Early Printing & Manuscripts / 15th Century

AUGUSTINE, Saint. De la cita d'Dio.
[Venice?, Antonio di Bartolommeo Miscomini, ca. 1477? (not after 1483)]. Folio. Printed in two columns, each 47 lines, with spaces for 3-6 line initials left blank. Early 19th-century gold-tooled calf. [1 blank], [322], [1 blank] ll. Full description

ALVERNUS, Guillelmus (William of AUVERGNE). Libri ... de fide et legibus.
[Augsburg, Günther Zainer, ca. 1475/1476]. Small folio. Set in a hybrid roman type with gothic elements (a single column of 43 lines per page plus running heads), with the first 3 lines, including the title, in a slightly larger rotunda gothic. With all initials supplied in manuscript in red, rubricated throughout. Contemporary, richly blind-tooled vellum over wooden boards, two brass clasps, blue edges, "Nr. 56" in red ink written at the foot of the spine. [139] ll. Full description

BERNARDINUS SENENSIS (SAINT BERNARDINO OF SIENA). Quadragesimale beati Bernardini de xp[ist]iana religione [x and p representing the Greek chi and rho to make "christiana"].
[Basel, Johann Amerbach, 1489]. Folio. With several 8-, 7-, 6-, 5-, 4- and 3-line red lombardic initials supplied by hand in spaces (with printed guide letters) left for the purpose, rubricated throughout. Set in three sizes rotunda gothic types and a larger textura for the title. Early 17th-century, richly blind-tooled pigskin over wooden boards. With remnants of 2 strap fastenings and with traces on the front board and remnants on the back board of the catchplates, blue edges and a light brown morocco spine label with the title in gold. [254] ll. Full description

[BIBLE - INCUNABLE]. Biblia cu[m] concordantiis Veteris et Novi Testame[n]ti Sanctus Hieronimus interpres biblie.
[colophon:] Strasbourg, [Johannes Reinhard Grüninger], 26 April 1497. Folio. With a woodcut on the title-page showing St. Jerome in the desert on the left side and in his study on the right side, and flourished woodcut braces in the hierarchical table of bible books. Contemporary blind-tooled pigskin over bevelled wooden boards, with two brass fastenings (2 catchplates and 1 of 2 clasps) and some brass strips protecting the corners and edges. [471] (out of [492]) ll. Full description

BONAVENTURA, SAINT and others. Egregium opus subtilitate et devoto exercitio precellens parvoru[m] opusculoru[m]. doctoris seraphici Sancti Bonaventure [Opuscula]. Prima[-Secunda] pars.
[colophon:] Strasbourg, [printer of the 1483 Jordanus de Quedlinburg (= Georg Husner)], 1495 (vol. 2: 18 December 1495). 2 volumes. Folio (21 x 30 cm). With two title-pages, the 2 volumes including 2 full-page woodcuts plus 2 repeats, one showing the Tree of Life (with 2 repeats), and 1 (partly hand-coloured) showing a seraph with the names of Christian virtues on the feathers of its six wings. Set in a gothic rotunda type with running heads and other headings in a larger rotunda. Contemporary and stylistically uniform (though volume 2[?] is about 2 cm[?] shorter than volume 1[?]) richly blind-tooled pigskin over wooden boards. 393, [1 blank]; 371, [1 blank] ll. Full description

[ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT - BOOK OF HOURS (DIOCESE OF UTRECHT)]. [Incipit a1r:] Wi aenbeden di christi en ghebendien di want du overmits dijn heilighe cruus die werlt verlosset hebste ...
[North-Holland (Haarlem?)], ca. 1450/70]. Small 8vo (ca. 11 x 8 x 3.5 cm). Manuscript book of hours in Dutch, written in black ink on vellum (leaf ca. 11 x 7.5 cm; text block ca. 7 x 4.5 cm) in two clear and attractive gothic hybrida hands (21 lines/page for the first hand, 18 lines/page for the second hand and 17 for the calendar). 18th-century half calf, brown sprinkled paper sides, gold-tooled spine, black morocco spine label with title ("Oud getydenboek M.S.S.") in gold, 18th-century endpapers. [240] ll. Full description

[DAMASCUS – VENETIAN TAXES]. [Promissory note for Venetian customs taxes on goods from Damascus].
Venice, 22 Feb. / 5 March 1488. Italian notarial document on vellum (44.5 x 16 cm; text block ca. 27 x 14 cm). Written in two fine cursive hands. Full description

DAVID KIMHI (KIMCHI, QIMHI). Sefer ha-shorashim.
(Colophon: Naples, [Azriel ben Joseph Ashkenazi Gunzenhauser], Elul [5]250 [= August/September 1490]. Small folio (25.5 x 20 cm; most leaves 25 x 19 cm). Set in 2 sizes of sephardic meruba Hebrew (without points) and with shoulder notes in a semi-cursive (Rashi) Hebrew of a smaller face (but cast on the same body as the meruba of the main text). Lacking 11 leaves, but with the first two replaced in manuscript at an early date, including a manuscript title-page not in the printed edition (with an elaborately decorated architectural border) on the recto of the first manuscript leaf (which had been blank in the printed book), including an imprint incorporating information from the colophon. The other 9 leaves that are lacking supplied in lithographic facsimile. Loose leaves in a 20th-century paperboard wrapper and slipcase. [266] of [1 blank], [287] pp. + [4] pp. in manuscript. Full description

HONORIUS AUGUSTODUNENSIS (HONORIUS OF AUTUN). [Incipit:] ... de ymagine mundi.
[Nuremberg, Anton Koberger, 1472(?)]. Folio (31 x 22 cm).Rubricated throughout and about half of the spaces left for initials filled in by hand in red ink. 19th-century red sheepskin. [46], [1 blank] ll. Full description

IBN SINA (AVICENNA). Canon medicinae [= al-Qanun].
Lyon, Jean Trechsel & Johann Klein, 24 December 1498. 2 volumes. Folio (ca. 31 × 42 cm). With a diagrammatic woodcut.Contemporary blind- and gold-tooled calf over wooden boards, sewn on 4 double supports, one volume with 2 brass clasps (and traces on the other volume). 379; 357 ll. Full description