Church Father Augustine of Hippo (354–430) was one of the most prolific authors of late antiquity. In 1520, Lyon printer Jacques Sacon published De civitate Dei and De trinitate. Both editions survive in more than twenty copies, including one at KU Leuven. (1/2)

Hard to believe, but today marks exactly 450 years since the death of Franciscus Sonnius (1576), the very first Bishop of Antwerp and Den Bosch. A key figure in 16th-century church and print history, yet completely ignored by institutions today. #BookHistory #Sonnius #otd

Any liturgical scholars out there? I think this leaf straddles two consecutive Sundays: Homilia III in Dominica Tertia post Trinitatem on Luke 15:4 and Homilia IV in Dominica Quarta post Trinitatem on Luke 6:37. There's notation (v rubbed) on the lower half. Need some help identifying use. Thanks!

Pfff nowhere to escape the heat today… Otho Vænius (Amoris divini emblemata - 1615). #bookhistory #heatwave

After Edward Moretus sold the old printing establishment to the city of Antwerp, it became the best museum in the world: the Plantin-Moretus Museum. #OTD, 150 years ago, it was opened as museum! Congratulations with your 150th anniversary! 🥳🎈🎊 📚 #bookhistory #plantin #MPM

I just identified probably the oldest printed fragment in my collection! It's a rubricated leaf from Johann Mentelin’s 1474 Concordantiae bibliorum, surviving in situ as binder's waste inside a 1585 Protestant anti-Jesuit tract from La Rochelle. 📚🔍 #BookHistory #incunable

Antiphonarium Romanum (Aertssens, Antwerp 1633) used for personal devotion by Catholic women, probably in Amsterdam. Bartha de Wit and Anna Wansbeeck. #lithurgy #bookhistory #herbook

A fascinating look at early modern typography showing how different printers tackled the exact same year (1602). The use of this ligature (∞ = 1000) was new for me. #bookhistory

#Pentecost from a Missale Romanum (small folio - 1574 - Plantin). The woodcuts are designed by Pieter van de Borcht (PB) and executed by Antony van Leest (AVL). #Plantin #bookhistory

Frisket Fragment Find Friday 🎉 
Fragment of a frisket reused in a 17th-c. religious binding. Red printed text meant to be excluded remains visible, pointing to a liturgical context. The frisket itself is recycled from a liturgical manuscript. Also present: other fragments of printed binder’s waste.

Once carrying chant, now carrying contents: this liturgical #manuscript fragment is recycled as the cover of a small storage case. Just one of the many examples of the afterlives of medieval manuscripts! #rarebooks #bookhistory 💙📚📜

I visited this antique bookshop today. You literally had to climb over piles of books to reach more books! 😄 I wonder how much longer places like this will exist? #bookhistory

So much to admire! 🔥 Breviarium Romanum. Antverpiae: Ex Officina parva Plantiniana, apud Aegidium Beysium, 1595

7 Dutch books from the same Carmelite Convent Elzendaal in #Boxmeer (Netherlands). All printed in Antwerp in the 17th century. #bookhistory #devotion

A feather in the opening of an incunable. Would be very interested to know what bird this came from.

A new addition to my Plantin collection. This beautiful binding by Jaak Mössly (bookbinder) and F. Beates (engraver) from Antwerp. Gifted as a first price for the Middle School for Young Ladies in 1892. 😍 #bookhistory #plantin #Antwerp

Depictions of the resurrection of Christ in 4 centuries of Plantin Press Missals! 1574,1658,1722,1837 #easter #bookhistory #plantin

A fascinating little book from my collection with an interesting list of clothing received by a Franciscan monk called William in the 18th century. What is the difference in this case between a “tunic” and a “habit”? #bookhistory

After a few great articles in the "Golden Compass" about female printers/publishers at the #Plantin Press, I searched in my collection for examples. I didn't know I had so many 😱. I put them together on my website: sites.google.com/view/oldpape... #bookhistory

New in my collection! Ecce Homo by Hendrick Goltzius (1597), #8 from his Passion series. I had a ‘after’ copy (mirrored) already, but this is real deal! What a details 😍 #renaissanceart #goltzius #passion

Can anyone help me clear this up? I’m looking at a 1687 edition of Drexel’s 'De sonne-bloeme,' supposedly published by the widow of Jan Cnobbaert (Maria de Man). However, records show she passed away in 1671—16 years earlier. Is the date 1687 a typo, or am I missing something? #bookhistory #Antwerp

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KU Leuven Libraries Special Collections@speccoll-kuleuven.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Want to read a watermark but there’s too much text on it? Then use the magic eraser. It’s really simple: you upload a photo and the image appears without the ink. #siteoftheweek

A more than 400 year old #babyyoda! #verdussen #bookhistory

A book with a great provenance! @johanoosterman.bsky.social was this book once part of the Saint Agatha library in Cuijk? #bookhistory #steelsius

Happy #WorldBookDay!

The Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp. In the 16th c. this was the most important and largest printing business in Europe. The museum still holds the oldest still existing printing presses in the world.

A copy of the New Testament, printed in 1526 by Willem Vorsterman in Europe’ printing capital Antwerp. The book was still in use in the 1790s. Photo: Plantin-Moretus Museum, Antwerp.

Epiphany 2026. 👑👑👑 The Adoration of the Magi, from the magnificent 1583 Biblia Sacra. 🖨️ Printed by Christoffel Plantin, Antwerp. 🎨 Artist: Crispijn van den Broeck. Epiphany #Antwerp #Bookhistory #Plantin