LUYKEN (Jean). THEATRE DES MARTYRS. Depuis la mort de J. Chr - Lot 58

LUYKEN (Jean). THEATRE DES MARTYRS. Depuis la mort de J. Christ Jusqu'à présent représenté en très belles tailles-douces, Leiden, Pierre Vander Aa, s.d (circa 1700). 1 volume in-4° oblong, half basane (19th century binding). 116 etchings including frontispiece depicting scenes, illustrating the martyrdom of Christians, from Christ to 1685, in a remarkable suite of copper plates, all captioned in French and Dutch, engraved by the Dutchman Jean Luyken. "They show appalling plates containing all the torments that the madness of religions has invented, plates where the spectacle of human suffering screamed, bodies browned on braziers, skulls decapitated with sabers, trepanned with nails, notched with saws..." (Huysmans). Fine intact proofs with wide margins. From the libraries of Viollet-Le-Duc (cat. no. 76) - Ricardo de Hérédia (cat. no. 875) - Van Der Helle (cat. no. 344), with bookplates. Worn binding, spine missing.