The History and Antiquities of the Cathedral Church of Winchester

1715

De Beer Eb 1715 G

London: Printed for E. Curll

The desire to show readers an illustration that was much larger than the size of the closed book necessitated the development of the foldout frontispiece. Usually it contained an image pertinent to the content, thus encapsulating in one picture the essence of what the book was about. As an early advertising device, it was also designed to entice the reader into the book; perhaps making it interesting enough to buy. Maps were certainly accommodated in this practice. The date of the first foldout frontispiece is unknown, but Gale’s History contains an early example. The publisher probably commissioned the Flemish-born, but London-based, artist Michael Vandergucht (1660-1725) to engrave this fine image of the Cathedral. The landscape format even allowed space for a fulsome dedication.