1812 ❧ A dazzling display of micro engraving. COATE, SAMUEL. Poikilographia, or Various S...

1812 ❧ A dazzling display of micro engraving. COATE, SAMUEL. Poikilographia, or Various Specimens of Ornamental Penmanship. London: Published for the Author, 1812. Large 8vo (345 x 222 mm). Engraved frontispiece portrait and 23 engraved plates. Rebound in 1/4 calf and marbled boards, new endpapers and tissue guards. FIRST EDITION. A really dazzling display of virtuoso engraving and a very rare book. Each plate displays a wide variety of styles, alphabets and languages (including Hebrew, Greek, Anglo-Saxon) and a robust collection of flourishes, vignettes and culs de lampes. In one virtuoso display, the Lord's Prayer is engraved on a ?' square tablet; the letters in DEUS EST AMOR are formed by a microscopic rendition of Corinthians 13; in the Decalogue plate, the entire text of the ten commandments forms a Hebrew word, and the Hebrew text is engraved on the two tablets of Moses. Most of the texts and the images are taken from the Bible. Not mentioned in Heal's English Writing Masters; Bonacini lists only the Jones 1830 reprint. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing