Search Results: Titles starting with B from Liber Antiquus

Mainz: Johann Schöffer, 2 April ("Uff Mitfasten"), 1508. SECOND EDITION (1st ed. 1507) of a "milestone and turning point in the development of German criminal law" (E. Wolf). Hardcover. Fine. Bound in fine blue morocco by the Belgian binder Charles De Samblanx (1855-1943), boards richly tooled in gold, framed by three fillets and stippling. With a large central ornament and further ornaments at the corners. Fine red morocco doublures, also richly tooled in gold. Spine ruled and tooled in gold, a.e.g. The text is in excellent condition, lightly washed but without fading to the text or woodcuts. Extremely rare. In North America, there are 3 copies of the 1507 ed. (Harvard, Library of Congress, Colorado College) and 6 of the 1508 ed. (Grolier, Yale, Harvard, Library of Congress, Colorado College, Michigan). The text is illustrated with 22 large woodcuts (based on those in the first edition designed by Wolfgang Katzheimer) showing torture devices, court proceedings, a prisoner being coerced (by… Read More

Ulm: Johann Zainer, 29 January, 1480. FIRST BIBLE PRINTED AT ULM. Hardcover. Fine. An excellent copy, with noble provenance, of this magnificent Bible. A very large, impressive copy, with broad margins, preserving numerous deckled edges. The quires are numbered in a contemporary hand, in red ink, at the foot of leaves. The stub for the canceled blank leaf ll3 (the conjugate of leaf ll9) is visible, with instructions to the binder. With numerous blue fabric tabs, each marking an individual book of the Bible. Rubricated throughout, with a few larger red brushwork initials and red and blue Lombard capitals, red paragraph marks and capital strokes. The book is adorned with Zainer's distinctive, large woodcut initials, a larger decorative marginal decoration, and a woodcut of Saint Jerome in his study, working on the Vulgate. on first text leaf (a few corners torn away, one affecting the woodcut decoration in the margin; damp-staining in gutter and lower margin, some light dust-soiling at ends. Occ.… Read More

London: In Paules churche yarde at the sygne of the holy Ghost, by Ihon Cawoode, prynter to the Kynge and Quenes Maiesties, 1556. FIRST EDITION of Coleville's translation. Hardcover. Fine. Bound in contemporary English calfskin, rebacked in the 19th c., a few patches to the leather of the boards. Text in very good condition with occasional browning, darker in signatures I and K. Light dampstain to signatures T, Z, Bb, and Ff. Text in Latin and English in two columns, the former printed in italics and the latter in black letter, small woodcut initials. Very rare. Only 5 U.S. copies in ESTC: Folger (Defective), Harvard, Huntington, Yale, Illinois. Dedicated to Queen Mary Tudor, Coleville's English translation of Boethius' masterpiece is the only early English translation to include the original Latin text, indicating that, in addition to those readers with no knowledge of Latin, the author took into consideration the more educated, Latin-literate English audience. Coleville provides interesting… Read More

London: Printed by R[ichard]. H[odgkinson]. for Laurence Blaikelocke, 1640. FIRST EDITION. Hardcover. Fine. Bound in 19th c. half morocco and marbled boards (rubbed, minor defects at head of spine and corners, boards a bit soiled. A very good copy, the lower margin cut short, affecting some catchwords but never the text, title a little dusty, a few light spots. Provenance: Hove Public Library (withdrawn) stamp. Two very pretty woodcut floral headpieces. The first edition of Thomas Nabbes' romantic adventure about a runaway bride who survives duplicitous relatives, abduction, and attempted rape to be rescued by her true love. "[Nabbes] employs an exciting plot of comic intrigue and romantic adventure, including runaway lovers and unknown relationships, intentions misunderstood and tragedies avoided, set in the realistic world of the London merchant and Bankside brothelkeeper, but with pervasive reference to an allegorical superstructure that suggests that every man's action in this world is a… Read More

London: [Printed by Thomas Marsh], 1557. SIXTH EDITION (first ed. 1531). Printer's name from ESTC. Hardcover. Fine. A fine, tall, and interesting copy, bound in contemporary English sheep, with patches of wear, and skilful repairs to spine and corners. The contents are crisp and bright, with a slight worm-trail in the lower margin of the opening leaves. The flyleaves are from William Lily's grammar, "An introduction of the eight partes of speche"(London: Berthelet, 1546). The one at the front is the title page of that book, with woodcut border. Thomas Elyot, humanist and diplomat, composed three influential works during the reign of King Henry VIII: "The Boke named the Governour"(1531), a Latin-English "Dictionary"(1538) and the "Castel of Helth"(1539). Of these, it is the "Governour" that proved most influential and brought Elyot preferment at Henry's court. In September 1531 Elyot was named ambassador to the emperor Charles V and sent to the continent to "to sound out Charles regarding the… Read More