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he meticulous work put into Testimonio's publications has been rewarded by a series of national and international prizes both for best book published in several years, as well as for papers and bindings.

Testimonio is a highly unusual publishing company, for it is a company with a vocation: it delves deep into our cultural heritage to locate codices and manuscripts from centuries past and then reproduces them as faithfully as possible, breathing new life into the manuscripts painstakingly written by medieval monks bent in silence over their writing desks.

Technical sophistication and patient research go hand in hand with traditional techniques and crafstmanship. The old and the new conspire to bring the past into the present. Inks and paper manufactured and finished by hand, combine with modern printing and colour separation techniques to produce facsimiles virtually indistinguishable from their originals.

Testimonio is also a personal commitment. César Olmos, a reputed engraver with many exhibitions and prizes to his credit (Ljubljana, 1st Prize in Engraving at the 3rd Paris Biennial, 1st Prize at the 7th São Paulo Biennial, and the Dziennik Poliski 1st Prize at Cracow) has turned the facsimile into an extension of the art of engraving. Born in Valladolid in 1936, Olmos studied at the San Fernando School in Madrid and was later given awards by the Ministry of Education and the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts.

From his base at Testimonio, César Olmos has worked with a number of Spanish, European and Latin American institutions to produce several series of publications. The Tabula Americae Collection recaptures for the bibliophile both pre-Columbian treasures and the adventure of the Discovery of the New World. Thesaurus Americae is a selection of representative works from each Latin American country, ranging from New World chronicles and scientific studies of flora and fauna, to poetry and didactic works. The Scriptorium Collection brings together texts which symbolise a common European culture.

The Book of Marco Polo, the Trocortesian Codex, the Oliva Atlas, the Imago Mundi and the Catechism of Fray Pedro de Gante are just a few of the facsimile reproductions which bring pre-Columbian cultures and the Discovery closer for today's collectors. The Book of Hours of Isabella of Castile, the Codex Aureus, a Hebrew Bible, the Muley Zaidan Koran and a Beatus of Liebana Apocalypse, along with other titles in the Scriptorium Collection, recall the cultural plurality of the Europe from which the Discoverers set out.

For the 500th anniversary of the death of Philip II (1998), Testimonio is publishing a new collection entitled The World of Philip II: The Sun Never Sets in Spain, which will include facsimiles of the most emblematic manuscripts and documents of the period.

Another new collection to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the bitth of Charles V (2000), entitled Carlos V collection, is being publishing by Testimonio which will include facsimiles of the most emblematic manuscripts and documents of the period.

The magnificent volumes published by Testimonio Compañia Editorial can be obtained from your specialist Facsimile Book supplier - e-mail - finns@finns-books.com..

To go to the Facsimile Books Table of Contents click here -