
16TH-CENTURY BOOKS

[ENCOMPASSING THE REFORMATIONS]
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B-Bibles
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A Recusant's Account of Religion in England
from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I
Sanders, Nicholas (a.k.a., Sander, Saunder, Saunders). Nicolai Sanderi ... De origine ac progressu schismatis Anglicani, libri tres: quibus historia continetur maxime ecclesiastica, annorum circiter sexaginta ... Romae: Typis Bartholomaei Bonfadini, 1586. 8vo. [4] ff., 500 pp., [18] ff.
$750.00
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Sanders (ca. 1530–81) was a convert to Catholicism following his refusal in 1560 to take the Oath of Supremacy. Having fled England, he lived variously at Rome and Louvain. The present work is “his most influential. . . . Its textual history is complicated. Sander left it unfinished. Only one incomplete manuscript is known, partially annotated by [Robert] Persons [the Jesuit]. The first edition, nominally published in Cologne in 1585, actually appeared from the press of Jean Foigny at Rheims. Its editor, Edward Rishton, reworked at least book 3" (DNB online).
The text is a detailed account of the religious troubles in England during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth I, with
many references to Zwinglianism and Calvinism. At the end is John Hart's anonymous account (“Diarium rerum gestarum in Turri Londinensi”) of his imprisonment in the Tower of London, containing also a list of persons imprisoned or executed in the Tower from 1580 to 1584.
This is the second edition and the first printing of the work at Rome: It is enlarged with the just-noted “Diarium” and with “other substantial additions by Robert Persons who saw it through the press” (Allison and Rogers).
Provenance: Purchased from Ludwig Rosenthal's shop in 2000; in a private collection until 2016.
Edit16 CNCE 26601; Graesse, Trésor de Livres rares et précieux, VI, 262; Allison & Rogers, Contemporary Printed Literature of the English Counter-Reformation, I, 973. Early vellum over pasteboards, raised bands; author and title inked early to spine, and a small, old paper shelf-label to top compartment. Text slightly foxed, two blank margins repaired of old, tear in one leaf repaired.
A nice copy. (36737)


SAVONAROLA
Savonarola Instructs Young Priests on
Confession
Savonarola, Girolamo. Confessionale pro instructione confesso[rum]. [colophon: Venetiis: per Francisum de Bindonis, 21 April 1524]. Small square 8vo (14 cm; 5.5"). 98 [i.e., 96] ff.
$3500.00
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Savonarola's detailed instructions for confessors are here newly edited by the philologist Lucas Olchinensis Panaetius (fl. 1518) and dedicated to Antonio Contarini (d. 1524), a patriarch of Venice. First published coincident with Savonarola's death, this manual was reprinted at least 42 times in the next 200 years and was so popular that the Pope in 1581 contributed a preface! Specifically addressed to young priests, it reviews various sins, describes the qualities of a good confessor, guides the reader through interrogation techniques, and assigns appropriate penances, thereby bearing
singular, significant witness to Savonarola's effective work as a conventional priest, not a radical public reformer loudly auguring the Apocalypse. The Rudimentary References of Elias de Ferrariis (d. 1348), another tool for novice priests, is appended starting on p. 45.
A famous woodcut of Savonarola seated to the left of a desk in his cell, writing, beneath a crucifix and a window without bars, introduces an edition of his text that is neatly printed in Gothic type with two large, ten-line criblé woodcut initials beginning the major sections.
Marks of readership: Sparse underlining, a couple annotations, and manicules, all in early ink.
Adams S469; CNCE 23210; Sander 6767; Essling 1465; Giovannozzi no. 27; D. Weinstein, “Il Manuale per confessori del Savonarola,” in Memorie Domenicane, N. 29 (1998), pp. 21–38. 20th-century patterned paper–covered boards, faded blue edges (with a few marginal stains from the blue paint); trimmed close, especially at foot. Repairs to first and final leaves affecting one word in the title and a few letters in the letter to the editor; small tear to one leaf's upper margin crossing headline without loss; final quire with most leaves repaired at gutter and two at the top inner margin; leaves 92 to end with both a very small semicircular area of insect-gnawing to fore-edges and a modest brown stain in the upper outer corners not affecting text.
A good, evocative little book. (27049)

With a FAMOUS Printer's Device — Nicely Bound
Savonarola, Girolamo. Reverendi P. fra. Hieronymi Savonarol[a]e in primam D. Ioannis epistolam & in alia sacr[a]e scriptur[a]e verba, igniti eloquii sermones nusqua[m] ante hac impressi. Quorum titulos, pagella sequens indicat. Venetiis: In officina ... Bernardini Stagnini, 1536. 8vo (15.5 cm; 6,125"). 103, [1] ff.
$2800.00
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The reformist Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola (1452–98) famously delivered many invectives against greed and grandiosity at Florence from 1490 until his execution. Although his call for poverty and piety appealed to many Florentines — San Marco, where Savonarola was made Prior in 1491, reportedly became so inundated with people that he had to preach at the Duomo! — the fiery self-proclaimed prophet quickly lost favor with officials; his sermons censuring the government and his vitriolic criticism of the Church ultimately led to his excommunication by Alexander VI in May 1497, and to
public burning at the stake in June of the next year. His apocalyptic sermons were (posthumously) placed on the Index.
The present volume contains 19 sermons on the first epistle of St. John, concerned with Christian life and the danger posed by false teachers. Savonarola delivered them ca. 1490 (advent 1491, according to Villari), having recently returned to Florence from years teaching and preaching in nearby Italian cities. Each begins with a scriptural reference, followed by exegesis and contemporary application.
Printed in gothic type (title in roman), 35–36 lines in single-column format, with side- and shouldernotes, the volume offers handsome criblé woodcut initials at the beginning of every sermon but two; sermons 9 and 17 instead have guide letters. The title-page bears a very large “phoenix” printer's device; errata are printed on the final two leaves.
Adams S506; Brunet V, 168; Graesse, VI, 283; CNCE 33380; Giovannozzi 153; Ridolfi v. 1, no. 3 (and pp. 24–27); Catalogo della collezione Guicciardiniana della Bib. Nazionale Centrale di Firenze 306; on Savonarola's return to Florence and sermons on First John, see: Villari, The History of Girolamo Savonarola (1863), Book I, ch. VIII. 20th-century crushed black morocco: covers plain, spine with author, title, place, and date of publication in gilt. Gilt double rule on board edges, gilt inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all bright. All edges gilt over red. A few minor stains and very mild foxing to the final two leaves; manuscript underlining on one page. Very good++.
In fact an exceptionally lovely volume. (27056)

A Title-Page Image
of Savonarola, a Fine Printer's Device, & Three Initials
Savonarola, Girolamo. Fratris Hieronymi Savonarolae Ferrarie[n]sis expositiones in psalmos. Qui regis israel. Miserere mei deus. In te domine speravi. Item: Regulae quedam fructuosissimae ad omnes religiosos attinentes. Oratio, vel psalmus, Diligam te domine. [colophon: Venetiis: p[er] Franciscu[m] de Bindonis accuratissime ipresse, 1524]. 8vo (14.5 cm; 5.75"). 47 (of 48) ff., lacking final blank.
$3500.00
A neat, attractive compilation of several of Savonarola's writings including his exposition on St. Ambrose's rendering of Psalm 80 into a hymn on the Virgin Birth; his famous, extended essay on the Penitential Psalm beginning “Miserere mei Deus,” written in prison after he had confessed to heresy under torture; and a meditation on Psalm 31 that he had not quite finished at the time of his execution, this being the psalm beginning in the KJV, “In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed . . .”
Also present is a printing of his Regulae septem ad omnes religiosos, a brief and strict rule for priests, friars, and brothers wishing to live a proper life.
Title-page in roman type and with a large woodcut of Savonarola in his cell writing (Savonarola on the left, window without bars). The text is printed in gothic with three large woodcut initials.
The printer's large, handsome device appears below the colophon.
“Novissime cum textuu[m] annotationibus omnia diligenter recognita.”
Adams S493; Essling 1464; Giovannozzi 120. 20th-century vellum over light paste boards, old style. Top margin of verso of title-page with small paper repair. Brown stain in in lower part of some leaves but not all; into text on most affected leaves but not all. Lacks final blank (only). Good+. (27052)

Pocket Savonarola — First Complete Edition
Savonarola, Girolamo. Reverendi P. fratris Hieronymi Savonarolae ordinis praedicatorum dialogus, cui titulus Solatium itineris mei. [colophon: Venetiis: per Ioannem Patauinum & Venturinum de Ruffinellis, 1535]. 16mo (10.9 cm; 4.375"). [83] of [84] ff., lacks final blank.
$2800.00
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First edition of this dialogue “nunc primum impressus” in seven books written by the vexatious Dominican priest Girolamo Savonarola (1452–98) on God, faith, and ecclesia. The sixth book De vita futura treats punishment of the Bad and the glory of the Good.
Of this work there exist two redactions, both published posthumously: One incomplete in three books (Venice 1537), and this, complete in seven. Savonarola probably composed these consolations ca. 1497 (see Giovannozzi) — the year he was excommunicated, and one year prior to his public burning at the stake in Florence.
Printed in roman type, 23 lines in single-column format, with side- and shouldernotes and with woodcut initials at the beginning of each book, this bears on its title-page a woodcut printer's device of a phoenix in flames facing the sun. Errata are printed on the recto of the final leaf.
Not in Adams. Giovannozzi 223; Ridolfi, Vita, I, 313, and II, 193; Catalogo della collezione Guicciardiniana della Bib. Nazionale Centrale di Firenze, Suppl. III, p. 41; CNCE 47754. 20th-century vellum, a bit sprung, with remnant of an old paper shelf label at base; lacks final blank (only). Light brown stain in upper part of last two leaves and even lighter old staining elsewhere; otherwise, the odd spot only. Very good. (27059)



History of the Church — Emphasis on BOOKS!
Schelhorn, Johann Georg. Ergötzlichkeiten aus der kirchenhistorie und literatur. Ulm und Leipzig: Rosten der Bartholomäischen Handlung, 1762. 8vo (17.6 cm; 7"). I: [10], 185, [6], 188–374, [5], 380–566, [3], 572–746, [17] pp. II: [6], 188, [5], 194–380, [5], 386–567, [6], 578 –764, [14] pp. III: [7], 766–952, [5], 954–1139, [6], 1142–2128, [5], 2130–2282, [16] pp.
$375.00
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History of the Protestant Church, complete with excerpts from foundational texts, here bound in three volumes. Schelhorn (1694–1773) was a Lutheran theologian who studied at the University of Jena before serving as a preacher and later superintendent for the city of Memmingen. Luther, Melanchton, and several popes' actions are discussed; the text (which is in a mix of fraktur, roman, and italic) also includes
bibliographies of rare and prohibited books. In this copy, the contents of section four are bound near the start of vol. I instead of the most logical location.
Provenance: From the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School (properly deaccessioned).
19th-century cream paper–covered boards with handwritten spine labels of paper, all edges speckled red; well rubbed with some loss of paper, dust-soiled especially to spines and top edges. Ex–seminary library with remnants of spine labels, bookplates on front pastedowns and a fly-leaf, small inking on endpapers, and light pencilling to title-page versos and one leaf of text. Light age-toning, with pinprick wormhole affecting margins or parts of letters (but not sense) in several gatherings, wormtracking on inner margins of a few others; a few paper flaws, small spots or stains, two repairs, one marginal tear with paper loss, another small marginal hole, two leaves with inked notes.
In fact a nice old trio. (37076)

English REFORMATION Satire
Printed in the 19th Century ON VELLUM
[Shepherd, Luke, fl.1548]. [drop-title] John Bon and mast person. [London]: [colophon: J. Smeeton, Printer], n.d. [1807 or 1808]. Small 4to (27 cm; 10.5"). [5] ff.
$1950.00
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One of either 12 or 25 copies printed on vellum (as per Alston in the former case, as per Oxford cataloguer and a contemporary note on title-page in the latter). John Bon was originally printed by Daye and Seres in London in 1548 (STC 3258.5) and is here reproduced in letterpress facsimile from a copy formerly owned by Richard Forster
Attributed to Luke Shepherd by Halkett and Laing, this is a satirical poem, a dialogue in verse, on the Eucharist, and could even be seen as a short play. It is printed in gothic (black letter) type with
a large woodcut of a procession of the Eucharist on the title-page.
None of the copies reported to WorldCat, COPAC, or NUC are described as printed on vellum. The copy that Alston found at the British Library is not findable via the BL OPAC.
Provenance: Early 19th-century manuscript ownership on front fly-leaf: “Thomas Briggs Esq., Edgeware Road.” Most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
Alston, Books Printed on Vellum in the Collections of the British Library, p. 35; Halkett & Laing (2nd ed.), III, p. 192; Halkett & Laing (3rd ed.), J21 (var.) l NSTC, I, S1667. Original dun colored boards with beige linen shelfback; rebacked, and binding discolored. “25 copies Printed on chosen Parchment” written in ink in an early 19th-century hand in lower margin of the title-page. Foxing, heaviest on last three leaves; last page (a publisher's note and colophon) lightly inked and so a little faint.
A nice find for the collector of printing on vellum, letterpress facsimiles, or reprints of rare 16th-century English tracts. (34699)

The ABOVE on Paper More Affordably!
[Shepherd, Luke, fl. 1548]. [drop-title] John Bon and mast person. [London]: [colophon: J. Smeeton, Printer], n.d. [1807 or 1808]. 4to (21 cm, 12.25"). [5] ff.
$750.00
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The letterpress facsimile described above in a copy printed on vellum is printed here on the “regular” paper MUCH more affordably.
Provenance: From the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
Halkett & Laing (2nd ed.), III, p. 192; Halkett & Laing (3rd ed.), J21 (var.) l; NSTC, I, S1667. Original dun-colored boards; discolored with abrading along board edges and joints (outside). Foxing to blank pages and lesserly to text; stock of the text pages tan.
A classic 19th-century production. (39519)
The Roman Empire
Divided
Sigonio, Carlo. Historiarvm de
occidentali imperio libri XX. Bononiae: Apud Societatem Typographiae Bononiensis, 1578. Folio (30.6 cm, 12"). A–E6 F8 G–Z6
AA–ZZ6 AAa–EEe6 (EEe3–4 lacking); 564 (i.e., 568) pp., [24] ff. (of which 2 ff. lacking).
$975.00
Carolus Sigonius (Italian Carlo Sigonio or Sigone, 1524–84) was a professor at the University of Bologna and a leading humanist noted as being the first to apply “accurate criticism . . . to the chronology of Roman history” (Sandys). His history of the western Roman Empire covers the period from 284—the beginning of the reign of Diocletian, who divided the empire into east and west—until Justinian’s death in 565. In addition, Sigonius wrote a number of works in law and classical studies and a history of the kingdom of Italy from the Lombard invasion in 568 through the 13th century.
This is this history’s first edition and was followed by 1579, 1593, and 1628 editions. It is printed with a woodcut printer’s device on the title-page showing the goddess Liberty with two books labelled “Bononia docet” (“Bologna teaches”) at her feet. The text is enclosed in double-ruled borders and simply ornamented with a few woodcut initials, one of which shows Juno being pulled in her chariot by peacocks.
Adams S1117; Soltész, Catalogus librorum sedecimo saeculo . . . in Bibliotheca Nationali Hungariae . . . S524. On Sigonius, see: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., XXV, 82; and Sandys, History of Classical Scholarship, II, 143–45. Full calf old style: Round spine with raised bands, accented in gilt beading; tan leather title label; fillets in blind extending onto covers from each band to terminate in trefoils with blind double fillets beyond. Pages lightly washed, clean, and crisp: a few instances of staining, not obscuring text; a few short notations in ink and occasional worming in the margins, neither affecting text; ink stain on p. 95 obscuring letters without loss of sense. Inked title on lower edge, old style. Three ink ownership stamps on title-page. EEe3–4, the last two leaves of the index, are lacking. (4561)

Early Americanum, BAV 51 — Woodcut Title-page by Burgkmair
Stamler, Johannes. Dyalogus ... de diversarum gencium sectis et mundi religionibus. [colophon: Auguste: Per Erhardum Oglin & Ieorgi Nadler, 1508]. Folio (31 cm, 12.25"). [2], 32, [2] ff.
$2775.00
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The first edition of this survey of “the diverse peoples and religions of the world.” Stamler, a parish priest in Kissingen, Bavaria, studies the religions of the Turks, Saracens, Tartars, and Jews via the conceit of a
dramatic dialogue. Marginal notes point out the various heresies of those systems of beliefs — that is, heresies as defined by European Catholicism. The work was edited by Wolfgang Aittinger and its title-page is a full-block xylograph by Hans Burgkmair, which he has signed with his initials in the block's lower righthand corner. Oddly, this is printed again on the verso of the title-page, thus producing a double title-page.
Another curious aspect of this work is found in the prefatory letter from the author to Jacob Locher, dated 1506 and found on the verso of leaf aiii.
Stamler specifically mentions Columbus and Vespucci and the world's debt to them. “De insulis aut inuentes mention nullã facio: Sed Cristoferi Colom erund inutoris et Alberici Vespucii de orbe moderno inuento (quibus tas nostra potissimú debet) quos tibi presentibus tractatulos mitto conspicias” — our free translation: “I do not make mention of the newly discovered islands: However, I send you [copies] of the little treatises of Christopher Columbus and Albert Vespucci (to whom our age is greatly indebted) on the newly discovered world.” Where are the Stamler–Locher copies of those very rare books today?
Harrisse, Bibliotheca Americana Vetustissima, 51 (“extremely rare”); Alden & Landis 508/19; Sabin 90127; Maggs, Bibl. Amer., 22; Church 26; Shaaber S522; VD16 S8527. Late 20th–century quarter calf, old style: Boards covered with handsome waste paper from an edition of Eusebius, spine with gilt-beaded raised bands and blind ruling above and below each extending onto covers, terminating in blind-tooled trefoils. Title-leaf torn with loss in the lower outside corner (perhaps one sixth of the leaf), restored and with missing image supplied in excellent pen and ink facsimile; one line on one page closely shaved, with loss of parts of all its letters and two words. Some old underlining and a few marginal words; dedication with final printed line repeated in an early inked hand. Variable soiling; light waterstaining and other stains here and there, most noticeable on early and late leaves. An agreeable copy of an Americanist's rarity, priced with its faults stressed more than its considerable charms. (38394)

Like Father / Like Son
Strozzi, Tito Vespasiano; Ercole Strozzi; Aldo Manuzio. Strozii poetae pater et filius. Parisiis: Ex officina Simonis Colinaei, 1530. 8vo (17.3 cm, 6.75"). [8], 256, [4] ff.
$2800.00
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First and only Colines edition from Italian Renaissance father and son poets, containing a dedication by Aldus Manutius to Lucrezia Borgia, an extensive table of contents, poems by Ercole Strozzi (1473–1508) followed by those of his father Tito Vespasiano Strozzi (1424–1505), and “Oratio tumultario habita à Coelio Calcagnino in funere Herculis Strozae.” The content covers a variety of themes — from the religious to the erotic — and formats, including numerous elegies and epitaphs.
The text is neatly printed in single columns of italic text, with a few uncompleted guide letters and initial letters in roman; the Colines “Tempus II” printer's device of Time with his scythe appears on the title-page, with the motto “Hanc aciem sola retundit virtus” on a ribbon over a cartouche containing the word “tempus.” The text was originally published by Aldus in 1513; Colines enhances the introduction with a 33-line epitaph to the poet.
Binding: 19th-century rather deeply diced calf; spine gilt-lettered, gilt-ruled with solid and dotted lines, and gilt-stamped with a central floral device in five compartments. Covers framed with a gilt rope and floral roll, board edges with a dash and dot roll in gilt, turn-ins gilt with a Greek key roll; Stormont marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, ribbon place marker.
Evidence of Readership: A reader has helpfully added inked marginal reference numbers approximately every eight lines, for ease of navigation, and entered one small correction in an early hand.
Provenance: From the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
Schreiber, Colines, 68; Renouard, Simon de Colines, pp. 166–7; Moreau, Éditions parisiennes du XVI siècle, III, 2292; Adams S1957. Bound as above, gently rubbed with some loss of leather at corners; joints (outside) refurbished and front one beginning to crack but covers solidly attached. A few pencilled notes on endpapers; faint touches of hand-coloring on title-page and (perhaps) one leaf of text. Light age-toning with a handful of spots, three small marginal paper flaws including one to title-page; two other small holes and one repair. Provenance and readership markings as above, perhaps a third of the marginal numbers partially trimmed. A pleasurable book to hold or
use. (38144)

Three 1586 Greek Works from Fédéric Morel's Press
Synesius, of Cyrene, Bishop of Ptolemais. [title in Greek, romanized as] Synesiou Kyrênês Episcopou Ymnoi deka. Grêgoriou tou Nazianzêiou ôdai teatares. [bound with two others, see below]. Lutetiae [Paris]: Apud Federicum Morellum, 1586. 8vo (18 cm; 7"). 88 pp. [with the same author's] [title in Greek romanized as] ... Peri enypnion ... Liber de insomniis ... Lutetiae [Paris]: Apud Federicum Morellum, 1586. 8vo. 56 pp. (lacking parts 2 and 3; [10], 31, [5], 55, [1] ff.). [with] John Chrysostom, Saint. [title in Greek romanized as] Ioannou tou Chrysostomou Peri Heimarmenes te kai pronoias. [then in Latin:] Divi Ioannis Chrysostomi Conciucnculae perquam elegantes sex de fato & prouidentia Dei. Lutetiae [Paris]: Apud Federicum Morellum, 1586. 8vo. 82. (i.e., 79), [1] pp.
$2875.00
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An attractive Greek sammelband of scarce theological works in a trio produced by Frédéric Morel (1552–1630) — heir of a great line of Paris printers after his father’s death in 1583 and, from 1581, the French Royal Printer for the Greek, as blazoned by the dedicated printer’s device with pike, snake, and olive branch on each title-page here. Based on editions previously produced by other Parisian printers (and sometimes also bound together), this sammelband boasts the famous Grec du Roi typeface — in particular, the Royal Pica Greek — that Morel had inherited, ultimately, from Robert Estienne, and which was originally produced by Garamond.
Synesius (373–414), Bishop of Ptolemais, was known in the Renaissance for his intriguing works, spanning subjects as varied as the praise of hair and the making of astrolabes. First here, entirely in Greek, are his ten famous hymns of Neoplatonic feeling, followed by four odes by the Church Father Gregory of Nazianzus (329–90), Archbishop of Constantinople. Next comes part I (only) of Synesius’s second work – Peri enypniōn — “one of the most fervent writings in the area of religiously founded speculation about divination through dreams,” and “an important representative of Greek oneirological thinking” (Bittrich, 71); this concludes with a short Orphic hymn. The last work presents the influential Conciunculae by John Chrysostom (347–407), a treatise on fate and divine providence, followed by short excerpts from St. Isidore’s epistles.
In addition to the royal printer’s woodcut device on titles, the works all also have interesting decorated initials and ornaments.
Binding: Late 18th-century green sheep, board edges gilt with a decorated fillet with stars in a chaine; spine gilt with Greek fillet and urns. Gilt inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt.
Provenance: From the library of the Hardens of Crea, King’s Co., in Ireland, and probably bound in Dublin in the second half of the 18th century. Armorial bookplate printed in red of Henry Hurden, L.L.B.; most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
I: Not in Brunet or USTC. II: USTC 171954; Pettegree & Walsby 87229; Renouard 1584 06:14:1; Brunet, V, 614. III: Adams, C1546. Bittrich, “Outline of a General History of Speculation about Dreams,” in On Prophecy, Dreams and Human Imagination (2014), 71–96. Bound as above, second work lacking parts II and III, rubbed and with spine a little sunned; text remarkably clean, with
generous lower margins. Light age-toning small light water stain at foot of a few leaves; two pages in last section with old pencilled underlining.
Handsome Greek printing with pleasing provenance. (37798)

Interpreting the Prophets
Theophylactus of Achrida; Lonicer, Jean (trans.). Theophylacti Bulgariae archiepiscopi In quatuor Prophetas enarrationes. Parisiis: Apud Iacobum Bogardum, sub insigni D. Christophori è regione gymnasij Cameracensium, 1549. 8vo (17.5 cm, 6.75’’). [8], 112 ff.
$875.00
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Theophylactus (1055–1107) was a Byzantine archbishop of Achrida, in Bulgaria, and an important theologian whose work was included by Thomas Aquinas in his Catena aurea. First published in Latin in the 1520s, his commentaries on the Scriptures were very influential to Erasmus’s exegetical work. This scarce Parisian edition, based on Bogard’s of 1542, was reprinted by his heirs in cooperation with Jean Macé; the title-pages of the two issues bear slight differences in the imprint information. The work features Theophylactus’s commentary on the Old Testament books of Habakkuk, Jonah, Nahum, and Hosea in Loncier's translation from the Greek, which first appeared in 1534; each chapter discusses their most important vaticinia with Theophylactus' interpretations following, with mention of early Christian heresies and doctrinal debates.
Binding: 16th-century polished calf expertly rebacked in slightly lighter leather; spine plain with raised bands accented by blind rules above and below each band. Covers blind-ruled with large gilt fleurons to corners and gilt floral centerpieces. All edges gilt.
Provenance: Contemporary inscription “Perrot” to title-page (possibly Charles Perrot, 1541–1608, a Protestant minister in Geneva who preached religious tolerance and so fell out of favor with Calvin); slightly later name “Langloir” also inked to same.
Small 19th-century photographic portrait of a military officer pasted to verso of front free endpaper. Most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
Pettegree & Walsby record two copies, one in the U.S. (Harvard); WorldCat and COPAC find no copies with Bogard’s imprint.
Renouard, Imprimeurs & libraires Parisiens du XVIe siècle, 281; Pettegree & Walsby, French Books, 8834. Bound and rebacked as above, with onetime cracking to covers near joints also strengthened/refurbished with darkening to leather; minor repair to corners, and later endpapers. Text double-ruled in red, with occasional slight toning and a little foxing to the title-page and last three leaves; a slender waterstain to the upper blank margin of the last two leaves and a small repair to the outer blank margin of the last.
A very nice copy in an interesting binding. (40794)

Seeing a
Renaissance Man's MIND through His Letters
Tolomei, Claudio. Delle lettere di M. Clavdio Tolomei libri VII. Vinegia: Presso Altobello Salicato, 1572. 8vo (16 cm, 6.25"). 296, [8] ff.
$900.00
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Emily Dickinson famously observed that “a letter always seemed to me like immortality because it is the mind alone without corporeal friend.” So it is that here in this collection of Renaissance-era letters we meet the mind of Tolomei (1492–1555), a Humanist poet, diplomat, philologist, literary critic, and Catholic bishop. He counted among his many correspondents such notables as Anibal Caro, King Francis I, Aretino, Paolo Manuzio, Girolamo Ruscelli, and Bernardino Ochino; and among the women of his era Giulia Gonzaga, Vittoria Farnese, Camilla Saracini, Catherine de' Medici, Lavinia Sanvitale, Countess Olimpia Tolomei, and the Archduchess Margaret of Austria (1480–1530).
Topics found in this collection of correspondence are wide ranging: Dante and terze rime, poetic style, preference for the Tuscan dialect, the fountains and viaducts of Rome, proper use of honorifics in letters, the letter “H” in Tuscan Italian and whether it is aspirated or not, teaching the alphabet to beginners, how a prince should react to those who speak ill of him, and the use of Greek words and terms.
This edition “con nuova aggiunta ristampati, & con somma diligenza da molti errori corretti” is printed in italic, and divided into seven “books,” each “book” beginning with a woodcut factotum initial. The printer's handsome woodcut device graces the title-page and the volume ends with three useful indices.
Provenance: Black-stamped supra-libros (faded to “silver”) of Paulus von Pruan (1548–1616), the Nuremberg merchant and collector, and his signature on the front free endpaper; most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
Adams T789; EDIT16 CNCE 30511. Contemporary limp vellum (lacking front pastedown) with slightly yapp edges; evidence that an old manuscript leaf was repurposed in construction of spine and of now-absent ties. Occasionally a little old very light staining or foxing; clean and nice.
A desirable copy. (38143)

A Lovingly
ILLUSTRATED Fables Collection
Verdizotti, Giovanni Mario. Cento favole morali de i piu illustri antichi, & moderni autori Greci, & Latini. In Venetia: Appresso Sebastian Combi, 1599. 12mo (14.1 cm, 5.5"). 253, [11] pp.; illus.
$1000.00
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Scarce, charmingly petite edition of Italian artist and writer Verdizotti's popular collection of illustrated fables taken from classical sources, here with
one hundred in-text woodcuts — one for each tale, with a few repeated images. These cuts are based on his earlier designs, sometimes said to have been inspired by his friend Titian. The text is printed in single columns using italic type for the fables, with morals printed in roman; decorative initials and endpieces complete the work.
While the work was popular enough to merit reprintings throughout the 16th and 17th centuries following the first edition of 1570, the present edition is now uncommon: Searches of Worldcat and NUC Pre-1956 reveal only one U.S. institution that reports holding this printing, with EDIT16 finding only one additional international institution with holdings.
Provenance: From the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
EDIT16 CNCE 60555; Mortimer, Italian 16th-Century Books, 523 (note); USTC 862550. This edition not in Adams. Contemporary limp vellum, title inked on spine with red painted shelfmark, title inked on fore- and bottom edges in an early hand; vellum stained and cockled, heavily chipped at spine head and very loosely attached, endpapers torn and soiled with evidence of worming and a few bibliographical notes in ink and pencil. Booklabel as above; light age-toning throughout, with waterstaining to lower and outer portions of the very faint to moderate level that reduces price but not pleasure. This was printed on inexpensive paper, as evidenced by one leaf with a small hole and a few examples of uneven edges; it has also been well read, with a few loosely attached quires, worn edges, occasionally a spot or a tear. A scarce edition that in this copy has had plenty of adventures and is ready for more; the illustrations are
wonderful. (39635)
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