Edward Benlowes’ Theophila (1652), a 268-page poem in Latin and English, is a remarkable book for
several reasons. It is said that no two copies of
the Theophila are identical. Benlowes installed a rolling press,
necessary for engraving and etchings, in his house in Brent Hall in
Essex, and copies of the book were made up as individual presentation
copies, varying in the order in which the prints appeared and in the
number of illustrations in each copy.
Not only are
no two copies of the book the same, no copy of Theophila survives in
good condition. Benlowes’ insertion of plates, some of which were
originally intended for other publications, and some simply too big for
the volume, made the book unstable and the sewing
and binding were invariably compromised. Our copy is typical.
Benlowes’ gold tooled armorial stamp remains on the front and back
covers but the leather on the spine has deteriorated and the sewing is
starting to unravel.
Also of some note, the book contains a striking series of etchings by Francis Barlow (1626?-1704), the first master of English book illustration. Barlow’s illustrations, the best of which trace the mystical progress of the soul, are in the tradition of the emblem book, but are both more complex and more naturalistic than typical emblematic imagery. They are among the greatest of interpretive book illustrations and like all good illustrations are exquisite in their design and also challenging and unsettling in their impact. The image of a woman representing winter was originally intended for Wenceslaus Hollar’s set 'The Four Seasons' of 1644 but she has an erotic charge and a seductive quality as well as a sense of foreboding and mystery that are ultimately disturbing.
the embracing Adam and Eve making up the letter A,
and the coy couple N.
The letter M however, leaves something to be desired.