We always hear about the danger the habit of book reading could be in times of e-books and blogs. But let us admit, the joy of books is too amazing to be replaced by anything (all remain in happy co-existence). In fact, we just got to know that a rare 61-pound book by the name of ‘Michelangelo: La Dotta Mano’ (Michelangelo: The Learned Hand) has bookworms speeding towards The New York Public Library which is in temporary possession of this new coffee-table book.
Worth a whopping $126,000, the book has had scholars, artists and artisans working sweat for many months as the process required many Renaissance information and skills. The cover took months to print as it sports a gorgeous bas-relief representation of Michelangelo’s ‘Madonna of Steps’, which is sculptured on a piece of white marble from one of Polvaccio quarries in Italy.
The New York Times reports that the book’s binding is in red velvet obtained from an Italian workshop that is believed to have supplied stage curatins to the Metropolitan Opera and La Scala in Milan. Then the images and drawings are printed on a paper made out of pure cotton in Italy.
So, far only 33 copies of a planned limited edition have been made, of which 20 have been sold.
