Marjorie B. Cohn

368 pages, 8 1/2 x11", 84 halftones; 1992.

ISBN 0-916724-80-8 (paper) originally published at $29.95, now $19.95.

The Spencer Albums are one of the most important acquisitions made by the Harvard University Art Museums in recent years. The more than 3,500 prints in the Spencer Albums were assembled in Paris nearly 300 years ago by the noted French art dealers Jean and Pierre-Jean Mariette, and belonged for centuries to the Earls Spencer. Mounted on fine French paper, the prints are in a near-perfect state of preservation. The albums include rare etchings and engravings by Italian, Dutch, and Flemish printmakers, including such artists as Jacques Callot, Jusepe de Ribera, and Adriaen van Ostade. The catalogue documents and illustrates 76 prints in detail and includes a checklist of the entire collection.