Quinquaginta by AUGUSTINUS, Aurelius - 1475

Augsburg: Anton Sorg, 1475. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Folio - over 12 - 15" tall. c. 1 February 1475. Folio (285 x 198 mm). 92 unnumbered and unsigned leaves, Text in 38 lines, gothic type 1:103G. Collation: [110 211 310 412 5-610 76 810 913], 1/1r tabula, 2/1r text, chaps. 1-12, 3/1r chaps. 13-25, 5/1r chaps. 26-40, 8/1r chaps. 41-50, 9/13v colophon. 3- to 8-lines initials and headings in red or blue, some with additional penwork. Bound in 20th-century vellum over boards, flat spine (boards slightly bowed. Text very crisp and clean, a trifle scattered dust and thumb soiling to outer margins, a few small light dampstains, stub of old index tab present on fol. 2. Provenance: Georges Petit. A fine, wide-margined copy. Collated and complete. ---- EDITIO PRINCEPS and the only 15th century print of this important and genuine writing by St. Augustine about the celebration of paschal mystery as the heart of Christian liturgy (Quinquaginta stands for the 50 days between passion and resurrection of Jesus Christ). It is also the FIRST BOOK from the press of Anton Sorg, the celebrated Augsburg printer (see NDB 24, p.598). Between 1466 and 1476 Sorg, like many early incunabula printers, practiced the profession of a letter and card painter. Before founding his own printing workshop in Augsburg in 1475, he worked in the office of the St. Ulrich and Afra Monastery, whose abbot Melchior von Stainhaim had decisively promoted the new technology. The first of his approximately 240 prints (Augustine, "Quinquaginta") is dated to 1.2.1475, the last (Thomas von Kempen, "Succession of Christ") appeared on 9.12.1493. Although Sorg's Offizin (one of the most prolific of the 15th century) also published Latin works, the publishing program mainly consisted of German-language editions. The focus of his production of prints, which are tailor-made for the interests of the public, lies in edifying and devotional theological literature. (see N. H. Ott, "Sorg, Anton" in: Neue Deutsche Biographie 24 (2010), pp. 598-599). References: ISTC ia01298000; GW 02916; Goff A-1298; Hain 1987; Pellechet-Polain 1498; BMC II, 341; CIBN A-716; BSB-Ink A-901. - Visit our website for additional images and information.