Each year at the Frankfurt Book Fair, Europe’s largest, I delve into the latest news and rumors from the European publishing scene. It’s a unique opportunity to (re)connect, learn, and celebrate the ever-evolving world of books.
A book about monstrous creatures, an herbal with hundreds of illustrations of medicinal plants and animals, two codices by Leonardo da Vinci that got lost for 150 years: the Frankfurt Book Fair granted me the privilege to get a preview of new amazing facsimiles. Read and choose your favorite!
The floral silk fabric that once protected the Psalter of Blanche of Castile is among the three surviving medieval embroidered bindings in France. When I saw it for the first time, I couldn’t believe someone could ever produce something so detailed.
This is the story of how I got to lay my hands on the original leaves of the Psalter of Blanche of Castile. I knew that the manuscript Müller & Schindler is planning to publish in facsimile is a piece of world history, but I wasn’t expecting such a holy experience.
Twelve sketchbooks by Leonardo da Vinci, an augmented reality app, a fairy tale book illustrated by Picasso, and an apocryphal Don Quixote: this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair has so many amazing facsimiles to offer that I can’t choose my favorite!