Early Printing & Manuscripts / Manuscripts & Documents

[THOMAS À BECKET]. [Diego Afonso de MIRANDA, translator]. Historea da vida e martyrio do glorioso Sancto Thomas Arcebispo, Senhor de Cantuaria, Primas de Inglaterra, legado perpetuo da sancta see apostolica, trelada da novamente de Latim em lingoagé Portugues.
(Colophon: Coimbra, João Alvarez, printer to the University, 12 November) 1554. 4to. With several woodcut decorated initials. With the 4 preliminary leaves in facsimile. 20th-century Portuguese tree calf, gold-tooled spine, red spine label, brown sprinkled edges, marbled endpapers. [8], “CCCI” [= 303], [1 blank], [20] pp. Full description

[BIBLE - MANUSCRIPT LEAF]. [Latin manuscript leaf on parchment with (parts of) Leviticus 5-8].
[The Netherlands?], [late 14th century or early 15th century?]. Folio (26.5 x 40 cm). Written in a neat littera textualis in 2 columns of 50 lines. With 3 lombardic initials executed in blue or light pink with white filigree work on a gold ground, with bars in the same colours with white filigree ornamental patterns originating from the initials, with some small twigs springing from them, ending at the head and bottom of those bars in a larger twig with small "flowers" or "buds" in blue, pink or gold. Also with the numbers of the chapters and running heads "LEVI" written in red and blue. [1] leaf. 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

[ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT - BOOK OF HOURS - BRUGES?]. [Illuminated book of hours, with the livre de raison of the Dijon families Fyot de Barain, Fyot de Vaugymois and Fyot de Mimeure, dated 1585-1775, bound after it]. [Incipit 7r:] Inicium sancti evangelii secundu[m] iohannem. Glori tibi domine.
[Bruges, ca. 1460]. Large 8vo (20.5 x 14 x 4 cm). Manuscript in Latin, written in one column in a formal gothic textura hand (20 lines/page) on vellum. The livre de raison of the Fyot family is written in French in different 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century hands on vellum. Manuscript and the leaves of the livre de raison ruled in red ink. With 14 large miniatures (ca. 10 x 7 cm) showing scenes of the life of Christ, 4 small miniatures (ca. 4 x 3.5 cm) depicting the four Evangelists with their symbols and 21 historiated initials (5-line, with the initial in blue or mauve on a raised gold ground) depicting several saints, probably all executed by the Master of Morgan 78 and sometimes decorated with gold. Each miniature appears in a thin gold frame. The pages illuminated with miniatures or historiated initials also have elaborate marginal vine borders in blue, green, mauve and red, and decorated with gold, showing acanthus leaves and flower petals and some gold leaves or scrolls. Also with decorated initials (5-line) executed in blue with flower petals in the openings and white filligree decoration, 2-line gold initials on a mauve and blue field, decorated with white filligree decoration, and many 1-line penwork initials in blue on a red penwork field or in gold on a blue penwork field. 18th-century gold-tooled dark brown morocco, each board with two double-fillet frames, a centrepiece and cornerpieces in the style of Duseuil, gold-tooled spine, marbled endpapers, remnants and traces of fastenings, gilt edges. Also with a paper label with the shelf-mark(?) "F" mounted on the front board. [1]; 130; 131-139 ll. Full description

JOÃO I, King of Portugal. [Judgement in a legal suit, incipit:] Dom Johann ... Rey de Portugal ...
Coimbra, 3 April 1388. Document in Portuguese, written in brown ink on sheepskin parchment (23 x 44 cm) in an upright gothic cursive, with 16 full lines of text (plus one word on a 17th line and the signatures of the two judges). Full description

MAURITS, Prince of Orange. [Declaration for Jan de Roo].
[The Hague], 4 December 1589. 1mo (41 x 31.5). Document written in brown ink on one side of a whole sheet of paper in an upright gothic cursive hand, with the autograph signature "Maurice de Nassau" and with his armorial seal (3 x 2.5 cm) stamped on a slip of paper over red sealing wax. With (separately added) Maurits's signature clipped out of another document and mounted on a paper slip. [1] leaf, written on one side. Full description

[AUTOGRAPH]. MELANCHTHON, Philipp. [Autograph letter, signed, from Philipp Melanchthon to Sebastian Boetius].
[Wittenberg], Easter [14 April 1555]. Folio (19.5 x 32 cm). In Latin. [2] pp. Full description

[MINIATURE - GERMAN]. [The Arrest of Christ].
[Flanders (Bruges?), or Nürnberg, ca. 1520]. Miniature painted on vellum (7.8 x 5.6 cm) in numerous colours, highlighted with gold and in a gold border, probably from a book of hours, but with no text. Full description

[MANUSCRIPT]. PHILIP (FELIPE) II, King of Spain. [Mortgage agreement, granting Jan Hanneman, Steward General of North Holland, the rights to the tithes of the King's lands of Voorburg and Voorschoten].
The Hague and Brussels, 1557 (with additions to 1565). Folio (36 x 25.5 cm). Manuscript mortgage agreement, signed by King Philip's representatives, written in brown ink on parchment in a nearly upright cursive gothic hand. With a typescript transcription of the main text and an interlinear translation in Spanish. [2 blank], 9, [1 blank] pp. Full description

[PSALTER (Diocese of Utrecht) - ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT]. [Psalterium]. [Incipit fol. 14r:] Invitatoriu[m] laet ons aenbeden xpristum ["xp" representing the Greek chi rho] die ons ghemaect heuet.
[Haarlem], [1475?]. 8vo. Manuscript in Dutch, written in black ink on vellum (leaf 18.5 x 12 cm; text block 10.5 x 6.5 cm) in a formal gothic textura hand (22 lines/page for the main text and 20 for the calendar, the 20th ruled but not used). With a circular computational diagram in red and black on the verso of the first leaf, and the calendar rubricated in red and blue. The text opens with a richly penwork-decorated page with a blue lombardic initial "S" on a red and green penwork ground with penwork in both colours in all four margins of this page. 18th-century(?) blind-tooled parchment over oak boards. 183 ll. Full description