300 / 444
250
INCUNABULA
1136
[Bologna]
-
APULEIUS, Lucius
- Asinus aureus sive Metamorphosis [comm. Philippus
Beroaldus]. Bologna, B. Hectoris, 1 Aug. 1500, folio, 16th-c. overl. vellum (rubbed, old repairs,
some stains), [20]-282 ff., 52 ll., commentary surrounding text of 40 ll. (minor marg. dampstaining
and spotting, blank lower corners of some ff. and 2 blank inner margins strengthened). Very good
copy.
€ 2500/4000
1st separate ed. of the “Asinus aureus”
(The Golden Ass), the only Latin novel to survive in
its entirety (including the famous story of Amor and Psyche). Also the
1st ed.
of the extensive
commentary by the Bolognese humanist Ph. Beroaldus (1453-1505). Copy
with the 16-leaf “Tabula
vocabulorum et historiarum
”, “printed later than the body of the book” (BMC). Woodcut mark at
the end. Roman type. Capital spaces with guide-letters. Cont. marg. ms. notes throughout.
Ref.
ISTC
ia00938000. GW 2305. Goff A-938. IDL 383. IGI 773. BMC VI:845. BSBMünchen A-657. Not in
BN Paris, Polain.
1137
[Delft]
-
Die gulden litanie vander passien ons Heeren Jhesu Christi
. Delft, [Chr. Snellaert],
16 July 1494, 8vo, boards covered with a rubricated vellum leaf from a liturgical manuscript,
endpapers taken from an (unidentified) early incunable, [12 (of 16)] ff. (probably lacking 4 initial ff.
with woodcuts and text?), 21 ll. (1st ff. marginally stained). Good copy.
€ 2500/4000
2nd recorded copy
of this popular vernacular devotional booklet based on the mystical experiences
of the Franciscan nun
Magdalena von Freiburg
(1407-1458). Woodcut mark at the end. Printed
within decorative woodcut borders.
Ref.
ISTC il00229100 (1: Haarlem). GW M18435. ILC 1475.
IDL 2968. Jaspers (Haarlem) 130. Not in Goff, Polain, BMC, BNParis, BSBMünchen.
1138
[Florence]
-
GREGORIUS I (St)
- Sopra la vita di Job (trsl. from the Latin Zanobi di Strata &
Giovanni da Tussignano?). Florence, N. Laurentii, 15 June 1486, 2 vols, folio, mod. vellum, flat
spines titled in ink, [362], [264] ff., 43/44 & 49 ll. (a few light stains). Well-preserved copy.
Cfr. ill.
€ 4000/6000
1st ed.
of the Italian trsl. of the extensive commentary on the Book of Job by Pope Gregory I,
“Gregory the Great” (540-604). This is a beautifully printed book, the last signed and dated imprint
of Nicolaus Laurentius, a native of Breslau, who started printing in Florence in 1476. Added to our
copy is the
extremely rare splendid woodcut
, representing pope Gregorius I. This woodcut, only
found in very few copies, is remargined and repaired. The line of text below in excellent facsimile.
An example of movable pieces in a block is seen in a large woodcut of St. Gregory, which certainly
is a Venetian work, though it appears in certain copies of St. Gregory’s Moralia in Job, originally
issued by Nicolaus Laurentii (Alamannus) at Florence in 1486. This work was the last book printed
by Laurentii, and as the woodcut can hardly date much earlier than 1500 and is accompanied by a
title in red in a type such as was used by Emericus at Venice (this title here in black in facsimile),
it was undoubtedly an insertion, procured from Venice, made by some distributor of Laurentii’s
stock after the original issue. Both St. Gregory’s head and the church held in his hand, show in the
impression as separate pieces, a fact which proves that the cutter was evidently prepared to supply
other saints at request with economy to himself, though we have not found examples of the figure
differently used (Hind II pp. 497-498). 3 large initials in red, blue and green with extensions into the
margins.
Rubricated in red and blue throughout
. Roman type. Capital spaces with guide-letters.
Ref.
ISTC ig00435000. GW 11438. Goff G-435. Polain 1719 (1: KBR). IGI 4447. BMC VI:631. BSB
München G-322. Essling 321. Sander 3279. Not in BNParis, IDL.