People who want to know, in good faith, ask us the difference between a facsimile and a copy. People, in bad faith, motivated by ulterior motives other than knowledge, accuse us of selling facsimiles, which we don't even have in our catalog.

Let's get things straight; below you'll find the main differences.

To put it simply, facsimile copying is like going to a university copy shop and photocopying your exam textbook.

The facsimile is a perfect three-dimensional reproduction of the work that stimulates all five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. Yes, even hearing, even the sound of the pages as you leaf through them. Yes, even smell: the facsimile manuscripts we sell are treated with a special essence that replicates the smell of an antique book. That distinctive and pleasant smell you get when you enter a library.

Facsimile copy

It is a photographic reproduction of the manuscript, made "as is", without any particular interventions.

Main features

• Direct photographic reproduction, page by page.
• It maintains the same layout and content.
• It does not guarantee fidelity in materials, colors and tactile rendering.
• Modern paper, without philological research.
• It is often a cheap or half-baked editorial product.

In summary

A "luxury photocopy" of the manuscript. Useful for study, but not for those seeking the experience of the original.

Facsimile

It is a philological and physical reconstruction of the original work, replicating its appearance, texture, colors, defects, stitching, gold, and materials.
A facsimile is a unique work of art, designed to be indistinguishable from the original.

Main features

• Very high color fidelity (over 98%).
• Reproduction of thicknesses, transparencies, tears, stains, abrasions, gold, etc.
• Paper created specifically to imitate parchment or medieval paper.
• Hand-bound using historical techniques.
• Scientific control of the Library which holds the original.
• Limited editions, certificates, colophon, numbering.

In summary

It's the closest experience possible to the original manuscript. It's an authentic duplicate, approved by the institution that preserves the work.

You read an anastatic copy, you experience a facsimile

A concrete example:

An anastatic Divine Comedy: four-color printed sheets on modern paper, hardcover, good reading but little collectible value.

A facsimile of the Divine Comedy, for example the Marciana Divine Comedy: 23-karat gold, raised miniatures, reconstructed parchment, Venetian binding, artisanal case, limited edition certified by the Marciana Library.