A facsimile is an edition of a book that is a faithful reproduction of the original, which is usually a rare manuscript, parchment or map. The facsimile edition follows international standards for the faithful rendering of the colors and aesthetics of the original book and is therefore available in a limited number of copies and is aimed primarily at collectors.
The newly-established publishing house Aein, which specializes in reprinting rare editions, is making its debut with the facsimile edition of the volume “Views in Greece,” by Irish-born archaeologist and painter Edward Dodwell (1767-1832). The edition, whose texts have been translated into Greek, will be released next week in limited large copies (35×52 cm).
The publication also marks the publishing house’s contribution to the celebration of the bicentennial of the Greek Revolution, as the volume was first published in 1821 and reflects aspects of pre-revolutionary Greece. The author toured the mainland and the islands from 1801 to 1806 and depicted 30 locations such as the Acropolis and Agora of Athens, Mount Parnassus, the island of Ithaca and Viotia, Central Greece, among others, while writing explanatory texts in English and French.
Dodwell used the epitome of technology of his day, which was a camera obscura. “This means that the colored images in the book are realistic, they are not painted from memory,” as was usually the case with travelers, says Nikos Hatzigeorgiou, co-owner of Aein.
