8vo, (250 x 130 mm). 232 ff., including 17 full page engravings. Fine 19th century gold-tooled black morocco by French bookbinder Capé (gold-tooled at the front turn-in) lavishly tooled in a 16th century style with arabesque ornaments, branches and petals, the title and imprint lettered in gold on the spine, gold-tooled board edges and turn-ins, marbled endpapers, gilt edges. Superb copy with the plates in magnificent impressions.

The illustration is composed of a large vignette on title with Plantin's printer's device and the coat of arms of King Philip II of Spain by Joannes Wiericx, 17 full-page engravings with the four evangelists and biblical scenes from the New Testament by Joannes Wiericx, Hieronymus Wiericx, and Pieter Huys, after the designs by Pieter van der Borcht, several woodcut initials, all pages within very fine engraved borders; there are 8 different borders, one signed by Pieter Huys, each used twice in every quire.

For the present edition, Plantin commissioned a completely new series of 17 striking illustrations and new accompanying borders. The designer of the new plates was Pieter van der Borcht (ca. 1535-1608) who, since 1564, had been designing a variety of book illustrations for Plantin. These Horae-illustrations were the first set of figural narratives that Van der Borcht made for Plantin, recalling the familiar Netherlandish style that goes back to such artists as Roger van der Weyden. The borders designed to accompany these new illustrations also recall earlier styles in Netherlandish art and clearly mimic the type of border decoration that became the hallmark of the Ghent-Bruges manuscript production. The majority of the plates were engraved by Jan (1549-ca. 1620) and Hieronymus Wiericx (1553-1619) and Pieter Huys (ca. 1519-ca. 1584), who all three worked often for Plantin.

The answer to the question why Platin would have decided to commission a costly new set of images for the production of "the old book of hours" that would soon be forbidden by the Pope, lies in Plantin's interest in gaining privileges from Rome and Spain for the publishing of the new Officium.

Our edition of the Horae therefore appears to have been designed with the intent of appealing to King Philip II (1527-1598), the Duke of Alba (1507-1582) and Cardinal Granvelle (1517-1586). As a consequence, three different title pages were devised with the three different coats-of-arms, with Plantin's compasses and his motto "Labore et constantia" subtly incorporated into the image. Plantin probably was seeking to secure Philip's, Alba's and Granvelle's favour with the printing of this personalised editions. The edition (or copy) for Alba being the most prestigious with all pages within the illustrated borders: a copy with the borders cost 6 or 7 fl., while one with just the engraved images cost 1 fl. Our copy belongs to the apparently limited issue with these magnificent borders, but with the coat of arms of Philip II on the title; Voet mentions only one other copy of this edition, which is part of the collection of Museum Plantin-Moretus in Antwerp. Plantin's gamble paid off. The 1570 Horae in octavo with the decorated borders did catch the eye of the Spanish court and was cited as a model that Plantin should follow in his production of the new liturgical texts, including the new book of hours.

Bowen, Karin Lee, Christopher Plantin's Books of Hours: Illustration and production (1997), 112-17, 228, plates 62-67; Voet III, 1368 (1365, variant d); USTC 11535 (1 copy).