Stradanus’s Nova Reperta and the Nature of Novelty

The Nova Reperta print series—produced by Stradanus in collaboration with Flemish printmaker Philips Galle and first published in 1591—was a “self-consciously modern” project, adopting the task of highlighting the most important innovations in recent European history. The Latin title has been translated to English as either New Discoveries or New Inventions of Modern Times , reflecting the variable interpretation of the term reperta . Encompassing both “invention” and “discovery,” the word’s dua