Book History, Education, Learning & Printing

TORRENTINUS, Hermannus. Elucidarius carminu[m] et historiaru[m] vel vocabularius poeticus co[n]tine[n]s fabulas: historias: provincias: urbes: insulas: fluvios: et montes illustres.
(Colophon:) Hagenau, Heinrich Gran for Johann Rynmann, 1510. 4to. 19th-century blind-tooled red morocco, with a gold-tooled centre-piece on both sides, title, date and location of printing lettered in gold on the spine, gold- and blind-tooled broad turn-ins, gilt edges, blue endpapers. [1 blank], [60], [1 blank] ll. Full description

TORRENTINUS, Hermannus (Herman van der BEKE). Elucidarius poeticus co[n]tinens historias poeticas, fabulas, insulas regiones, urbes, fluvios, mo[n]tesq[ue] insigniores, atq[ue] huiusmodi alia, ...
Antwerp, Michiel Hillen van Hoogstraten, 1527. With the title in an elaborate woodcut border.
With: (2) [FIOCCHI, Andrea Dominico (Andras Dominicus FLOCCUS)] under the name of Lucius FENESTELLA. De magistratibus, sacerdotiisq[ue] Romanorum libellus, iamprimum nitori restitutus.
[Cologne, Hero Fuchs, 1527]. With the title in a finely cut 4-piece woodcut border. 2 editions in 1 volume. 8vo. 16th-century(?) limp vellum (formerly used for a slightly thinner book). The binding is an interesting example of a spine reinforced with a horizontal metal rod at the central sewing support to give more support and prevent the bookblock from becoming concaved or developing sharp kinks; probably bound in Flanders. [88]; [88] ll. Full description

TOSTATUS (TOSTADO DE MADRIGAL), Alfonso. Super Leviticum in sensu litterali nova et hactenus abscondita a se edita commentaria.
(Colophon: Venice, Petrus Liechtenstein, 1529). With title-page printed in red and black with a large woodcut containing the coats of arms of the Emperor Charles V (Charles I of Spain) and two bishops (the author and perhaps a relative), leaf 2 with a woodcut of the author writing at his desk, with his arms, and a woodcut initial with the other bishop's arms inside the letter, the arms in the initial and some lines of text printed in red. Printed in two columns.
With: (2) TOSTATUS, Alfonso. Opus super Deuteronomium.
(Colophon: Venice, Petrus Liechtenstein, 1528). With title-page printed in red and black, leaf 1 with a woodcut of the author writing at his desk, with his arms (not the same woodcut as in ad 1), and a woodcut initial with the other bishop's arms as in ad 1. Printed in two columns. 2 works in 1 volume. Folio. Contemporary blind- and gold-tooled tanned sheepskin over wooden boards; each board in a panel design with 2 (on the back board 3) different vine rolls, rules, and on the front board a central medaillon depicting Bathsheba kneeling before King David playing his harp, and a half dozen separate stamps, with author and title at the head, "Thostati Super Leviti et Deuteronomy" and the binding date MDXXXII (1532); blind-tooled spine, remnants of brass anchor plates on the back board (for straps?), catch plates on the front board lacking. 249, [1 blank]; [1], 120 ll. Full description

TRIGAULT, Nicolas. Vita Gasparis Barzaei...
Antwerp, J. Trognesius, 1610. 8vo. With a woodcut vignette on the title page, some woodcut ornamental head- and tailpieces, and some woodcut decorated initials. Modern vellum. [1], [1 blank], [12], [2 blank], 338, [20], [2 blank] pp. Full description

TRIGAULT, Nicolas. La vie du P. Gaspar Barzee Zelandois, de la Compagnie de Jesus. ... En la conqueste d'un Nouveau Monde à la foy Chrestienne, soubs les estandarts du bon Jesus, en l'Inde Orientale.
Douai, Noel Wardavoir, 1615. Small 8vo (14.5 x 9 cm). Contemporary limp vellum. [24], 444, [4] pp. Full description

[PROPAGANDA FIDE - ALPHABETA]. [Alphabets of non-Latin scripts, including Hebrew, Samaritan and Syriac].
Rome, Propaganda Fide, [ca. 1700/60?]. Oblong 8vo (11 x 17 cm). A complete set of 12 leaves published without a title-page, printed on rectos only, each page with a frame of double rules and an additional single rule (built up from short rules) delineating a panel at the head that contains the title of the leaf, 10 of the 12 beginning "Alfabeto ..." and showing woodcut (3) or typographic (7) alphabets, the latter showing Hebrew (meruba & rabbinical), Samaritan (majuscule) and Syriac (estrangela & serto) types. The other 2 leaves show a woodcut illustration of an inscription in stone and an interpretation of it (including a smaller woodcut). Contemporary vellum, with the spine at the head of the leaves. [12] ll. Full description

ULLOA, Alfonso de. Historie, ende het leven van den aldermachtichsten ende victorieusten keyser Caerle de Vijfde van dien name. Inden welcken niet alleen beschreven en zijn de hooge ende seer vrome daden vanden selven Prince, maer oock de merckelijckste saken die over alle de werelt/ insonderheyt inde Oost ende West-Indyen geschiet zijn. Eerstmael in Italiaensche tale beschreven.
Amsterdam, Jacob Pietersz. Paets [printed by Isaac Jansz. Canin in Dordrecht?], 1610. Folio. With the engraved architectural frame on the title-page signed with a BD monogram (Baptista van Doetecum?) and 16 full-page and 2 smaller engraved portraits of contemporary lords and rulers by Nicolaes de Clerck (1569/70-1623). Contemporary vellum. [2], 221, [9] ll. Full description

ULPIANUS of Emesa and Valerius HARPOCRATION. Commentarioli in olynthiacas, philippicasque Demosthenis orationes. Enarrationes saneque necessariae in tredecim orationes Demosthenis. ...Dictionarium decem Rhetorum. [preceded by the titles in Greek].
(Colophon: Venice, heirs of Aldus Manutius, and his father-in-law Andrea Torresano dAsola [& sons], June) 1527. Folio (31 x 21 cm). With Aldus's famous woodcut dolphin device on the title-page and an older but very similar version on the verso of the otherwise blank last leaf. Set in Greek type (the Upianus in 1 column; the Harpokation in 2 columns) with incidental roman. Recased in 18th-century vellum over flexible boards. 119, [1] ll. Full description

VALLEMONT, Pierre le Lorrain de. Eloge de Mr. Le Clerc, chevalier romain, dessinateur, et graveur ordinair du cabinet du roi: avec le catalogue de ses ouvrages; Et des réflexions sur quelques-uns des principaux.
Paris, Nicolas Caillou and Jean Musier, 1715. Small 8vo (ca. 16 x 10 cm). With an engraved frontispiece, an engraved headpiece, a woodcut headpiece, and two decorated woodcut initials.Contemporary gold-tooled mottled brown calf, with the title lettered in gold on the spine, gold-tooled board edges, marbled edges, marbled endpapers. [8], 223, [4], [5 blank] pp. Full description

VASIF EFENDI, Ahmed. Mahasin ül-âsâr ve hakayik ül-ahbar.
Bulaq, Bulak matbaasi, 1246 AH [= 1830 CE]. 2 volumes bound as 1. 4to. Contemporary calf with later paper label; later marbled paper on the spine. In Turkish, with the main text set in a naskh Arabic type, with a woodcut decoration and decorations built up from typographic ornaments at the opening of the main text (incorporating a woodcut heading in Arabic script). 14, 210, [1 blank], 7, 190 pp. Full description