Abaris Books

Welcome to Abaris Books

Authoritative Books on Art History, Philosophy, and Metaphysics

Abaris Books publishes scholarly art reference works of definitive authority, with particular emphasis on European master prints (etchings, engravings, and woodcuts) from the period starting around 1400 to about 1850. This period encompasses the era of hand-pulled prints beginning with the birth of reproductive illustration through the European Renaissance and ending with the dawn of the Industrial Revolution and its introduction of mechanical printing presses and photography.

Abaris Books' premier master print reference set, The Illustrated Bartsch, currently consists of 104 volumes in print and available for purchase. Complete sets of The Illustrated Bartsch are housed in university, museum, design school, auction house, art gallery, and private libraries all over the world. Our editors are presently actively compiling the next 9 volumes.

In addition, Abaris Books publishes over a dozen volumes on the works of Albrecht Dürer, a ten volume catalogue raisonne of the Drawings of the Rembrandt School, the two volume set The Mastery of Drawing by Joseph Meder (Winslow Ames translation), and many other important reference works.

Under our Janus imprint are a dozen dual-language books of classical philosophy and metaphysics. These volumes present a facsimile of the original work, as originally published, verso; facing the authoritative English translation of that page, recto. This presentation greatly facilitates understanding and comprehension.