Icones, id est, Verae imagines virorvm doctrina simvl et pietate illvstrivm, qvorvm praecipuè ministerio partim bonarum literarum studia sunt restituta, partim vera religio in variis orbis christiani regionibus, nostra patrúmque memoria fuit instaurata: additis eorundem vitae & operae descriptionibus, quibus adiectae sunt nonnullae picturae quas emblemata vocant
Theodore Beza's Icones, printed in Geneva in 1580, collects woodcut portraits, name plates and emblems of Reformation scholars and preachers for Protestant readers across Europe. The plates pair oval cartouches ringed with laurel, acanthus and grotesque masks against blank centres set with Latin capitals, giving designers ready-made frames, borders and title panels that can be emptied and refilled.
