The Book of Excess

... .almost everything in the Hypnerotomachia is taken to excess. The book itself was produced on such a sumptuous scale, printed in folio and adorned with an unprecedented number of illustrations that both the author and his patron suffered financially from it. The quality of the book as objet d’art has made the original edition the crown jewel of any collection of inculabula or early printing, to be leafed through admiringly by the conniousseur of typography and the graphic arts. How many bibliophiles have actually read it is another question, for its textual excesses are enough to deter most readers.

- Jocelyn Godwin, introduction to Hypnerotomachia Poliphilo