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Tibullus. Propertius. [with] [Pharsalia].

CATULLUS, Gaius Valerius, TIBULLUS, Albius, PROPERTIUS, Sextus. [with] LUCANUS. 16th-CENTURY BINDING 8vo. 2 vols in 1. I: first issue with ‘Propetius’ uncorrected on t-p, replacement t-p, corrected, at rear. 3 parts in one, 44 unnumbered ll., A-E8 F4; 36 unnumbered ll., A-D8 E4; 72 unnumbered ll., a-i8. Italic letter, occasional Roman. Small ink smudge and hole to blank section of title, affecting couple of words to verso, light age yellowing. II: 132 unnumbered ll., a-r8, s4. Italic letter, occasional Roman. Handsome copies in slightly later Italian (likely Bolognese) goatskin, lacking ties, double blind ruled, outer blind roll of interlacing vine leaves, central panel with (front) small gilt-stamped ivy leaves to corners and ‘CAT. TIB. PROP. LVCA’ gilt to centre, and (rear) identical gilt leaves to corners and gilt-stamped sun to centre, raised bands, compartments double blind-ruled, traces of paper label at head, a.e.g. (oxydised), minor expert restoration to head and foot of spine, and corners. Ms Latin ex-libris of Xanthe (Santi) Voconius to first title, two additional ms annotations in his hand to penultimate leaf of first part (Italian verse) and last of second part (Latin quotation from Pontanus), his occasional ms marginalia throughout. The charming binding was probably produced in Bologna c.1530-40 by the Pflug and Ebeleben binder. To that workshop are also attributed two bindings at the Bib. dell'Archiginnasio (16.i.III.7, 4.Q.V.27), which share the same blind roll of vine leaves, a typically Bolognese motif. The early owner, Sante Voconio, is indeed recorded at Bologna in the 1530s. His vernacular literary skills – of which we have a rare ms example in this copy (‘Quand’io veggio la terra / Vestir dinuovo in falda un bianco’.) - were commended by the Italian scholar Claudio Tolomei (1492-1556) in his printed correspondence. Although he offered to facilitate the printing of Voconio’s works, nothing has apparently survived. Very good copy of this Aldine first edition (first issue) of the poems of Catullus, Tibullus and Propertius—the three most important elegiac authors of the late Roman republic and early imperial era. ‘The ed. Of 1502 was composed by Aldus and Aavantius; the former wrote the preface, the latter the epistle, at the end of Catullus, to Marino Sanudo, a Venetian nobleman’ (Dibdin). First printed by Wendelin of Speyer in Venice in 1472, Catullus, Propertius and Tibullus’s poems revealed a new poetic feeling rejecting the heroic character of the epic tradition in favour of a more familiar tone and intimate subjects like love, erotic desire, rejection and mourning. Catullus’s (84-54BC) ‘carmina’, 116 of which are extant, include verse on his love and desire for ‘Lesbia’, and lampoons against public figures like Julius Caesar. Tibullus’ (55-19BC) verse survives in four books, only the first two of which are of safe attribution, and is mostly devoted to his intense and star-crossed love for the married ‘Delia’. Propertius (c.50-15BC) enjoyed the protection of Maecenas and Augustus and is most famous for his four books of poems, many written for his beloved ‘Cynthia’. This ‘elegiac collection’ format was successfully republished in Europe throughout the century. Bound together is a copy of the first Aldine edition of ‘Pharsalia’, an epic poem by the 1st-century Roman author Lucan on the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey, a complex blend of fiction and historical reality. This ed. is 'formed chiefly on the Venetian one of 1493, with the commentaries of Sulpitius; but Aldus in his preface mentions some corrections wich are made from an ancient and valuable ms. communicated to him by Mauroceno, to whom he dedicates the work’ (Dibdin). I: Renouard 39:16; Brunet I, 1677: ‘Édition dont les beaux exemplaires sont rares et recherchés’; Dibdin I, 72; Ahmanson-Murphy 52. II: Ahmanson-Murphy 56; Renouard 33:3; Dibdin I, p.238. L. Simeoni, Storia della università di Bologna: L'età moderna, 1500-1888 (1947)
  • $24,260
  • $24,260
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La Nobiltà et l’eccellenza delle donne.

MARINELLA, Lucrezia. IN DEFENCE OF WOMEN 4to. pp. [8], 326. Italic letter, little Roman. Woodcut printer’s device to title, decorated initials and ornaments. Light age yellowing, occasional damp mark or foxing. A very good copy in contemporary vellum, early ms title to spine, C19 armorial label of Joaquim Gomez de la Cortina and ms 38 to front pastedown, c1800 ms bibliographical note to fly, and ‘Ex Bibliotheca D. Corratin suprema Parisiensi curia Praesidis’ to title verso. A very good copy of the second, revised and augmented edition of this wonderful book in praise of women, by a major female author. The Venetian Lucrezia Marinella (or Marinelli, 1571-1653) was daughter of Giovanni Marinelli, a physician who wrote popular works on women’s illnesses. She never married, and lived a secluded life devoted to the pursuit of knowledge and literature, whilst encouraging other talented female writers of her time. A key theme of her works was the defence of women. First published in 1600, ‘La Nobilità [.] delle donne’ rebutted a work on women’s defects by Giuseppe Passi. Part I celebrates women, describing their resilience in a man’s world, from the names they are called (‘donna’, ‘donno’, ‘giovinetta’) to their nature and beauty, and the sayings and proverbs created by men about women, moving on to various categories of women, illustrated through examples from literature and popular 'wisdom’. These include ‘women learned in the sciences and the arts’ (‘some who have not read much history think there were never women knowledgeable in the sciences and the arts’), and women who are meek, strong, fearless, prudent, courteous, and just. A chapter is devoted to the tolerance, resilience and suffering of women, and how they love the men in their lives, and a rebuttal of the ‘feeble’ reasons men have contrived to feel superior to women, with a confutation of theories by Tasso and Boccaccio. Part II is a ruthless list of categories of men – avaricious, greedy, incontinent, arrogant, lazy, ambitious, cruel, unjust, evil, stubborn, ungrateful, rude, and then thieves, murderers, witches, charmers, liars, heretics, tearful, false, chatty, hypocrites, ‘holier-than thou’, ignorant and flatterers. Interesting is a section on men who are ‘well-dressed, trimmed, and wear make-up and bleached hair’, and generally vain. A most interesting, quite unusual work, as written by a woman. The Mexican Joaquim Gomez de La Cortina, later marquess of Morante, was a major C19 bibliophile, with a library of over 100,000 books on the classics or unusual subjects. He died after a fall from the ladder in his library. Four copies recorded in the US. USTC 4035192; Gay IV, 419; Erdmann, p.111. Not in Hull.
  • $3,475
  • $3,475
book (2)

Ad censuras theologorum Parisiensium.

ESTIENNE, Robert. AGAINST THE CENSORS FIRST EDITION. 8vo. pp. 255, [1]. Italic letter, little Roman. Woodcut printer’s device to title, early ms ownership erased below, marginal small ink splashes to first ll., light age yellowing. A good copy in modern calf, C17 ms ‘Ex libris Theodori Jansoni Almeloveen’ and shelfmark ‘o.2.2.’ to title. A good copy of the first edition of this important treatise on theology, biblical interpretation, and the printing of the Scriptures. Robert Estienne (1503-59) took over the family press after the death of his father, Henri, with the same attention for detail and philological accuracy. Robert turned Protestant later in life, and printed the bible several times, with additional commentaries, harshly criticised by Catholic theologians. In 1552, he fled to Geneva to escape their censorship and print more freely, with the assistance and support of other Protestant refugees. ‘Ad censuras’ - ‘Against the censorship of Parisian theologians’ - was published as an apologia of his printing of the Scriptures during the previous decades. The work begins with a summary of the discord with the Sorbonne theologians, who became especially keen to censure his work only in the 1540s, e.g., with a ban on his 1546 bible. The theologians’ main concerns were that ‘the annotations, summaries and indexes contained a high proportion of heretical propositions and that the text of the Vulgate as commonly received had at some points been modified’ (Armstrong, p.200). ‘Ad censuras’ proceeds to answer the theologians’ criticism of 1547, point by point, passage by passage, providing the printed version, the ‘censura’ (e.g., ‘heretical annotation, clearly Lutheran’) and his own defense, in a tour-de-force of theology and philology. He also argues against later censorship connected with the Index of Prohibited Books, refuting that his publications should be considered ‘first’ or ‘second class’, hence censored. No other earlier eds were printed, except the French translation. An important document for the history and methods of ecclesiastical censorship, and a snapshot of scriptural exegesis, Catholic and Protestant, in the mid-C16. Theodor Janson Almeloveen was professor at Harderwyk, and the author of an ed. of Quintilian. Harvard, Columbia, UNC, Newberry, Illinois, Bancroft, Kansas, SMU and other copies recorded in the US. USTC 450398; Gilmont 1896; Renouard 81:5. E. Armstrong, Robert Estienne (1552).
  • $3,082
  • $3,082
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Malleus Maleficarum.

KRAMER, Heinrich. RARE EDITION – INTERESTING PROVENANCE 8vo. 304 unnumbered ll., a-z8 A-P8 + 19 added blanks. Gothic letter. Woodcut printer’s device to title, decorated initials. Title and a8 trimmed at blank foot, slight browning, few minor marginal repairs to last gathering and the odd fore-edge. A good copy in modern vellum antique, original eps preserved (minor repairs). Ms autographs ‘Boetij Junte et Amicorum non olim 1580 Romae’, ‘A.E.T. Archangelus Episcopus Theanen[ensis] Petrus Carolus Theanen[ensis]’ and ‘Jacobi Massi Sacerdotis Granarie 1670’ and sketch of episcopal mitra to title, ms notes to eps in Junta’s hand (incl. acquisition note) and 19 added blanks with ms index of contents in Giunta and Bianchi’s hands. A good, very interesting copy of a scarce Parisian edition of this notorious milestone of canon law and the history of witchcraft, with ownership and ms annotations spanning 150 years. Heinrich Kramer (1430-1505) was a German Dominican inquisitor. (That he co-authored the ‘Malleus’ with the inquisitor Jacob Sprenger is debated.) His ‘Hammer of Witches’ - the first printed manual for witchcraft prosecutors - was first published in 1487. In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII’s bull ‘Summis desiderantes' officially acknowledged the existence of witches and entrusted their prosecution to inquisitors. The ‘Malleus’ quickly became the standard work of reference, for over a century. Its intense use is the reason for its scarcity in all early printed eds. The very interesting late C16 provenance of this copy is traced to Boezio Giunta, a cleric from Senigallia and ecclesiastical official in Rome. He is quoted in the Life of St Philip Neri as having been confessed and relieved of his spiritual worries by the saint, in a church established around the time this ex-libris is dated (1580); Giunta was also involved in the trials of S. Filippo Neri in the 1590s. Giunta was one of the two officials who arrested and questioned Beatrice Cenci (1577-99), when she was famously accused of murdering her father. He wrote extensive marginalia on the old eps, here preserved. Previously it had belonged to Arcangelo Bianchi, bishop of Teano (1566-75), Commissary of the Roman Inquisition and Prefect of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, who died in 1580, when Giunta acquired this copy from his heirs (as per acquisition note). In 1670, it was in the library of Giacomo Massi, cleric at Monte Granaro, and author of a treatise on Gnomology. As typical of medieval canon law texts, ‘Malleus’ is subdivided into questions and answers. It begins with an examination of the nature of harmful magic and examines how to determine whether evil spirits (demones) are involved in these acts , why such acts are allowed by God and how they can be harmful to people. Special interest is devoted to whether demons can procreate with humans or hinder human procreation and how they can transform. A section of Part II is devoted to remedies against demons and their previously-listed evil acts with several methods, including exorcism. Part III examines the figure of the inquisitor: who is best suitable to do to the work, how the trials should be conducted, how to handle an arrest for witchcraft, whether the accusers’ names should be revealed, torture methods, pronouncing sentences, and confessions. Witches encompassed women as well as men, though the former appear in greater numbers as they were involved more frequently in folk medicine and were deemed to be naturally more superstitious. What was sorely missing in this ed. was a thorough index, here provided by Cardinal Bianchi and Boezio Giunta, who were careful readers. The present undated ed. was most likely printed c.1523. Apparently no copies recorded in the US. USTC 184331; Pettegree 86863; Moreau III, 524.
  • $12,786
  • $12,786
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Rime della Divina Vittoria Colonna.

COLONNA, Vittoria. 8vo. 48 unnumbered ll., lacking final blank. Italic letter. Title within decorated woodcut border. Light yellowing, occasional slight marginal finger-soiling or minor ink marks, small holes to t-p (one just touching title border) and very minor worming to extreme upper and lower blank corners of title and following. A good wide margined copy in C18 pink paper boards, ms waste visible within pastedowns, C18 printed paper label with ms ‘Colonna’ to spine, a.e.r., a little scuffed, C16 ms autograph ‘Jo[annes] Boccalone Boccalari’ at foot of title. A good copy of the third edition of this most popular poetic collection by the Italian poetess and noblewoman Vittoria Colonna (1492-1547), marchioness of Pescara. Based in Ischia, near Naples, and married to a military captain who died in 1525, Vittoria Colonna also travelled to Rome, Ferrara and Venice, for scholarly and philanthropic purposes. Among her literary acquaintances were Pietro Bembo, Luigi Alamanni, Ludovico Ariosto (who praised her in his ‘Orlando Furioso’), Baldassare Castiglione and Marguerite de Navarre, as well as Italian Reformers such as Ochino. First published in 1538, without her consent, her ‘Rime’ were very successful throughout the C16. The poems, based on the Petrarchan model, comprise love lyrics in memory of her husband, Ferrante Francesco d’Avalos, ‘who is transformed into a spiritual guide for the grieving lover in the manner of Petrarch’s Laura’ (Morrone, p.492). The first poem begins with an explanation of her literary efforts: ‘I write solely to give vent to my inner pain’. Generally, her metaphors focus around the eyes, the sun, the heavens and light more generally, whether spiritual or more earthly. Her later rimes reflect the passing of time and the transformation of her love into a more spiritual and religious kind, imbued with Christian Neo-Platonism. ‘It seems clear that Colonna perceived some fundamental difference between the acceptable and decorous dissemination of works in manuscript and the wholly unwelcome shift into print production, no doubt for reasons of aristocratic status as well as the modesty of her sex’, leading to ‘the author’s distance from such printed works, and her refusal to collaborate on any level’, even after Bembo’s encouragement (Brundin, p.31). In the last years of her life, Vittoria Colonna became closely acquainted with Cardinal Reginald Pole, then based in Viterbo with a cricle of reformers; with him she entertained an extensive correspondence and to whom, she stated, she owed her own salvation. An important collection, by one of the major female authors of the C16. USTC 823531; EDIT16 CNCE 14909 (attributed to the Venetian printer N. Zoppino); Erdmann 104. Not in Gay, Hull or Gamba. Encyclopedia of Italian Literary Studies, ed. G. Morrone (2007); A. Brundin, Vittoria Colonna and the Spiritual Poetics of the Italian Reformation (2016).
  • $3,082
  • $3,082
book (2)

Homerici Centones [.] Virgiliani Centones [.] Nonni Paraphrasis Evangelii Ioannis.

AUGUSTA, Eudocia; FALCONIA, Proba; NONNUS OF PANOPOLIS BY EARLY CHRISTIAN WOMEN 16mo. 3 parts in 1, pp. [8], 73, [5], 28, [4], 247, [1]. Greek Letter, with Roman. Printer’s device to title, decorated initials and ornaments. Slight age yellowing, title a trifle dusty, minor bleeding from fore-edge paint to a8. A very good copy in elegant early C18 French crimson morocco, trible gilt ruled, inner edges gilt, spine gilt, gilt-lettered green morocco labels, marbled eps, a.e.g. C18 armorial bookplate of Thomas South to front pastedown, R.J. Hayhurst bookplate, red-ink ms ‘2889’ and pencilled autograph ‘JA Natwood 1859’ to ffep, 1803 ms acquisition note to fly, early C17 ms French Jesuit ownership and shelfmark to title (faded). A charming copy of the first Estienne edition, the first to include this combination of texts, of this important florilegium of early Christian Greek and Latin poetry. The first work, ‘Omerokentra’, epitomizes Christian re-readings of Homer. In the Preface, Estienne explains that he sought to satisfy the wish of the ‘Friends of Homer’ (i.e., scholars and philologists) who could not get hold easily of Aldine and German editions. Homeric ‘centos’ were short poems, with a thematic title, made up entirely of Greek verse taken word by word from the ‘Odyssey’ and the ‘Iliad’. Written by Eudocia Augusta (5thC), wife of Emperor Theodosius II, these Greek ‘centones’ include poems which reflect on topics such as God, the Holy Trinity, the Wedding at Canaa and Lazarus, by using only direct quotes from Homer. Part II comprises 'Cento Vergilianus de laudibus Christi’, produced from Virgilian lines (with only minimal variations) by Proba Falconia (Falconia Betitia Proba, 4th cent.), the earliest female Christian poetess whose work survives. The poem includes stories from the Old and New Testament. Part III comprises the paraphrasis of St John’s Gospel by Nonnus of Panopolis (c.5thC AD), an important witness to the Greek poetry of late antiquity, here accompanied by a Latin translation. A charming, exquisitely bound pocket edition of important texts for the literature of Christian humanism. Thomas South (fl. C18) of Gosport, Hampshire, was a collector of spiritualist, alchemical and hermetic texts, as well as philosophical and classical works. A work like ‘centones’ - presenting spiritual interpretations of classical works – was very apt in his library. He was the father of the hermetist Mary Anne Atwood (b.1817), and the author of an alchemical poem. His daughter, with whom he collaborated, wrote ‘Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery’ published anonymously in 1850. Most copies were burnt by them for fear they had revealed too many secrets. Renouard 147:4; USTC 450766; Gilmont 2678.
  • $3,147
  • $3,147
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Sarisbiriensis jornalis [ ]

DIURNAL, Use of Sarum. APPARENTLY UNIQUE [Paris], François Regnault, [1528]. 16mo. 40mm x 66mm. A-M 8 , a-y 8 , A-M 8 . Black and red Gothic letter, Latin text. Woodcut printer’s device to t-p and verso of final leaf, floriated initials throughout, contemporary marginal mss. to B 5 . Edges of first few leaves a little frayed, slight age browning, final leaf torn at blank upper outer corner, edges untrimmed and a little soiled. Bookplate of ‘Ampleforth Abbey Library’ to front pastedown. A good, well-margined, clean copy in C20 olive morocco by Potter & Sons, York, spine gilt, metal clasps. The only known copy of this miniature liturgical book printed in Paris, made specifically for an English market, containing the daytime offices of the rite of Sarum, the pre-Reformation rite for most of England south of the river Trent. It was ‘designed to render yet more compendious the already epitomised Breviary, and to make the Portos yet more portable [ ] we may infer that the parish priest who owned a ‘’Journal’’ would say his Matins in the church where his Breviary and Missal lay, before his Mass, and that, after that, he could use his handy little Diurnale for Sext, Nones, Evensong, and Compline, wherever he might chance to be at his usual times of prayer’ (Christopher Wordsworth, Old Service Books of the English Church, 101-2). The work splits the year into a winter and summer liturgical cycle, the former beginning in early December at Advent, and continuing until Easter. The summer officia (official prayers of the Church) open with the celebration of Easter itself, the Ascension and Pentecost, until the end of the season in August. Weeks are assigned a number or given a name relating to an upcoming religious celebration. A calendar in traditional Roman format follows, which lists all prayers required for each day of the year; each month is titled with its number of days and moons. Saints’ days are also recorded along with the relevant prayers, which are found in the last part of the work. These include dedications to St Andrew, Osmund, Nicholas, Barnabas, the Virgin Mary, John the Baptist, John, Paul, Peter, and Mary Magdalene. Local British saints are also venerated, such as St Alban, the first recorded British Christian martyr, St Etheldreda, an East Anglian princess and Northumbrian Queen who founded Ely cathedral in 673AD, and St. Cuthbert, the patron Saint of Northumbria. Prior to these are the prayers assigned to specific parts of the day, which include the Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Vespers, Vigils and Complines. This layout of canonical hours marking divisions of the day through prayer is standard practice in Christianity, setting up a quotidian structure for the lives of monastic communities. No other known locations. ESTC: S90415, USTC: 203148, not in Adams.
  • $29,505
  • $29,505
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Rule a wife and have a wife

FLETCHER, John FIRST EDITION. Small 4to. pp. [4] 67 [1]. Roman letter, little italic. Printer’s device to t-p of unicorn and thistles, and mss ‘55’ to lower inner corner, floral ornament of thistles and roses to p.1, epilogue to verso of final leaf, framed by ornament of roses, thistles and crowns and cornice supported by two lunettes. Occasional mss. textual correction in contemporary hand. Slight age yellowing, repair to A3 without loss. A good, clean copy in crushed blue morocco by ‘The French Binder Garden City NY’. Gilt ruling to covers and lettering to upper cover and spine, inner dentelles richly gilt. Regarded as one of his finest works, Fletcher’s play derives its name from the old saying ‘every man can rule a shrew but he who has her’, meaning that the reality of advising a married couple and carrying out the same advice once married are two very different tasks. This Jacobean comedy, set near Medina, follows two pairs of lovers joined in marriage under false pretences: Margarita, a rich heiress, plans to marry Leon, as a cover for her promiscuous relationships. They are brought together by Altea, her Lady in Waiting, and Leon’s brother. Her newlywed husband is not as dim-witted as he presents himself and discovers his wife’s sexual adventures as she attempts to seduce the Duke at an elaborate dinner party. Her lascivious appetite is ultimately quenched and the couple finish the play in a happy marriage. At the same time, Margarita’s servant, Estefania, pretends to be a rich heiress to marry Captain Perez, who seeks to escape duties at war by marrying a wealthy woman. Discovered by Perez, Estefania resorts to selling trinkets belonging to her mistress to the usurer Cacafogo, and demonstrating her intelligence in this pursuit, secures a happy marriage to Perez. In the end, the audience is presented with two couples with opposing power dynamics: one where the husband rules his wife and the other where the wife rules her husband, revealing a surprisingly modern attitude towards the dynamics between genders and within marital relationships. The comparison between the terrors of war and venereal disease, as discussed by the soldiers Sanchio and Laonzo, is a particularly playful example of the witty treatment of the popular combination of Love and War. The play was first performed in 1624, shortly before Fletcher’s death, but first published in 1640. It was the last of his 15 solo works, having also written several plays alongside the likes of Francis Beaumont (c.1585-1616) and even William Shakespeare (1564-1616). He was the house playwright for the acting company ‘the King’s Men’, likely taking over from Shakespeare himself. Overall, his plays fall into similar categories of Comedies, Tragedies and Histories, with many plotlines taking inspiration from the Bard himself. ESTC: S102374, Harvey: p.303, not in Grolier nor Lowndes
  • $5,180
  • $5,180
book (2)

Dialogo dove si ragiona della bella creanza delle donne.

PICCOLOMINI, Alessandro. Venice, Domenico Farri, [n.d., but after 1555]. 8vo. ff. 46. Italic letter, little Roman. Woodcut printer’s device and ornaments to title, decorated initials. Slight browning to second half, principally in last gathering, occasional slight marginal foxing. A good copy in early C19 ¼ sheep over marbled paper boards, marbled eps, spine gilt-lettered, a little scuffed. A good copy of this popular and interesting work on women, their youth, bearing, social life and adultery, which was considered quite scandalous in its day. First published in 1539, and also known as ‘La Raffaella’, it is here in its fifth ed., all early eds being scarce. Alessandro Piccolomini (1508-78) was a member of the Accademia degli Intronati, and his ‘Dialogo’ was intended as a playful literary entertainment creating a topsy-turvy world in which the widsom of old age is not spiritual, but very material. In the work, Raffaella, an older woman, gives advice to a younger woman, Margarita, on ways to enjoy herself while she still has time. The incipt sets the light tone, with Raffaella answering to Margarita asking after her health in typical Italian fashion: ‘Full of sins and fatigue, like all old women’ and ‘Old, poor and with my head nearing the grave by the hour’. Margarita’s beauty reminds Raffaella of her own youth and the amusements she shunned at parties and feasts, till it was too late (i.e., age thirty). She explains that betraying one’s husband is not sinful as marriages are combined with men who will never be their wife’s true love. As clarified at the end, ‘Raffaella’s aim is to give advice as to how a woman can accomplish this adultery with cleverness and prudence so as to preserve secrecy’ (though the chosen man should not be married), as she becomes, at some point, the ‘anti-model of a confessor’, giving advice on sinning (McClure, pp.36-7). Tthese observations concealed a wealth of small details on women’s social life in the Renaissance: e.g., it is very bad when a woman keeps wearing the same dress too long, and even worse when otheres can see she turned that same dress into another by dyeing or turning it inside out; what clothes best suit specific complexions; recipes for roasted pigeons and aromatic waters; countenance when walking in the street (e.g., with one’s mouth open or pouting); how to show off one’s chest without seeming too toward, etc. A most interesting and entertaining work. No copies of this ed. apparently recorded in the US. USTC 848313; EDIT16 37664 (after 1555, when Farri started his printing activity); Gay VI, 56; Erdmann 85 (1540 ed.); Gamba 1571 (‘molto raro’). Not in Hull. G. McClure, Parlour Games and the Public Life of Women in Renaissance Italy (2013).
  • $3,213
  • $3,213
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Schön Neues Modelbuch.

SIBMACHER, Johann. FIRST EDITION. Oblong 8vo. ff. [1] + 23 of 43 leaves of plates, lacking engraved title and some preliminaries A 1, 3-4 , 12 plates of patterns and 8 plates with ruling. Gothic letter in two styles, text within typographical border and plates double frame, very fine engraved illustration. Somewhat finger-soiled as usual, rare early red hand-colouring to plates, expert marginal repair to A 2 (prelims) and couple of plates, with loss to engraving on lower outer corner of pl.30. A remarkable survival, in modern paper boards, two C19 ms annotations to plates, one ‘And[reas] Joh[annes] Georg Lauft zu Lauff(?) 1824’, later sketched patterns in pencil to few blank versos. In folding box. The rare second edition of this remarkable and famous pattern book, which survives in scant numbers and in fragmentary form. An edition of 1591 is mentioned in an auction catalogue slip included in this copy, though not in USTC or OCLC. Johann Hans Sibmacher (d.1611) was a printer and engraver in Nuremberg, renowned for his monumental heraldic collection, ‘Wappenbuch’. ‘Schön Neues Modelbuch’ was a virtuoso tour-de-force of engraving, whereby Sibmacher reproduced on copper, using an etching needle for the intaglio, dozens of intricate patterns for sewing and embroidering. ‘Particularly arresting are the tonal differences he was able to achieve in his patterns by applying a clever system of hatchings, consisting not just of lines but also of geometric shapes that are strikingly similar to [ ] “punti tagliati”’ (Speelberg, pp.38-9). The designs include animal figures, grotesque and purely geometrical patterns, each specifying the number of vertical stitches (‘gegen’) required. The title of the first plate explains that ‘Judenstitch’ (Jew’s stitch) can also be used for these patterns – a technique which remains unknown and is also mentioned in Chaucer’s ‘Sir Topaz’ (Palliser, p.423). ‘Modelbuch’ continued to be reprinted until the mid-C19 and became the most influential pattern book in Germany and England. Only Folger copy in the US. VD16 S 6256; Lotz 32a (probably); Berlin Cat. 892. F. Speelberg, ‘Fashion & Virtue: Textile Patterns and the Print Revolution, 1520–1620’, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 73 (2015); B. Palliser, A History of Lace (1869).
  • $3,295
  • $3,295
book (2)

[Officii e magistratti che aspetanno da esser fatti per lo ecellentissimo Consiglio de Dieci.].

8vo (154 x 100mm). ff. [2], 4-18, 20-75, [6], fol.19 misnumbered as 20. Manuscript on thick, high-quality paper, Italian secretary hand, brown ink, titles, index and initials in red. Watermark: circle (unclear due to small format) and letters DM. Slight age browning, light water stain to upper margin of first and last few ll., lower half of one leaf of index torn away, else complete. A good copy in C20 citron crushed morocco, gilt-lettered, C20 bookplate to front pastedown, dry-stamp of Derek Gibson and pencilled acquisition date to fly, lower joint split at foot. An intriguing, understudied Italian legal ms listing all magistrates of the Serenissima, with their number, the length of their office and their revenues, followed by a list of the major patrician families of Venice. It was a pocket-size reference book of the increasingly centralized Serenissima government, used internally by officials, magistrates and the nobility. A dozen other copies (see below) are recorded, produced way into the C17, important witnesses to the operations and public offices of the Serenissima. Previously, only the diaries of Marin Sanudo (1466-1536) had provided such detailed information, then only for magistrates of the city itself. This ms begins with the Serenissimo Principe, whose office is for life and earns him 3500 ducats a year. It then continues with the officers appointed by the Consiglio dei Dieci, the Pregadi and the Maggior Consiglio. These are subdivided into those who work in the city (e.g., overseeing credit and money exchange, customs, health, trade, prisons, bullion), the Dogado (the coastal strip near Venice), the ‘terraferma’ of Treviso, Friuli, Padova, Rovigo, Brescia, Bergamo, etc., Istria and Dalmatia, the Ionian Islands, the Levant, and the ‘Stato de Mar’ (overseas possessions), plus a long list of all the ambassadorial or consular offices (e.g., Alexandria, Constantinople, Syria) of the Serenissima. There are the three ‘Inquisitori sopra li secreti’, or the censors of the press established in 1539, and the numerous offices concerning the management of natural resources. A copy survives in which all revenues – which remained unchanged over the course of the years – are in lire, which suggests the ‘genre’ was flexible in many ways. We have examined UPenn, BL, Harley MS 3347 and BL, Add. MS 46,452, and have noted very strong similarities in the incipits/explicits, all likely produced centrally by the chancery scribes of the Serenissima, as the hand, layout and style are identical in 3 copies (ours, UPenn, Harley MS 3347); and Harley shares the watermark. There are variations on the content (e.g., offices added, moved around or omitted, no final list of major families). Only Bergamo MS A47 and Oliv. MS 2005 include dated dedications for the years 1594 and 1598 respectively. Add. MS 46,452 (a deluxe presentation copy) bears an undated dedication to Zuane di Medici (likely Giovanni de’ Medici, d.1621). In our copy and Harley 3347, we find, among the magistrates, the Provveditori al Montello, established in 1587. A comparative examination of the final list of major Venetian family provides further help. Our list and that in Harley 3347 are identical; together with the watermark, this suggests the two mss were produced at the same time. The list in Add. MS 46,452 adds Sfondrato (for Pope Gregory XIV, 1590-1) and Henry of Bourbon (1600), absent in our ms. This suggests 1590 as a ‘terminus ante quem’ for our ms, which can safely be dated c.1587-9. G. Speake, Encyclopedia of Greece and the Hellenic Tradition (2021); F. Miari, Venetia anticha (1890).
  • $8,896
  • $8,896
book (2)

De Furtivis literarum notis vulgo De Ziferis.

PORTA, Giovanni Battista. A classic of cryptography, and one of the earliest illustrated works entirely devoted to this subject here with the three volvelles in their uncut state. This is the second edition, an English counterfeit with a false imprint, reprising, in all but the woodcut Habsburg arms on the title, the first Naples edition of 1563. It was published in 1591 by the London printer John Wolfe trained in Italy and a master of surreptitious imprints, e.g., Machiavelli s The Prince ; a second issue, with Wolfe s London imprint and the date 1591, is identical, but for the title. The influence of this ed. on English culture can be seen in Epigram 92 by Ben Jonson: They all get Porta, for the sundry ways / To write in cipher, and the several keys, / To ope the character . The Neapolitan Giovan Battista della Porta (1535-1615) published extensively on agriculture, meteorology, natural science and chemistry, and was at the centre of a wide scholarly network including Galileo. Due to his theorisation of magic as an instrument for the understanding of natural phenomenology, he was investigated by the Inquisition in the mid-1580s. De furtivis literarum notis (On the Secret Signs of Letters) is a manual of cryptography or steganography, i.e., the art of concealing the meaning of messages from everyone else but the receiver. Among the dozens of ciphers presented and illustrated with woodcuts and tables, there is the first digraphic cipher (Bauer, p.117) and the first modern polyalphabetic substitution cipher, later developed by Vigenère and the WWII Enigma Machine. The work begins by presenting types of secret signs and how to render vowels, semivowels, consonants and mute symbols, with an eye to statistical cryptanalysis, i.e., the most frequent letters are probably vowels, and the use of hieroglyphs. Then it examines ancient cryptography, e.g., the Caesar cipher, and why it was no longer fit for purpose; types of C16 cryptography (e.g., transposition, shifted self-reciprocal substitution) and how to decipher them, with the help of a cipher disk, used for polyalphabetic ciphers. To create the first polyalphabetic substitution cipher, Porta used the idea of a mixed alphabet from Alberti, Trithemius square and letter-by-letter alphabet change, and Bellaso s keyword [ clavis ] to create a single system for polyalphabetic substitution (Dooley, p.39). The work provides dozens of examples showing the original Latin message and its encrypted counterpart, often represented with bespoke woodcut symbols. Porta obviously received excellent assistance from his publisher and printer, for his special symbols did not exist as type and either had to be entered in each copy by hand in writing or with specially made woodcuts. Particularly striking are the pictograms, probably designed by Porta himself, [ ] and are reminiscent of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs (Zielinski, pp.78-9). Their efforts were matched by Wolfe s printing workshop. A classic of cryptography in its most bibliographically interesting edition. 4to. pp. [20], 228. Roman letter, occasional Greek. Woodcut title vignette, 14 woodcut cryptographic messages within decorative frame, 3 uncut woodcut volvelles, 3 full-page woodcut diagrams (2 volvelles added on later thin paper, loose), 2 full-page woodcut or typed cryptographic tables, 6 woodcut cryptographic alphabets, decorated initials and ornaments (few hand-coloured). Light age browning, A1 repaired at foot, B1 and P1 a bit soiled to lower outer corner, upper outer blank corner of O3-4 torn, faint water stain to gatherings P-R. A good copy in early C18 French mottled sheep, marbled eps, spine gilt, joints a little rubbed, extremities occasionally worn, a.e.r. C19 autograph Le Camus and C18 ms note of the Augustinians of Lyon to front pastedown, their ms ex-libris crossed-out to title.
  • $3,756
  • $3,756
book (2)

S. Francisci historia cum iconibus in aere excusis [ ]

[VILLAMENA, Francesco] FIRST AND ONLY EDITION. 8vo. Text engraved in upper case Roman letter. Frontispiece plus 51 numbered engraved plates, in excellent strong impression, of the life of St Francis by Francesco Villamena. Engravings centred on recto of each leaf, a few stub mounted. Latin and Italian captions beneath explaining the narrative of each scene. Marginal spots and foxing, noticeably on one leaf, wormhole to blank inner upper corner of first few leaves. A crisp, wide-margined copy in original limp vellum, a little soiled, numbers inked to upper cover. Rarely complete copy of a beautiful series of Renaissance engravings depicting 51 episodes from the life of St Francis of Assisi (c.1181-1226) with descriptive engraved titles, in Latin and Italian. All other copies appear to have at least one missing plate or lack the frontispiece. Canonised in 1228 by Pope Gregory IX, Saint Francis is best-known as the founder of the Franciscan order, a significant religious group during the Renaissance. Scenes include his birth (pl.1), death (pl.50) and St Francis with Popes Nicolas IV (1288-1292), Alexander V (1409-1410), Sixtus IV (1471-1484), and Sixtus V (1585-1590) (pl.51), all members of the Franciscan Order. Other recognisable tableaux include his reception of the stigmata on Mount La Verna (pl.46), a popular motif in art of the time, the apparition of and conversation with Christ (pl.14), and his meeting with the Sultan of Turkey (pl.13). The plates are the work of Italian engraver Francesco Villamena (1564-1624), born in Assisi. Having trained in Rome under Cornelis Cort, he studied painting and engraving, choosing historical and religious subjects. The very detached images reflect the artistic style of the time, creating a sense of space, using linear perspective, usually rendered through the incorporation of orthogonal lines into the surroundings, and by careful modelling of the characters’ clothing. Light and shade are `created effectively by varying the direction and thickness of lines, as well as cross-hatching. While the events recorded date from the 12th C, the figures are characteristically depicted in contemporary garments.
  • $9,884
  • $9,884
book (2)

De Vita, libri tres [ ] (with ) De ratione victus salubris [ ]

FICINUS, Marsilius (with) INSULANUS MENAPIUS, Gulielmus Small 8vo. pp. 631 [57]. Italic letter. Printed marginal notes and occasional mss. in two hands in brown and black ink, commenting or elaborating on text. Historiated inital at beginning of each work. Index at end and printer s device to verso of final leaf. Light age yellowing, a little marginal browning to few leaves of index, a clean crisp copy in slightly later vellum, gilded label to spine, sprinkled edges. A fascinating pair of works relating to health. The first, on medicine, draws also upon elements of philosophy and astrology. The author, Ficinus (1433-99), was an Italian priest and humanist philosopher, whose father had been a physician under the patronage of Cosimo de Medici in Florence. First published in 1489. De Vita furnished the reader with medical and astrological advice for maintaining health and vigour, while exploring the Neoplatonist view of the world s integration with the human soul. Ficinus took particular interest on the interaction between the micro- and macrocosmos and in somatic and psychological manifestations to cure diseases. The third book focuses on leading a healthy life in a world full of demons and spirits. The author s astrological and alchemical pursuits, observable in this text, resulted in his being accused of heresy in 1489, but he was pardoned by Pope Innocent VIII. The second treatise focuses on lifestyle, food and drink, by a doctor from Grevenbroich in West Germany, who died in 1561. The author surveys and compares the writings of classical authors such as Galen, Pliny, Virgil, Plato, Aristotle, Hippocrates, Cicero, and others in a discussion about healthy lifestyle. He considers exercise, comparing the effectiveness of pursuits such as athletics, riding, sailing and walking. Menapius also considers the environment and the effects of natural phenomena such as wind upon health. There are chapters on when and how long to sleep, recommending more sleep in winter than in summer. The majority of that text, however, is dedicated to diet with chapters on various food and drink, including vegetables, grain, neat, offal, eggs, milk, cheese, fish, honey, oil, vinegar, water, wine and beer, as well as condiments. The text recommends methods of preparation, general observations about each product and when to consume them. This guide has several humanising moments, particularly when a connection is made, through use of the classical authors, between eating beans and producing wind. Other recommendations provide a glimpse into the Renaissance mindset, with the author warning against the consumption of kidneys and most testicles as they contain vitiosi succi , roughly translated to wicked juices . A fascinatingly entertaining pair of humanist medical works, approaching health and lifestyle from two very distinct perspectives.
  • $4,942
  • $4,942
book (2)

Pain s British Palladio or the Builder s general assistant [ ]

PAIN, William and James FIRST EDITION. Folio. pp. [2] 14 plus 40 full page plates, one foldout and one double page plate, all in excellent impression, of house designs with plans, elevations, sections, and details of chimney pieces and mouldings. Roman letter, little italic. Table of contents, grouping together plates and summarising estimate prices. Description of each plate explaining the design, its dimensions and proportions, as well as architectural imagery. A well margined, clean, crisp copy in contemporary tree calf, rebacked, repairs to lower, outer corners. An influential architectural pattern book jointly created by architect William Pain (c.1730-c.1790) and his son, James. It is one of 11 publications by Pain between 1758 and 1793, who enjoyed particular success in America, where demand for his books exceeded that of any other eighteenth century British author . Pain s Palladian style greatly influenced the design of the USA s most famous buildings, including the White House. He concerned himself with the notions of practicality, plainness, and perspicacity, observable in his careful placement of ornamentation, resulting in simpler and less crowded facades. While the gentleman s country house in plate 24 is undoubtedly grand, sprawled across a double page, the elevation is accented only by a central Corinthian portico, a couple of pilasters of the same order and four garlands on the top storey. Rusticated blocks do not rise above the level of the ground, providing a cleaner and calmer appearance than many Palladian style buildings of the period. More ornate detail can be seen on the chimney designs, which feature both mythological figural and non-figural scenes. Pain s architectural publications were not meant to instruct the professed artist, but to furnish the ignorant, the uninstructed . Unlike other books on the same subject, he innovatively included instructions, lists of materials, and price estimates for the user. This broadened his audience from the upper class to brick workers, carpenters, masons, joiners, plasterers, etc When estimating costs, Pain even includes painting and glazing; his approach to the architectural pattern book considered the entire building process, extending beyond exterior design. Plate 39 reveals particular technical detail, with diagrams and accompanying description explaining how to fit curved surfaces, such as a domed roof, over a rectilinear space. A wonderful record of the collaborative processes required to create the grand Palladian houses of the 18th century.
  • $3,163
  • $3,163
book (2)

Popular errours. Or the Errours of the People in Physick.

PRIMROSE, James. FIRST EDITION thus. 8vo. pp. [24], 461, [15]. Roman letter, little Italic. Added engraved title (mounted), printed title within typographical border, decorated initials and ornaments. Light browning, the odd marginal finger-mark. A good, clean copy in contemporary sheep, late C19 reback and eps, double blind ruled, gilt-stamped centrepieces of the Society of Writers to the Signet to covers, joints cracked but holding (upper loosening), couple of minor leather losses to covers, corners worn. Contemporary or near contemporary autographs ‘Johannes Gordonius’ (trimmed) and ‘John Gordon’ to title. A good copy of the first edition in English of this important work, criticising unqualified doctors and lay physicians. This translation by Robert Witty includes two commendatory poems by Andrew Marvell who, like Witty, was patronised by the Fairfax family. James Primrose (d.1659) trained at Bourdeaux and Oxford, and was admitted to the Royal College of Physicians having among his examiners William Harvey. First published in Latin in 1638, ‘Popular errours’ is entirely devoted to debunking the effectiveness of numerous popular remedies used at the time, especially in the countryside, where trained doctors were generally unavailable. Primrose suggested that only trained physicians and surgeons really knew the discipline, and that lay people (‘mongrell-Physicians’) ‘ought not so rashly and adventurously intermeddle with them’. Primrose sought to establish a ‘professional ethos’, inspired by practices advocated by the RCP (Bennett, p.19). ‘Popular errours’ begins with a discussion of trained doctors, followed by several chapters on healers who shouldn’t practise. These include doctors’ assistants, poor scholars who learn from their master and end up practising unlicensed to earn money, physician-clerics (who treat their parishioners for money), women (‘especially busied about surgery, and that part chiefly which concerns the cure of tumours and ulcers’), mountebanks or charlatans (who sold special antidotes against poisons, balsams and ointments), and almanac-makers. Primrose advocated that physicians should also know about surgery, and examined whether they should also be trained in the art of apothecaries. There follow sections on physicians who base their diagnosis only on urine (to the correct interpretation of which a few sections are later devoted) and the pulse; who promise easy treatments of the French pox (syphilis); or who flee during a plague to keep themselves safe (with a reference to Hippocrates’ oath). Numerous sections are devoted to mistaken diagnoses, such as that a man’s illness might be due to his wife being pregnant, that gold boiled in broth will treat consumption, and that tobacco might protect one from the plague. Primrose also suggests that the quantity of blood let should be reckoned in ‘measures’, not ‘ounces’ or ‘pounds’. The last section is devoted to the alchemical remedy called ‘antimonial cup’ and its uses and abuses. Made of mercury, sulphur and arsenic, it caused violent purging reactions which debilitated even the strongest patients, so it had to be prepared very carefully. A most interesting snapshot of popular medicine in mid-C17 England. ESTC R203210; Wing P3476; Krivatsy 9289; Wellcome IV, p.438; Osler 3736. Not in Heirs of Hippocrates. L. Bennett, Rhetoric, Medicine, and the Woman Writer, 1600-1700 (2018).
  • $9,884
  • $9,884
book (2)

Medical Compendium

8vo (157 x 105mm). Manuscript on paper, 100 unnumbered ll., [*]6 [*]14 [*]12 [*]12 [*]12 [*]12 [*]12 [*]12 [*]8, 24 blank, several ll. with rubricated title or initial only, mostly 1-8 lines per full page, in Latin. Red and black ink, cursive hand. Watermark: globe surmounted by cross. First recto dusty, couple of tiny water stains to some lower edges. A very good copy in modern vellum, ms title to spine, armorial dry stamp with lion and bands to couple of ll. An interesting ms likely by an early C16 Italian physician – probably a young student – as a reference in his daily work. Organised alphabetically, it was intended to summarise the nature, symptoms and treatments of common illnesses, although never completed. The first leaf provides a brief explanation of units of measurement as they would have appeared in medical recipes. He mentions Rhemnius – the author of a work on weights and measurements – as a source for the ‘obolus’ and ‘semiobolus’, ancient Greek weights, which he equates with the C16 ‘scrupulus’ (1/24 of an ounce) and ‘italica amphora’, which equals 48 ‘sextaria’ (one ‘sextarius’ being approx. 567 millilitres). There follows a short section with guidance on bloodletting surgery, and several sections – in alphabetical order – on specific illnesses. These include headache, incubus (nightmares), epilepsy, melancholy, toothache, asthma (also ‘suspirium’ or ‘anhelitum’), deep skin ulcers (‘phagedena’), anorexia (‘cachexia’), priapism and fevers. The main source, with minor variations, is the first ed. of Caelius Aurelianus’ ‘Tardarum Passionum’ (Basle, 1529), based on a single 9 th -cent. ms once in the monastery at Lorsch. This provides a terminus post quem for our ms, no later than 1550s. Mss of Caelius’ works were and remain extremely rare. The 1529 ed. also included Oribasius’ works, whence the reference to ‘Italica amphora’ was drawn. Caelius’ works were remarkably important for early modern physicians: ‘Aurelianus aready described in detail the rhythmic pattern – daily and seasonally – of asthma. Tooth pain was also first described by Caelius to peak at night and that drugs were not able to fully suppress the pain, a first indication of chronopharmacology’ (Lemmer). I.E. Drabkin, ‘Notes on the Text of Caelius Aurelianus’, Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, 76 (1945), pp. 299-320; B. Lemmer, ‘Caelius Aurelianus' textbook on medicine of the fifth century’, Chronobiol Int., 36 (2019), pp.883-85.
  • $7,578
  • $7,578
1) Ethicorum magnorum; Eudemionum; De virtibus & vitiis; Theophrasti characteres ethici; Alexandri Aphrodisis [ ] [with] (2) Ethicorum

1) Ethicorum magnorum; Eudemionum; De virtibus & vitiis; Theophrasti characteres ethici; Alexandri Aphrodisis [ ] [with] (2) Ethicorum, sive de moribus, ad Nichomachum. [with] (3) Politicorum, sive de optimo statu reipub. [ ] [with] (4) Oeconomica, sive de Rebus domesticis. [with] (5) Mechanica.

ARISTOTLE. (1) 4to. pp. [4] 332. Greek letter, printer’s device on t-p, woodcut initials and ornaments. Latin dedication by German humanist Friedrich Sylburg (1536-96) to Marc Antoine Muret (1526-85) and reader’s note. Latin apparatus criticus and index. Contemporary mss. on p. 220 referring to Heinsius’ edition of Andronicus of Rhodes. (2) 4to. pp. [8] 232. Greek letter, printer’s device on t-p, woodcut initials and ornaments. Latin publishers’ note, translator’s note by Piero Vettori (1499-1585) and prefaces from earlier editions by Humanist scholars Johannes Sturm (1507-89) and Juan Luis Vives (1493-1540). Double column Greek and Latin translation extract of the ‘Life of Aristotle’ by Diogenes Laertius. Apparatus criticus and Greek and Latin index. (3) 4to. pp. [8] 230 [2]. Greek letter, printer’s device on t-p, woodcut initials and ornaments. Latin editor and reader’s note by Piero Vettori, final errata. (4) 4to. pp. 33 [3]. Greek letter, printer’s device on t-p, woodcut initials and ornaments. (5) 4to. pp [1] 20. Little Roman letter, Greek text, woodcut initials and ornaments. Occasional printed marginal notes in Greek and Latin. Scientific diagrams and images throughout. A magnificent sammelband of 5 books of Aristotle’s practical philosophy, together with some of his more obscure works, printed between 1566 and 1584. The binder, Heinrich Blume, was from Wittenberg, where there was a large university, suggesting that this collection may have been used as a textbook. While most of the works are definitively attributed to the ancient philosopher, the ‘Ἐθικα Μεγαλα’, ‘Ἐθικα Εὐδεμια’, ‘Μεχανικα’, and ‘Οἰκονομικα’, have also been ascribed to either his students or later authors. The first book is the first of an 11-volume series published between 1584 and 1587 described as ‘more excellent and complete than any that had been before published’. It features 5 texts: ‘Ἐθικα Μεγαλα’ encompasses discussion on a variety of themes, ranging from happiness to justice, pleasure, and friendship, taking into account the views of Pythagoras, Socrates and Plato. The less well known ‘Ἐθικα Εὐδεμια’ continues discussion of themes in the ‘Ἐθικα Μεγαλα’ and parallels topics found in his Nicomachean Ethics. The publication includes his shortest ethical treatise ‘Περι Ἀρετων και Κακιων’, as well as a text by his pupil Theophrastus, who studied at and later became head of Aristotle’s Lyceum, and by Alexander of Aphrodisias, a celebrated commentator on Aristotle’s writings. The introduction ‘makes a minute and elaborate detail of the contents and advantages of his edition. Besides the corrections of former publications and an improved text, there are three indexes to each volume: a synopsis of the heads of each tract or book, an ‘Index Graecorum’ and a Latin Index ‘Rerum Memorabilium’. Following comes one of the fundamental works of ancient philosophy, combining elements from editions by Camozzi and Isengrin. Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics focus on the science of good living, and analyse the ancient concept of ‘eudaimonia’, the application of a being’s virtue to achieve its highest and most positive potential. This propels discussion of moral virtue, the concept of the ‘good’, friendship, pleasure, and happiness, while also contemplating potential hindrances to eudaimonic happiness. The last of the longer works is Aristotle’s famous treatise about government and politics, the only one of his texts based upon personal research and the documentation of the constitutions of 158 Greek states,
  • $6,524
  • $6,524
book (2)

Enchiridion Medicum. [ ] The Whole Course of Physicke.

VALENTINUS, Pomarius. MEDICAL AND SURGICAL COMPENDIUM 4to. 3 parts in 1, second with separate title but continuous pagination, third with drop-down title and separate collation and pagination. pp. [4], 172; 169 [i.e., 167], [7]. Roman letter, with Italic. Woodcut printer’s device to second title, decorated initials and ornaments. First title a little dusty, very slight age yellowing, light water stain at foot of gatherings P and Bb, another extending from upper gutter of last couple of gatherings, upper edge trimmed, very occasionally just touching running title, ink smudge at head of Aa3, small repair to one blank corner. A good copy in later calf, gilt lettered label, a.e.r. A good copy of the second, enlarged edition in English of this compendium of medicine and surgery ‘published for the benefit of young students in medicine, surgeons and apothecaries’, by the obscure Petrus Pomarius Valentinus (fl.c.1520). His most famous work, the ‘Enchiridion’, begins with a compendium of medical knowledge, and the characteristics of the ‘perfect physician’, in the form of a dialogue between a doctor and a student. In Part I, there are sections on the elements, the humours, human body parts and organs, the best regimen sanitatis (proper exercise, food, drink and rest), detailed recipes for remedies against fevers caused by various conditions (e.g., melancholy), and against contagious illnesses (e.g., the plague, syphilis and scurvy). Part II – again in dialogue form – is devoted to surgery, with sections on specific topics such as oedema, the puncture of a nerve, and head wounds. Then comes a long section on illnesses head to foot, from apoplexy to toothache, tumours, gastric conditions, and STIs (e.g., gonorrhoea, priapismus, satyriasis). There follows an ‘Antidotaire’, with dozens of recipes for remedies against all kinds of common conditions, including alopecia, memory loss, cough, melancholy, vertigo, scotoma and lethargy, ending with a few pages on the medical properties of the most common herbs. Part III examines the most common illnesses head to foot, such as headache, epilepsy, palsy, phrenzy, cramps, pneumonia, palpitations, anorexia (with the subcategory ‘loathing of meat’), ‘cholerick passion’ (called by Shakespeare’s King Lear ‘hysterica passio’), and kidney conditions. Appended is ‘The Flowers of Celsus’, a collection of medical aphorisms. An important compendium for the history of English medicine. ESTC S119012; STC 24578; Krivatsy 12113. Not in Wellcome, Heirs of Hippocrates or Osler.
  • $4,283
  • $4,283
book (2)

Cogitationum de instauratione medicinae.

MOOR, Bartholomé de. ILLUSTRATED PARASITOLOGY FIRST EDITION. 8vo. pp. [32], 440, [2] + 3 folding plates. Roman letter, some Italic and Greek. Engraved title with architectural and marine view, 3 engraved anatomical folding plates, decorated initials and ornaments. Light age yellowing, small expert repair to blank verso of one plate. A very good copy in contemporary Dutch vellum over boards, corners bumped, C19 armorial bookplate of Charles L.B. de Peren to front pastedown, ms 1791 acquisition note of Sárospatak Reformed College, Hungary, by the librarian Sam. Vaczi, the college’s C19 stamp to third leaf and last verso, C19 ms pencil notes (one in Hungarian) to eps and upper cover, occasional C18 ms notes. First edition of this important work on pathology, with an interesting illustrated section on early parasitology. Bartholomé de Moor (1649-1724) was a physician in Gouda, and later professor at Groningen and Harderwijk. His most important work, ‘Cogitationum de instauratione medicinae’, is an extended examination of anatomy and pathology. Book I begins with an introduction to anatomy, especially blood circulation, written in lively Latin: e.g., the flowing of blood in the veins is compared to that of the river Thames in London, ‘so violent and thunderous when compressed by the docks, so quiet afterward’. Pl.1 portrays the dissection of a dog, used as an example instead of a human body, to illustrate the physiology of mammals. Pl.2 shows the dog's dissected heart and two instruments – including a ‘cantharus’ used to prepare drinking chocolate – illustrating how pressure makes the blood flow within the heart. Book II focuses on general pathology, especially symptoms, also in relation to the ‘regimen sanitatis’, with a section on parasitology. Most interesting is the section on tapeworms lodged in a woman’s brain, which Moor remarkably witnessed here for the second time in his career, quoting also the observations of other colleagues, such as Nicholas Tulp. Pl.3 illustrates the worm’s body and head, which Moor examined using a microscope. He then proceeds to discuss other conditions caused by worms. In the same Book, he also discusses epilepsy, ‘autumnal fever’, and the use of opium to treat sundry types of conditions. Book III deals with treatments (‘methodus medendi’), and includes a very interesting historical excursus on apotropaic and magical remedies used in the past, e.g., amulets, rings, the ‘barbarum’ ABRACADABRA, various Homeric lines, and the beginning of St John’s Apocalypse. It also examines how lifestyle quirks such as laziness, rest, sadness and extended nighttime thinking can affect one’s health. A most remarkable medical work, with unusual illustrations. Sárospatak was one of the earliest Reformed Colleges established in Hungary in the first half of the C16. In the course of its history, it hosted numerous excellent scholars, including Jan Comenius. Krivatsy 8079; Wellcome IV, p.166. Not in USTC, Osler or Heirs of Hippocrates.
  • $2,899
  • $2,899
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The Cure of All Sorts of Fevers.

FIRST EDITION. 4to. pp. [8], 53, [3]. Roman letter, diagrammatic layout. Decorated initials and ornaments. Very light browning. A good copy in half calf over marbled boards, spine gilt, Fox Pointe bookplate to front pastedown, early ms ‘4’ to outer margin of title, faint early pen trials to E3. First edition of this handy compendium in English of the causes and treatments of all kinds of fever. Nothing appears to be known of the (Welsh?) physician Edward Edwards, with a final ‘imprimatur’ from the Bishop of London after the text was examined and approved by the physician Alexander Read. This manual begins with a preface warning the reader against ‘impostors’, and ‘petticoat’ physicians and surgeons who are ‘gossips’ ‘who being frequent among sick folks, and hearing the advice and counsel of the learned and expert physician prescribing many fit things to his patient', prescribe similar remedies to patients, for money, without adjusting the remedy to the individual or the illness. The five parts discuss the nature and number of fevers, the inflammation of the spirits caused by fevers (without putrefaction), the ‘fever putrida’, and the ‘fever hectick’ (caused by unnatural heat). The whole work is presented as a series of charts illustrating the taxonomy of fevers, from general to specific, e.g., tertian, synochus putrida, ‘fever causon’ (‘the hottest burning fever continua’), epiola, lyparia, etc. Each chart provides a definition, taxonomy, the causes, signs, prognostic and cure. Several of the fevers mentioned seldom appear in manuals of general pathology, and if they do, not in such detail. Edwards highlights the fevers that were most dangerous and often led to death, making his charts interesting evidence for our knowledge of mortality causes in C17 England. The section on ‘fever pestilence’ lists as causes ‘God’s hand to punish sin’, ‘venomous ayre’ and ‘corrupt air/bad humours’, the prognostic being ‘death for the most part’, except in very few cases, and the cure being ‘submit thee to God, acknowledge your sins with hearty repentance’, as well as ‘order, diet and physical exercise’. A fascinating work, unusually structured and detailed. ESTC S100248; STC 7512; Krivatsy 3601; Not in Wellcome, Osler or Heirs of Hippocrates.
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Illustrium autorum collectanea ad usum studiosae iuventutis facta.

FIRST EDITION. 8vo. pp. [16], 248. Italic letter, little Roman. Decorated ornaments. Light age yellowing, ink splash at central gutter of first few ll., very light water stain to gathering B, occasional minor marginal foxing. A very good, clean copy in later vellum, two of four ties, chewing to lower edges, all edges sprinkled blue, C20 armorial bookplate of Gomez de Orozco to front pastedown. A remarkable survival of early C17 Jesuit education in colonial Spain, and a scarce early Mexican imprint by Henricus Martinez for the Jesuit Collegium in Mexico City. Born in Germany, Martinez was ‘an important figure in New Spain [ ]. Interpreter for the Inquisition, Royal Cosmographer for the Consejo de Indias in Mexico, author, printer and cartographer, Martinez was also the architect and engineer of the drainage system of the Valley of Mexico. [ ] In 1599, Martinez opened the fourth printing house in New Spain and published his first book the same year’ (Mathes, pp.62-3). A major example of Jesuit pedagogy and the ‘Virgilian Novo-Hispanic School’, ‘Illustrium Autorum collectanea’ is a collection of five Jesuit texts on Latin grammar, oratory and rhetoric. These are: a treatise on Latin eloquence by Francisco Silva Centurio; one on letter writing and one on poetry by Bartolomé Bravo; one on rhetorical principles (e.g., narrative genres, refutation, loci communes) by Pedro Juan Núñez; and a compendium of rhetoric by Cipriano Suárez. The editor, the Spanish Jesuit Bernardino Llanos (1560-1639), was the author of ‘the only surviving pieces written entirely in Latin and performed in Mexico in the C16’, and was a teacher of Latin and oratory in Mexico (Bloemendal, p.625). Following the Jesuit method, Llanos ‘enhanced the teaching of classical Latin through the use of models of Christian rhetoric, on the one hand, and, on the other, [carried out] successful editorial work epitomized by the printing of texts by Christian authors in the printing press of the Colegio Máximo de San Pedro and Saint Paul’ (Martinez). First established in 1574, the Collegium provided university-level education in the classics, theology and philosophy to students partially descended from European settlers. Though initially conceived for the training of Jesuit priests, it was later also attended by young men acquiring education for secular offices. From the library of Federico Gomez de Orozco (1891-1962), Mexican researcher of bibliography and manuscript studies. He owned the famous Mixtec Codex Gomez de Orozco. Only LC and Bancroft copies recorded in the US. Not at Hisp. Soc. of America. USTC 5028288; Medina, México, 215; Wilkinson 47993; Andrade, Ensayo bibliográfico mexicano del siglo XVII (3. ed.), 15; Palau y Dulcet (2. ed.), 118446; Sabin 22815 (under ‘ESCALANTE, Francisco de la Estela’). V. Mathes, ‘Enrico Martínez of New Spain’, The Americas, 33 (1976), pp. 62-77; Neo-Latin Drama in Early Modern Europe, ed. J. Bloemendal (2013); A. Martinez, ‘El teatro jesuita novohispano’, in Lara, Luis Fernando, et al. De amicitia et doctrina: homenaje a Martha Elena Venier (2007), pp.77-102.
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De ligni sancti multiplici medicina et vini exhibitione.

FIRST EDITION. 4to. ff. [58]. Roman letter. Woodcut arms of Pope Paul III to title. Outer margin and gutter of title a little dusty, next two ll. slightly adhering at gutter, occasional minor marginal spotting, lower edge trimmed short, touching a few signatures or catchwords, fore-edge of H1 trimmed. A good copy in carta rustica, spine strengthened with later paper, C19 paper label, early ms title to lower edge, the odd C16 marginal note. First edition of this ground-breaking medical treatise (and Americanum) on the use of Guaiacum (‘lignum sanctum’) for the treatment of syphilis and other illnesses, one of the most important herbal remedies brought back from the New World. Alfonso Ferri (d.1595) was surgeon to Pope Paul III, Paul IV and Julius III, professor at Naples and Rome, and author of a treatise on the treatment of gun wounds. Among the earliest works devoted to this subject, his ‘De ligni sancti’ introduced a new recipe for the preparation of Guaiacum with wine instead of water (as used in the New World). It begins with an explanation on the nature of Guaiacum, with references to methods of preparation, e.g., Santo Domingo and San José (as glossed by the occasional early annotator of this copy); its natural and medical properties, especially in the case of ‘morbus gallicus’ (syphilis), for which it became the main remedy; detailed instructions on its preparation (‘decoctio’), including the kind of vessel to be used, and additional ingredients; and ways of administering the resulting syrup. The second part explains how dozens of illnesses can be treated with Guaiacum: e.g., headache, melancholy, insomnia, vertigo, epilepsy and hair loss, with a longer section on syphilis and a few on the properties of quicksilver, to be used in tandem with Guaiacum. The final part explains how Guaiacum is more effective when administered with wine, as wine is more easily absorbed by the stomach. A very important medical work. USTC 829334; Durling 1506; Wellcome I, 2239; Harrisse, Bib. Amer. Vet. (Add.), 116; Alden I, p.45; JCB 23:5-6. Not in Heirs of Hippocrates, Simon or Oberlé.
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Odysseia. Batrachomnomachia. Hymnoi.

8vo. ff. 251, [1]. Greek letter. Printer’s device to title and last verso, with contemporary hand- colouring. Title and last verso a little dusty at margins, light age yellowing, occasional mostly marginal minor foxing, finger-soiling, light water staining to upper outer blank corner and fore-edge of last two gatherings in places. A very good copy in charming, unsophisticated contemporary northern or upper central Italian goatskin, lacking ties, double and triple blind ruled, outer border with blind roll of arabesque ropework, central panel with cross-hatched blind rolls of arabesque ropework and small blind-stamped fleurons, and small blind-stamped lilies at head and foot, raised bands, compartments cross-hatched in blind, blind rolls with arabesque ropework, tools in deep, crisp impression. Tiny loss to upper cover and head and foot of spine, corners a little worn. C20 Greek bookplate 1925 of Spyridon Loverdos to front pastedown, ink stamp to rear pastedown, and ms ‘die 14o septembres’ in a contemporary hand underneath, with C17 ex-libris ‘Caesaris Picj’ (Cesare Picchi?), Greek motto to title. The charming, unsophisticated, contemporary binding is northern or central Italian. Whilst the arabesque ropework is also found in mainland Veneto (e.g., Bologna, Archiginnasio MS A197) and Milan (combined with ropework border: see Davis III, 244; bound for Jean Grolier: Needham 41), the decorative style, and the central cross-hatching, is reminiscent of Tuscany (e.g., de Marinis I, 1119). Second Aldine edition of Homer’s works – the ‘Odyssey’, ‘Batrachomyomachia’ and ‘Hymns’ – generally found with a companion volume including the ‘Iliad’. ‘This ed. includes many corrections and improvements, [ ] and it is better and rarer than that of 1504, which was used as a starting point, and much more correct than the third of 1524’ (Renouard). Then and now, Homer has remained an obscure figure in the history of Western poetry. Whilst his ‘Iliad’ and ‘Odyssey’ are dated to the C9-8BC, it is uncertain whether there ever was a blind bard of such genius or whether his persona came to be used to identify the output of a long – standing oral epic tradition. The ‘Odyssey’ famously recounts the adventurous journey of Ulysses, King of Ithaca, to his native island after the end of the Trojan War, facing sirens, cyclops and many other perils. ‘Batrachomyomachia’ narrates a battle between Mice and Frogs, assisted by Zeus and other deities. The 33 ‘Hymns’ – attributed to, but not composed by, Homer – are each devoted to a different god or goddess, and written in a Greek language as archaic as Homer’s. Spyridon Loverdos (1877-1936) was a Greek bibliophile, politician and economist, and head of the National Bank. EDIT16 CNCE 22949; Renouard 80:3: ‘un nouveau texte’; Dibdin I, pp.165-6: ‘the second is esteemed the most rare and valuable’; Ahmanson-Murphy 153.
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Courtly Masquing Ayres

FIRST EDITION. Small 4to, pp. [16]. Some Roman and little Italic letter, letterpress diamond head musical notation for 30 dances, numbered 1-20 for 5, then 1-10 for 6 parts. Title framed in elaborate Roman arch covered in ivy, flanked by mythical creatures, motto ‘NON VI SED VIRTUTIS’ in roundel containing animal battle scene, t-p a little soiled, small repair to blank lower outer corner. Age yellowing, fore-edge uncut and a little frayed, light foxing. A good, well-margined copy in modern half-calf, marbled boards, gilt title to spine within gilt rules. Very rare copy of this wonderful collection of airs to accompany masquing dances for brass instruments, specifically cornets and sackbuts, a precursor to the modern trombone, in 5- and 6-part compositions. Masques were a form of courtly entertainment popular in the 16 th and 17 th centuries, ceasing in England during the Civil Wars. Like a ball, it involved music, dancing, singing and acting, often with disguises and a customary complimentary offering to the patron. Performers themselves would have also been disguised and often of the same sex, arriving together with torchbearers on an elaborately set stage, reflected in the sumptuous and dramatic classically inspired arch framing the title of the work. These events reached their height under the Stuarts, with renowned architects often being involved in the architectural set design, such as Inigo Jones. The composer, John Adson (c.1587-1640), was initially a cornett player in the service of Charles III, Duke of Lorraine, before moving to London and joining the City Waits, an early music ensemble, which he remained a part of until his death and was also associated with the King’s Company. Besides this work, only four other pieces are attributed to him, the Courtly Masquing Ayres being his best-known work. It opens with a dedication to George Villiers (1592-1628), Marquess of Buckingham, a renowned patron of the arts and favourite of King James I. He commissioned masques where he played a leading role, perhaps as a means of political and courtly advancement, possibly performing to the very music in this work, as he was known to have appeared as a dancer. Only 3 copies recorded in US at Brown, Case Western Reserve and Purdue. ESTC: S115265, Grove: pp.61, A Biographical Dictionary of English Court Musicians: pp.8-9