- Collation somewhat 'mixed up', but (more than) complete (all prelim./ privilege/ dedic. lvs. bound in part 1 before the engr. plates, the plates to part 1 and 2 bound in tandem in part 1, and p.1/2 of part 3 bound before title of part 3). Engr. title sl. browned/ foxed and restored along lower blank margin/ corner; portrait sl. foxed; three textlvs. w. restored upper outer corner/ outer blank margin; one textleaf (no. 4) w. mould-stains and restored spots in inner third part of leaf; some lvs. cut short, mainly in the third part and affecting the text on 2 lvs. (p.13/14 and 19/20 (p.19 upper text-line eliminated)); third part textlvs. sl. browned/ soiled and last leaf restored in upper mainly blank margin.
= The third, Blaeu, edition of what is seen as one of the finest specimens of calligraphic art ever published in the Low Countries. This rebound copy contains all possible extra engr. capital alphabet leaves, the extra "Figueren van alle de strecken" (also present in part 3 as full-p. ill.), the "Artificiosissimum Grammatices" leaf and the French "Denonce à ceux (...)" leaf as mentioned by Ton Croiset van Uchelen in Deliciae (Haarlem, 1984), and it contains all possible prelim./ privilege/ dedic. leaves (i.a. prelims. 1-6 to part 1 and 7-9 to part 2 in tandem) (whereas Croiset states that the Blaeu edition does not contain the prelim. lvs. to parts 1 and 2). Cf. Bonacini 1931 (mentioning 27 plates for the Spieghel), 1933 (Thresor, 26 plates) and 1930 (Fondament-boeck, 16 plates) (all 1st ed.); The Universal Penman 99 (55 plates); Sammlung Hauswedell 227 (1st ed.). The present copy has 57 plates (33 to part 1 and 24 to part 2), a portrait and to part 3: 1 full-p., 1 1/2-p. and 15 1/3-p. engr. ills. and 1 ill. w. woodcut elements. SEE ILLUSTRATION PLATE CLIX.