Yesterday brought a big Amazon box with the just published Taschen title, Hieronymus Bosch. The Complete Works, edited by Stefan Fischer. The packaging alone brought a smile to my soul. The book, an oversize folio, 18" x 12.5" x 2.5" boxed in a wonderful cardboard briefcase preprinted with Bosch's masterpiece, The Garden of Earthly Delights. Of course, try as I might, I accidentally tore the cardboard while opening the briefcase. My collector's heart advises me to acquire a second copy and never play with it but my long-term sense is that I can live with just the book on my shelves and the cardboard briefcase is simply a packaging item that was made to be recycled and is not equal to a clam-shell box for storing the book!
I have paged through and am initially very impressed with the reproduction of the art. The commentary will be a challenge to read, black backgrounds and light type are rarely a winning combination, but likely, worth the effort. The collection of preparatory drawings is fascinating and I am thrilled to add this to my library.
An earlier title, Bosch: The Garden of Earthly Delights by Jacqueline Guillaud, Clarkson Potter (1989) remains a favorite of mine due to the paper stock, reproductions and the fact that rice paper is a great feature with this title. While out of print, a few copies appear on ABE, here with 1 a real steal the the rest with increasing prices.
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