Princeton University Library was pleased to contribute its publications to a unique exhibit in the Ellen and Leonard Milberg Gallery, telling the story of the book as the centerpiece of Piranesi’s artistic production. What did these volumes mean to Piranesi, who did they bring into his world, and how can the process of making them be understood throughout his career? As the central thread that connects all spheres of his enormous ambition, Piranesi’s books reveal how the artist became the foremost printmaker in eighteenth-century Europe.

The Graphic Arts Collection holds prints, drawings, photographs, paintings, sculpture, and printed ephemera along with an international book collection specializing in fine press,