One of the facsimiles of costly books which have long
been among the desiderata of book-collectors is the Hypnerotomachia Potiphi/i (Methuen and CO., 63s. net). The Hypierotomachia was written in Venice by a Dominican monk, not of the ascetic type, and first printed in 1499 by Aldus. It is this edition that has been here reproduced in facsimile. The text is of no special value, being of the usual type of Renaissance romance ; the illus- trations are of great intrinsic interest. Lovers of such curiosities who cannot afford the two hundred pounds which would be wanted if a copy of the original edition came into the market, and would, in any case, have to wait long for its coming, may now practically possess the book for a comparatively small sum, with a very good chance that the purchase will increase in value. Messrs. Methuen and Co. certainly deserve well of the Republic of Letters for their beautiful reprints, of which the volume before us is a striking example.
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