taschen reproduces jan christiaan sepp's 1776 book of 570 hand-colored marble samples

Reprinting Jan Christiaan Sepp’s Book of Marble

Jan Christiaan Sepp’s father Christian was a respected collector who earned a reputation for publishing otherworldly literature based on scientific themes. One of them was ‘Nederlandsche Insecten’ (Insects of the Netherlands), where page after page, vibrant sketches of butterflies and other insects slice the scientific findings of the author, a temporary break from reading scientific texts that was gladly welcomed. Such fondness for publications and research channeled into his son Jan Christiaan Sepp who followed in his father’s footsteps in publications and created the compendium ‘Afbeelding der Marmor Soorten’ (A Representation of Marble Types), an extensive visual anthology of 570 types of marble across the world.

Published in 1776 at the peak of the Enlightenment, it is regarded, rightly, as one of the finest illustrated scientific books of the era with 11 instalments and only 100 copies. Fast forward to 2023, a reproduction of the same anthology returns through TASCHEN in the name of ‘The Book of Marble‘, featuring new photography to depict the intricate details of the marble samples while retaining the 100 hand-colored plates that showcase and underline the wondrous nature of marble across the world. In the new edition, the plates – each meticulously hand-colored and arranged with painstaking precision – offer an abstract-art feel that gives the recent volume a reinvigorated slant, arousing the contemporary senses of modern readers.

images courtesy of TASCHEN

Annotations in different languages

Across the pages of Jan Christiaan Sepp’s The Book of Marble, out in June 2023 with TASCHEN, vibrant images of marble plates are embedded, annotated with brief but vibrant backstories of the design. The commentaries are columned into several languages – including English, French, Dutch, and Latin – and written in digestible sentences to reduce inducing technical-heavy information. The raw beauty of the marble, most of them may be known for the first time to the readers, capture and retain the attention, drawn from the magisterial illustrations and textures that ornate their surfaces.

Visually alluring books that categorize, annotate, and shed light on the Enlightenment pursuit of learning across Europe grew popular during the 18th century. Knowledge was everything and everywhere, and books like those from the father-son duo offered individuals who may not have had access to personal collections of rare and exotic objects an opportunity to whet their appetite for education. The Book of Marble then took the standards of both aesthetics and categorization to a new level, and bringing it back once more for the more sophisticated readership may raise the bar even higher.

This edition reproduces the pages from two copies of Marmor Soorten held at the State and University Library in Dresden and the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles. Reprinting the work in full for the first time, The Book of Marble brings that rare blend of beauty and encyclopedic knowledge to a wider audience.

annotation in several languages including english, dutch, french, and latin