Philosophia Imaginum
Full title: C. F. Menestrerii ... Philosophia imaginum id est sylloge symbolorum amlissima
The Dial's edition: Amsterdam, 1695
A compendium of emblems and symbolic 'devices,' which systematically gathers, organizes, and explains the mottos, figures, and visual symbols used by European kings, princes, nobles, learned men, and illustrious women, presenting them as a kind of 'philosophy of images' (how and why symbols signify). Issued as a Latin translation of Ménestrier's French work, the book is illustrated with numerous engraved plates, making it both a guide for reading emblematic imagery and a practical storehouse for composing devices for medals, pageantry, books, and heraldic display.
