabbe Library – KU Leuven. Leuven: Peeters, 2019, 38-39.

Eusebius Caesariensis (e.a.), Chronicon id est temporum breviarium. Venice: Erhard Ratdolt, 1483.

University of Antwerp, University Library, Special Collections: MAG-P 13.2091.

Proud godparent: book historian Pierre Delsaerdt.

"The tabular sections are a testament to Ratdolt’s mastery of the printing press." (Pierre Delsaerdt)

This donation contains three historic texts: the Ab Urbe Condita and two chronicles or historic overviews. These are interesting to contextualize which events make it into the history books. Both works, printed only thirty years after Johannes Gutenberg’s death, make special mention to the invention of the printing press. These printers made an effort to include both the ancient and the recent.

The Chronicon id est temporum breviarium was written at the start of the fourth century by Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea (modern day Palestine), who was councilor of Roman emperor Constantine the Great. This specific copy only contains the second part of the original work, translated into Latin. This part contains a list of data poured into what we now recognize to be an excel sheet and it spans the time between the birth of Abraham and 1481, which is only three years before it was printed.

Erhard Ratdolt, originally from Bavaria, is part of a tradition of German printers that exported their craft into the rest of Europe. He landed in Venice, a pivotal city for trade and culture. Ratdolt became a true innovator because he experimented with the form of his texts, which required different printing techniques. Scientific texts became Ratdolt’s specialty, as he printed the 'editio princeps' of Euclides' Elementa geometriae, which sported printed geometric shapes in the margins.

The printed lines in black and red were a testament to the Ratdolt’s bravura, because this technique must have required enormous expertise in such a budding industry, not to mention how long it must have taken. Though the proof is in the pudding, the red text effectively emphasizes the most important events, such as the birth of Jesus.

This copy obviously saw some use. Marginalia sporadically decorate the margins, like this instance where a previous owner marked the death of the prophet Mohammed. There are 256 known copies of this edition in the world, of which only one in Belgium (Louvain-La-Neuve).

Reading list:

• "Erhard Ratdolt, 1486-1524", from: Christoph Reske (ed.), Die Buchdrucker des 16. und 17. Jahrhundert im deutschen Sprachgebiet : auf der Grundlage des gleichnamigen Werkes von Josef Benzing. Wiesbaden: Harrasowitz Verlag, 2015, 29-30.
• Ch. Reske, "De Venise à Augsbourg: Erhardt Ratdolt, un imprimeur d'exception", from: Alain Mercier (ed.), Les trois révolutions du livre: catalogue de l'exposition du Musée des arts et métiers, 8 octobre - 5 janvier 2003. Paris: Imprimerie nationale, 2002, 188-195.

Antonius Gazius, Corona florida medicinae, sive De conservatione sanitatis. Venice: Giovanni and Gregorio di Gregori, 20^th of June 1491. 

University of Antwerp, University Library, Special Collections: MAG-P 14.1082.

Proud godparent: dietician Sanne Mouha.

"I nicknamed this book the floral wreath, because I composed it from different older florilegia." (Antonius Gazius)

Not much is known about Antonius Gazius (aka Gadius or Antonio Gazio), except that he lived in the north of Italy and that he studied medicine at the University of Padua before he travelled Europe to practice his craft. He wrote several medical texts, but his most successful one was the Corona florida medicinae, a medical text about how to lead a healthy life. In over 300 chapters, Gazius preaches about sleep, exercise, sex and hygiene, but above all he wrote about nutrition. What are the qualities of each food type, how should you cook it and how much is too much? He mentions all kinds of vegetables, meats, herbs, milk and (crucially) wine.

His work is a compilation of popular Western texts and different Jewish and Arab texts, which he cites by separating them into four groups:

• physicians like Galenus and Hippocrates, but also lesser-known names like Petrus de Abano, a 13^th century Italian doctor and Haliabas, a Spanish doctor with Moorish heritage; 
• philosophers like Maimonides, Plato, Aristoteles, Augustinus and Boëthius; 
• poets like Ovid and Vergil;
• theologians like apostles Paulus and Johannes, as well as church fathers Ambrosius and Augustinus.

This edition is the only printed edition of the Corona florida medicinae in the 15^th century, though it was reprinted many times later on. We still know about 121 copies worldwide, but only one resides in Belgium (in the Royal Library of Belgium, in Brussels).

This copy bears the remnants of different previous owners, the most notable being this beautiful family shield. This green and silver crest is thought to be that of the Brescian Feroldi family, which is one of the oldest families of the city. The crest itself dates from the 18th century, though the family's connections to Brescia far predates that.

Reading list:

• ​Wina Born, Eten door de eeuwen: de geschiedenis van de culinaire cultuur. Baarn: Bosch en Keuning, 1989.

Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita. Translated by Giovanni Boccaccio and with a treatise about the Punic wars by Leonardo Bruni. Venice: Giovanni Rosso, commissioned by Lucantonio Giunta, 11^th of Febuary 1493.

University of Antwerp, University Library, Special Collections: MAG-P 14.1084.

Proud godparent: classicist and historian of the ancient world Christian Laes.

“Titus Livius is the creator of the story of Rome, the canon of Rome.” (Christian Laes)

The roman historian Titus Livius (59 BC – 17 AD) didn’t imagine a purely historic account when writing his monumental Ab Urbe Condita (‘Since founding the city’), but a piece of literary prose about the glory of Roman society: the story of grand emperors, successful generals and rulers of the Mare Nostrum. It is important to remember that Livius was commissioned to write the Ab Urbe Condita by emperor August, so this text was not only heavily biased, but his history was also unambiguously used as propaganda to consolidate the emperor’s position and to market the canon we still know by heart today.

However, Livius left his work unfinished, the story ends in the year 9 AD. Though his book still consists of 142 books (more like scrolls), which were only partially preserved. Livius’ work was, in the end, composed of 10 of those books, called ‘decades’. This collation of ‘decades’ is what you will find in this 1493 edition, printed by Giovanni Rossi for Lucantonio Giunta. It is not the first print of Livius’ work, but the fourth, a testament to the authority of this text.

This edition of the Ab Urbe Condita is printed in two columns of 63 lines, and it is illustrated with many woodcuts of various quality. Some of these wood cuts were recycled from the Malermi-bible, printed by Giunta in 1490. A clever and economical use of resources. The copy that is part of this exhibition is the only one known in Belgium right now. A truly remarkable object.

Reading list:

• Lorenzo dell'Oso, 'Reopening a Question of Attribution: Programmatic Notes on Boccaccio and the Translation of Livy', from: Heliotropia: Forum for Boccaccio Research and Interpretation. 10:1-2 (2013), 1-16.
• William A. Pettas, The Giunti of Florence: A Renaissance Printing and Publishing Family: a History of the Florentine Firm and a Catalogue of the Editions. New Castle, Del.: Oak Knoll Press, 2013, 1-9.
• Massimo Ceresa, "Giunti, Lucantonio, il Vecchio", from: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 57 (2001). Consulted on the 4th of February 2026.

Bartholomaeus Rimbertinus (1402–1466). De deliciis sensibilibus Paradisi. [Composed with:] HENRICUS DE FRIMARIA (ca. 1245–1340). De quattuor instinctibus. Venice: Jacobus Pentius de Leuco, for Lazarus de Soardis, 25^th of October 1498.

University of Antwerp, University Library, Special Collections: MAG-P 12.2762.​

Proud godparent: historian and jurist Herman Van Goethem.

“The afterlife is crucially important to the Catholic faith. Rimbertinus explains how the senses could work in heaven, in the Earthly Paradise. The scents of paradise are the most exalted that a person could imagine.” (Herman Van Goethem)

In the second half of the 15^th century, people’s imaginings around death evolved. Previously, the average Christian did not ponder the afterlife, so the more skilful preachers brought heaven closer to them and turned abstraction into the concrete: scents, tastes, images, music and caresses. That is the tradition that Florentine Bartolomeo de' Rimbertini (1402-1466) mastered. He managed to speak to the hopes and minds of large audiences with elaborate sermons which sparked the imagination of many. And this De deliciis sensibilibus Paradisi did just that; it visualized paradise.

This copy belongs to the ‘editio princeps’, printed in Venice in 1498 by Giacomo Penzio and Lazzaro de Soardi. The text itself circulated in various manuscripts, but a printed edition enabled the ideas within to spread fast and wide. This combined work also contains the De quattuor instinctibus, a popular text by Augustine Henricus of Freimar about the discernment of the soul. This editon concludes with this remarkable woodcut depicting the printer's emblem.

There is only one other known print run of this text, produced in Paris in 1514. The incunable print is therefore rather rare. Only 49 other copies are known worldwide, and this one is currently the first and only one in Belgium. A truly remarkable find.

Reading list:

• Laura Ștefănescu, '"De voluptate aurium": The sounds of heaven in a 1501 sensory treatise on the afterlife,' from: Renaissance Studies : Journal of the Society for Renaissance Studies. 38:4 (2023), 595-629.

Three books in this collection contain the ex-libris of a certain Eugene Somer Flamm:

• Eusebii Caesariensis episcopi Chronicon id est temporum breviarium 

• Supplementum chronicarum 

• Corona florida medicinae, sive: De conservatione sanitatis 

Flamm is an American neurosurgeon whose love for books is undeniable, especially incunables. What else would you call a person who reportedly once sold his Porsche 365B to buy a Vesalius edition? We imagine that as a true New Yorker, Flamm would have gladly foregone his car for such an opportunity. The New York traffic is untenable anyway. But books? Books are a must!

The ex-libris shows hieroglyphs in a red cartouche and a Latin saying: “Vivitur ingenio, caetera mortis erunt” (“Genius lives on, the rest is mortal” or “The mind lives on, the rest belongs to death”), a quote associated with Vesalius. Flamm seemingly built his collection with this thought in mind, which is fitting because what was once cutting-edge science, will one day merely be consigned to the history books. A beautiful and humble motto to have for such a prominent physician.