Book excerpt: The 1660s were a time of continual warfare in Europe. Early in the decade the Ottoman Empire posed a grave threat to the West, and later competing national interests led the French, the English, and the Dutch to become embroiled in military confl ict. As people sought to keep abreast of current events, broadsheets constituted one of the most important sources of news. Reproduced in this volume are 450 sheets drawn from over 80 collections in 15 countries for the period from 1662 to 1670. The majority of this material is extremely rare, and very few of the sheets have been reproduced since the original printing in the seventeenth century. The entire edition, which now comprises 9 volumes and includes more than 3000 half-tone reproductions of broadsheets dating from 1600 to 1670, is unparalleled in its breadth and depth. It is a valuable primary resource for scholars in many fields who have an interest in Germany and/or European politics in