Elzevir Collection

Noctes Attica, Attic Nights printed by Elzevir

This collection is dedicated to the Elzevir legacy: those exquisitely printed works by the Elzevir family of Dutch publishers, whose small, elegant editions became one of the defining looks of seventeenth-century printing.

Recent in its formation, the collection has taken a thematic direction toward philosophy and classical antiquity, with special attention given to volumes concerning Ancient Greece and Rome. Preference is given to vellum-bound editions.

Beyond preservation, this collection is also part of a living effort: selected works, especially those never before rendered into English, are being carefully transcribed, translated, and digitised. The aim is to broaden access to these rare and often overlooked sources, making their insights available to a modern readership while retaining the scholarly dignity of their original form.

Non Solus (“not alone”) was the motto of the Elzevir publishing house; it conveys the idea that the reader is never alone when reading: a book is always a companion.

Elzevir emblem in Great Hall, Library Congress Washington, D.C.

Elzevir emblem depicted in the Great Hall, Library of Congress Washington, D.C.

Respublica Romana, ex officina Elzeviriana

Respublica Romana forms part of the Elzevir Respublicae series, a set of small-format compendia on the constitutional and civic structures of European and classical states, produced by the Leiden and Amsterdam Elzevir presses through the 17th century. This volume treats the political and administrative organization of Rome, presented in the compact, closely-set typography characteristic of the series.

Respublicae Graecorum forms part of the Elzevir Respublicae series, treating the political systems of the ancient Greek states.

The volume is set in the compact Latin typography characteristic of the series, bound in contemporary vellum. A translation of the first two chapters is made available here.

ELZEVIRIAN REPUBLICS, (Petites Républiques)

Respublicae Elzevirianæ

(also known as: Elzevirian Republics; Petites Républiques)

Netherlands — 1625-1649

REPUBLICS (ELZEVIR)

Series Note: Between 1625 and 1649, Bonaventure and Abraham Elzevir published the celebrated Respublicae series from their Leiden press: a run of pocket-sized volumes covering the states of Europe, select regions of Asia and Africa, and ancient polities such as Greece, Rome, and Israel. Each volume offered a compact account of a country's geography, customs, politics, economy, and ruling houses, and the series is often considered the first travel guide series in history. The series is conventionally counted at thirty-five volumes, though bibliographers' tallies differ according to which reissues and companion volumes are admitted; contemporary publishers, notably Joannes Maire of Leiden and Willem Blaeu of Amsterdam, issued volumes in the same format that have traditionally been collected alongside the Elzevir imprints, and these are marked as such below.

The Deltian Library highlights the Elzevirian republics as foundational works: early models of portable knowledge that bridged scholarship and curiosity, and helped shape the modern way of seeing nations.

This document lists the known titles in the series, together with several debated entries that may have been planned or printed but remain unconfirmed.

ARRANGED BY YEAR OF PUBLICATION

Respublica Galliae. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1626

Subject: France

Respublica, sive Status Regni Scotiae et Hiberniae. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1627

Subject: Scotland and Ireland

Helvetiorum Respublica. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1627

Subject: The Swiss Confederacy

Contarini (Casp.) De Republica Venetorum. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1628

Author: Gasparo Contarini

Subject: The Venetian Republic

Respublica Romana. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1629

Subject: The ancient Roman Republic

Gallia, sive de Francorum Regis Dominiis et Opibus Commentarius. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1629

Subject: France (a second, statistical treatment of the kingdom)

Hispania, sive de Regis Hispaniae Regnis et Opibus Commentarius. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1629

Subject: Spain

Tractatus Varii de Regno Daniae et Norwegiae, etc. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1629

Subject: Denmark and Norway

Respublica Hollandiae et Urbes. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1630

Subject: The Dutch Republic (Holland and its cities)

Russia, seu Moscovia itemque Tartaria. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1630

Subject: Russia (Muscovy) and Tartary

Respublica Moscoviae et Urbes. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Joannes Maire, 1630

Editor: Marcus Zuerius Boxhorn

Subject: Muscovy

[A companion volume in the same format, issued by Maire rather than the Officina Elzeviriana; traditionally collected with the series, and often confused with the Elzevir Russia volume of the same year.]

Belgii Confoederati Respublica, seu Gelriae, Hollandiae, etc. Descriptio. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1630

Subject: The United Provinces (Dutch Republic)

De Imperio Magni Mogolis, sive India Vera, Commentarius. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1631

Compiler: Joannes de Laet

Subject: The Mughal Empire (India)

Smithi (T.) De Republica Anglorum, lib. III. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1631

Author: Sir Thomas Smith

Subject: England

Tractatus Varii de Principatibus Italiae. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1631

Subject: The principalities of Italy

Cunaei (Petri) De Republica Hebraeorum, lib. III. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1632

Author: Petrus Cunaeus

Subject: Ancient Israel

Emmii (Ubbonis) Graecorum Respublicae, 2 vols in one. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1632–44

Author: Ubbo Emmius

Subject: The ancient Greek states

Suecia, sive de Suecorum Regis Dominiis et Opibus Commentarius. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1633

Subject: Sweden

Sabaudiae Respublica et Historia. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1634

Subject: The Duchy of Savoy

Turcici Imperii Status; accedit de Regno Algeriano atque Tunetano Commentarius. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1634

Subject: The Ottoman Empire, with Algiers and Tunis

Respublica et Status Regni Hungariae. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1634

Subject: Hungary

Respublica et Status Imperii Romano-Germanici, 2 vols. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1634–40

Subject: The Holy Roman Empire

Respublica Lutzenburgensis, Hannoniae et Namurcensis. Amsterdam, Willem Blaeu, 1635

Author: Jean Bertels

Subject: Luxembourg, Hainaut and Namur (the Habsburg Low Countries)

[A companion volume issued by Blaeu in Amsterdam, not an Elzevir imprint; traditionally collected with the series.]

Regni Chinensis Descriptio, ex Variis Authoribus. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1639

Compiler: Nicolas Trigault, after the journals of Matteo Ricci

Subject: China

Bertrami (Bonav. Corn.) De Republica Hebraeorum. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], 1641

Author: Bonaventure Corneille Bertram

Subject: Ancient Israel

Smithi (T.) De Republica Anglorum. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1641

Author: Sir Thomas Smith

Subject: England (later edition in the series)

Respublica, sive Status Regni Poloniae, Lituaniae, Prussiae, Livoniae, etc. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1642

Subject: Poland, Lithuania, Prussia and Livonia

[Sometimes catalogued simply as Respublica Poloniae.]

Stranskii (Pauli) Respublica Bohemiae. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1643

Author: Pavel Stránský

Subject: Bohemia

Persia, seu Regni Persici Status, variaque Itinera in atque per Persiam. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1647

Subject: Persia

Varenii (Bern.) Descriptio Regni Japoniae, 2 vols in one. Amsterdam, Elzevir, 1649

Author: Bernhardus Varenius

Subject: Japan, with a description of Siam in the second part

POSSIBLE ADDITIONS TO THE LIST

Werdenhagen (Jo. Angelii) De Rebuspublicis Hanseaticis Tractatus Generalis et Specialis, 4 vols in 3. Lugd. Bat. [= Leiden], Elzevir, 1631

Author: Johann Angelius von Werdenhagen

Subject: The Hanseatic cities

Werdenhagen (Jo. Angelii) Introductio Universalis in Omnes Respublicas, sive Politica Generalis. Amsterdam, 1632

Author: Johann Angelius von Werdenhagen

Subject: A universal introduction to all republics (general politics)