Everything about Facsimile totally explained
A
facsimile (From
Latin fac simile, "make like") is a copy or reproduction of an old
book,
manuscript,
map,
art print or other item of historical value that's as true-to-the-original source as possible using, normally, some form of
photographic technique. They differ from other forms of reproduction by attempting to replicate the source as accurately as possible in terms of scale, colour, condition, and other material qualities. For books and manuscripts, this also entails a complete copy of all pages; hence an incomplete copy is known as a "partial facsimile". Facsimiles are used, for example, by scholars to research a source that they don't have access to otherwise and by museums and archives for
museum and
media preservation. Many are sold commercially.
Facsimiles in the age of mechanical reproduction
Advances in the art of facsimile is closely related to advances in
printmaking. Maps, for instance, were the focus of early explorations in making facsimiles, although these examples often lack the rigidity to the original source that's now expected. An early example being
Abraham Ortelius's
Peutinger map (1598).
Facsimiles and conservation
Important
illuminated manuscripts like
Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry are not only on display to the public as facsimiles, but now even scholars may only consult high-quality copies. However, unlike normal book reproduction processes, facsimiles remain truer to the original colours—which is especially important for illuminated manuscripts—as well as defects.
Facsimiles play an important role in the study of
history,
palaeography and other fields where ready-access to an otherwise unavailable original document is essential for close examination. The copy of
Edgar Allan Poe's original manuscript for
The Murders in the Rue Morgue allows a wider availability of such resources and for researchers to see corrections and changes in the writer's
autograph hand in a quality that rivals the original.
Facsimiles are best suited to printed or hand-written documents, and not to items such as three dimensional objects or oil paintings with unique surface texture. Reproductions of those latter objects are often referred to as
replicas.
Books of which facsimiles have been made
A very incomplete list includes:
Further Information
Get more info on 'Facsimile'.
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