Search Results: Titles starting with D from Liber Antiquus

[Wittenberg]: [Cranach and Döring], 1524. FIRST EDITION. Hardcover. Fine. Bound in modern drab wrappers. With a title border by Lucas Cranach the Elder showing Luther's monogram and the Luther rose (Luther, Titeleinfassungen, Plate 42). This particular woodcut border is significant; it marks the first time Luther's initials and the "Luther rose" have been incorporated into the woodcut itself to show that it is the first, authorized edition. Very light soiling to title and blank verso of final leaf. Tiny tears at head of title, a few marginal spots. 16th c. inscription at foot of title page. Marriage was a subject that occupied Luther from the very earliest days of the Reformation, when clerical celibacy was a central issue. Over the course of his life, Luther wrote numerous works on different aspects of marriage and its challenges, including divorce, impotence, adultery, and incompatibility. Luther, who married the former nun Katharina von Bora (Luther's "Katie"), wrote that children were the… Read More

[Augsburg: Sigmund Grimm and Marx Wirsung], 1522. ONE OF THREE EDITIONS printed in 1522. The first ed. appeared in 1521. Place, printer, and year from VD16. Hardcover. Fine. A very good copy in modern paste-paper wrappers. Small adhesion scar to blank portion of title, far from text. An early edition of Eberlin's "In praise of parish priests Concerning the useless sums paid out by the common, unsuspecting people for mass readings, funerals, internments, sevenths and thirtieths, etc. And in praise of parish priests and their necessary chaplains." This is the seventh -and the first composed- of Eberlin's "Fünfzehn Bundsgenossen" ("The Fifteen Confederates"). Eberlin offers advice on how to truly honor the dead, not by expending money and energy on funerals and special church ceremonies that largely support the "fat, full, hypocritical, self-serving, blackmailing monks, priests and nuns" but rather by providing for the family members of the departed, giving alms to the poor, helping the needy,… Read More

Augsburg: Silvan Otmar, 11 June, 1523. SECOND APPEARANCE OF HANS BURGKMAIR'S COMPLETE APOCALYPSE WOODCUT CYCLE. Hardcover. Fine. A very early edition of Luther's December Testament, appearing within six months of the first (Wittenberg, December 1522). With a large title woodcut by Hans Schäufelein, 25 large historiated woodcut initials (numerous repeats) with scenes of the Evangelists writing the Gospels, Paul writing the Epistles, and John writing the Book of Revelations. The Apocalypse is illustrated with 21 large woodcuts by Hans Burgkmair the Elder. The complete cycle first appeared less than three months earlier, in Otmar's edition of 21 March. With a large title woodcut by Hans Schäufelein, 25 large historiated woodcut initials (numerous repeats) with scenes of the Evangelists writing the Gospels, Paul writing the Epistles, and John writing the Book of Revelations. The Apocalypse is illustrated with 21 large woodcuts by Hans Burgkmair the Elder. Bound in contemporary alum-tawed pigskin over… Read More

Augsburg: Christoph. Mangius, 1615. FIRST EDITION. Hardcover. Fine. A fine copy bound in strictly contemporary limp vellum, soiled, lacking ties. The text is in truly excellent condition with a little fraying to the outer, blank margin of the engraved title, which shows Matteo Ricci and Blessed Francis Xavier in an architectural framework, flanking Ricci's map of China. The folding plan, showing the church where Ricci's tomb is located, is also present and in excellent condition. Provenance: With the collector's stamp (Lugt 3285) of the Wroclaw architect Albrecht of Sebisch (1610-1688) in the blank margin of the title page. Stamp "Vrhedigersch. Stadtbibliothek zu Breslau" (Wroclaw) on the verso. The Jesuits were convinced that they had to understand China in order to win converts. Accordingly, they adopted Chinese names, dress, and language, traveled extensively, and immersed themselves in Chinese language, philosophy, art, and literature. Ricci was the first Western scholar to master Chinese, and… Read More

London: In Fletestrete by Thomas Berthelette printer to the kingis grace, 1532. SECOND EDITION (1st ed. 1483). Hardcover. Fine. Bound in 19th c. russia, boards ruled by a triple filet, gilt. Spine ruled in compartments, author, title and date on spine, gilt. The title is printed within a decorative woodcut border copied from master printer Geoffroy Tory. Text in black letter, double columns. With 16th c. signatures of John Man, John Smyth and Edward Hertford, and a few 16th c. annotations; Ex libris John William Cole and W.R. Jeudwine, sold in the latter's sale as lot 71 on 18 September 1984; with bookplates. A very nice, tall copy with minor scattered stains or light soiling. Small hole and repaired on blank margin of title, a tear on the same leaf entering the text (without loss) also mended; two clean marginal tears not affecting the text (lvs. K3, N2), a little worming in the gutter from gatherings M-Q, not affecting the text. Along with works of Chaucer, Langland, and the Pearl poet,… Read More

Worms: Gregor Hofmann ("excudebat Gregorius Comiander"), 1545. SECOND EDITION (1st ed. 1544). Hardcover. Fine. Bound in modern vellum. A fine, unpressed copy with good margins of this extremely rare book. Illustrated with seven half-page illustrations in the text, a woodcut of the author on the final leaf, and a small title vignette. Only 1 other copy of this edition traced in North America (Dartmouth). Searching all editions combined, I have located only 1 other copy in North America (the 1544 Antwerp edition, at Harvard). Extremely rare second edition (the first published in Germany) of Georgevic's illustrated, first-hand account of his capture by the Ottomans, his experiences as a slave, and his eventual escape from Ottoman captivity. It includes a description of Turkish customs and a short Latin-Turkish dictionary of common words and sentences, as well as the first Croatian-Latin dictionary. Bartolomej Georgevic, also known as Bartol Đurđević (1506 - 1566) was born in Mala Mlaka, then part… Read More

Wittenberg: Josef Klug, 1539. FIRST EDITION, VARIANT, with a correction for a passage on leaf G5v printed above the colophon. Hardcover. Fine. Bound in modern boards, overlaid with a printed leaf. A very good copy with deckled edges in gatherings A, B, and E. Elaborate woodcut initials, attractive architectural title page border, early minor annotations, very light occ. browning to edges, D3 with a clean tear, minor damp to margins of final 2 gatherings. "Philip Melanchthon's 'On the Authority of the Church and the Writings of the Ancient Fathers' (hereafter 'De ecclesiae autoritate') occupies a prominent place in the canon of his theological writings. Few texts of the Reformation period state so clearly the principles according to which the Fathers and the councils of the church may be considered authentic sources for Christian doctrine. However, to set the work within the canon of Melanchthon's theological work is not necessarily to say that other genres are not present in it... "In addition to… Read More

Mainz: Johann Schöffer, 1524. FOURTH EDITION (1st ed. 1519). Hardcover. Fine. Bound in 20th c. green morocco with gilt turn-ins. A fine copy, a.e.g., with a fine woodcut title border, woodcut initials, and occ. contemporary annotations. The title border incorporates Schöffer's coat of arms (see Johnson no. 62 and Pflugk-Harttung no. 52). Ulrich von Hutten's famous work on the treatment of syphilis, one of the earliest and most important books on the topic. Hutten, who had himself suffered from syphilis since 1508 (and would die of the disease in 1519), describes in detail a therapy using an extract from Guaiacum wood, which is native to the West Indies. It became one of the earliest New World medicinal treatments to be used in Europe. In addition to describing the Guaiacum therapy, Hutten also discusses the transmission of the disease, its symptoms, and other therapies used to treat it, such as the use of mercury (a practice that continued until the early 20th century.) Hutten notes that the… Read More

Milan: apud Malatestas, Regios ac Ducales Typographos, 1641. FIRST EDITION. Hardcover. Fine. Bound in contemporary carta rustica (wear and soiling to hinges, boards lightly soiled, small defects to head and tail of spine.) Very fine internally. Complete with the striking and macabre allegorical engraved frontispiece (with a plague sufferer lying at the foot of the image) by Cesare Bassano after a drawing by Ottavio Salvioni. A variant in which one text leaf has a map of Milan is known in at least two copies, while this copy has a folding engraved portrait of the author, engraved by Giovanni Paolo Bianchi (1590-1654) after Johann Christoph Storer (1611-1671), which is not called for (though I have traced it in 1 other copy.) Thin worm-trail from p. 363 to end of volume. Early owner's inscription to title-page: "J.V.D. Petri Pauli Gibellini..."; 20th-century bookplate to front flyleaf. First edition of this treatise on the pandemic of plague that ravaged Milan and the surrounding region from 1629 to… Read More

Nuremberg: Johannes Petreius, 1543. FIRST EDITION, and a very fine and crisp copy. Hardcover. Fine. Bound in attractive, contemporary Parisian calf with some discreet repairs. The boards are blind-ruled and adorned with gold-tooled ornaments. This is one of very few to have appeared on the market in a contemporary binding. The text is in excellent condition, with just minor blemishes (small early erasure of an ownership inscription on the title just slightly touching the "D." in the date. Light damp-staining to first six leaves.) Collation as in Horblit; this copy without the errata leaf -printed separately and later- that is found in a minority of copies (about 20 percent). Preserved in a morocco-backed box. Provenance: At the foot of the title-page, an early signature has been thoroughly lined through. 17th- or 18th-century inscription on title of the Jesuit College of Paris. Bookplate of Gustavus Wynne Cook (1867-1940, amateur astronomer, collector, and benefactor of the Franklin Institute). … Read More

[Augsburg: Günther Zainer,] c., 1477. FIRST EDITION. Hardcover. Fine. Bound in contemporary blind-tooled calf over wooden boards, the brass clasp with catch-plate preserved. An original title on label on upper board is preserved, with slight loss. The binding has been rebacked and has some other minor restorations; the lower boards is a bit wormed. A fine, broad-margined copy, with just a little marginal worming to the first and final few leaves (not affecting the text); light dampstain to the lower corner of first 4 leaves; discoloration to the margins of the final two leaves. The text is adorned with large, attractive woodcut initials throughout. Provenance: Engraved bookplate of the Bozner Franziskanerkloster, the Franciscan friary of Bolzano, South Tyrol (Trentino-Alto Adige), acquired by Elaine and Alexandre Rosenberg from H.P. Kraus, New York, 4 May 1955. Hugh of St. Victor's 'De sacramentis Christianae fidei' (On the Sacraments/Mysteries of the Christian Faith), marks an important stage in… Read More

Venice: Vincenzo Valgrisi, 1545. FIRST ITALIAN EDITION (1st ed., in Latin, 1525). Hardcover. Fine. Bound in modern stiff vellum. Contents with occ. light blemishes. With a woodcut compass on folio 74; woodcut printer's device on title and final leaf. Embossed bookplate, "Montisalti" on front pastedown. An important account of the 1522 siege of Rhodes, a campaign led by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I "the Magnificent". The Christian Knights of St. John of Jerusalem ultimately surrendered, after enduring months of punishing assault, agreeing to abandon their island stronghold and relocate, ultimately, to Malta. Suleiman would live to regret his decision to allow the Knights to leave unmolested. This is the first Italian edition, translated by Francesco Sansovino, of "De bello Rhodio" by Jacob Fonteyn (v. 1450-1528) of Bruges. With additional texts not found in the first edition. Fonteyn was an eyewitness and participant of the siege. His text aimed primarily to praise the bravery and tenacity of the… Read More

No place [Venice]: no printer [Niccolò Bevilacqua], no date, 1566. ONE OF NUMEROUS EARLY EDITIONS. Hardcover. Fine. Bound in modern vellum. A very good copy with light marginal soiling and a little bit of mild marginal foxing, verso of final leaf a little dusty. With woodcut arms of the Knights of Malta on the title page. The dedication to Cardinal Ippolito d'Este is dated December 1565. There are several other undated editions without imprint, as well as further undated editions with the title "Trattato del successo della potentissima armata del Gran Turcho Ottoman Solimano". For the printing of this edition, see D.E. Rhodes, Silent Printers. Anonymous printing at Venice in the sixteenth century, p. 104. One of the earliest and most complete narratives on the siege of Malta in 1565. It was quickly appropriated by other authors for their own accounts. Led by Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Turks tried unsuccessfully to wrest control of the island from the Knights of St John of Jerusalem. The… Read More

Venice: In casa de' figliuoli di Aldo, July, 1544. FIRST EDITION. Hardcover. Fine. A very fine copy bound in 20th c. stiff vellum, citron label, gilt on spine. Aldine device on title and final leaf. Broad-margined with just a very light dampstain to the lower margin and a little light soiling and staining to the title; text on bifolium D2-3 lightly printed. Provenance: Giannalisa Feltrinelli (1903-1981), her bookplate. First edition of this treatise 'On True Tranquility of the Soul', published under the name of Isabella Sforza, great-granddaughter of Alessandro Sforza (1409-73) and "the last, and illegitimate, daughter of the Pesaro branch of the illustrious ruling family of Milan"(Daenens). Isabella was the recipient and subject of numerous letters, poems, and dedications by authors such as Pietro Aretino (who wrote that it was his passion for Isabella that kept him from indulging his homosexual desires.) For an assessment of what is known of Isabella and her life, see Daenens, ''Isabella Sforza:… Read More

[Basel: Pamphilus Gengenbach], 1521. FIRST EDITION. Hardcover. Fine. This work is the second of Eberlin's "Fünfzehn Bundsgenossen" ("The Fifteen Confederates"). Bound in quarter vellum and modern patterned boards. A nice copy, title a little dusty and with small marginal stain, with a title woodcut of Jesus disputing with the Devil set within an ornamental historiated border. Eberlin von Günzburg was, next to Luther, perhaps the most gripping folk writer of the early days of the Reformation. In this work, "Concerning the forty-day fast before Easter and others, and how wretchedly the Christian people are burdened by them", he condemns the Lenten fast as a rule imposed upon hard-working people by the Church (not by Christ) and one that the hypocritical priests and monks do not themselves observe. The imposition of the fast leaves the Christian tortured in body and soul, caught between maddening hunger and the fear of committing a mortal sin. That the fast occurs during the spring makes it… Read More

Florence: Giunti, 1574. FIRST EDITION, first issue. Hardcover. Fine. Title page within an architectural woodcut border containing the Medici coat-of-arms and a small view of Florence. Printer's device at the colophon. Woodcut portrait of Cosimo de' Medici on the verso of the title-page. Foxed. Bound in attractive 18th-century colored paper over thin boards. Extremely rare. No copies in North America. This is a very rare first-hand account, commissioned by Francesco de' Medici, of the elaborate ceremonies in Florence for the obsequies of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1519-1584). It includes minute descriptions of the elaborate funeral apparatus built for the occasion. Among those who managed the artistic aspects of the spectacle was Don Vincenzo Borghini, "one of the guiding spirits of the Accademia del Disegno, an adept inventor of allegorical themes for the Medici court", who worked together with Vasari on Michelangelo's funeral. When Cosimo died his body lay in state on a catafalque… Read More

Florence: Per Gaetano Cambiagi, 1792. Hardcover. Fine. Bound with: Massi, Pasquale, da Cesena Indicazione Antiquaria del Pontificio Museo Pio-Clementino in Vaticano, stesa da Pasquale Mass Cesenate Custode del Museo Stesso/ Catalogue Indicatif des Antiquitès Composant Le Musèe Pie-Clèmentin au Vatican par Paschal Massi de Cesèns Garde du dit Musèe. Roma: Presso Lazzarini, 1792 Two Octavo Volumes in one: 15.5 x 10 cm. I. (Cambiagi): 279 p. Octavo: A-Q8, R12. II (Massi): [4] 216 pp. Collation: [ ]2, a-m8, n12 (- blank [ ]1) FIRST EDITIONS OF BOTH WORKS. Bound in early 19th c. quarter sheep and boards, with vellum corners. Gilt title label to spine "Galleries di Florence et Rome". Some wear to boards and corners, hinges lightly rubbed. The text is in fine condition, edges of the text-block stained an even yellow. I. Guide to the Uffizi: An important guide to Florence's Uffizi galleries, documenting the radical re-organization of the Medicean collections under the Dukes of Lorraine, and in… Read More

Mainz: Johann Schöffer, 1520. FIRST EDITION OF THE TRIAS ROMANA, FORTUNA, FEBRIS SECUNDA, AND INSPICIENTES. Hardcover. Fine. Bound in 17th c. calfskin, spine tooled in gold (discreet repairs to joints, corners, and top compartment of spine; slim crack at head of rear joint, minor wear to the gilding.) A nice copy with minor soiling to title and final leaf, and a few instances of light marginal foxing. With a title page allegorical woodcut of Fortuna (Fairfax Murray 215) and three attractive woodcut initials on a black ground. First edition of this important collection. Only the first "Fever" poem had appeared previously (in 1519). The anonymous German satire "Trias Romana"(1519) is a different work than Hutten's satire of the same name. The title woodcut illustrates the second (and lightest) of the five satirical dialogues, in which Hutten implores Fortune to grant him a pretty wife, a nice house with a library, children, and a reasonable income so that he can study and write. "Fever" I & II "The… Read More

Venice: Gabriel Giolito de' Ferrari e fratelli, 1554. FIRST EDITION. Hardcover. Fine. Contemporary limp vellum, colored edges, some light marginal foxing, v. light stain on p. 80. A very nice copy with the 18th-c. engraved bookplate of Felice Durando Count of Villa (1729-1791), famous for his erudition and his famous library. With the printer's device on the title page and at the end of the volume. FIRST EDITION of Giraldi's most important contribution to literary criticism and his most lasting influence on dramatic theory and practice. Almost all the main issues in Renaissance dramatic criticism are examined somewhere in his various works and prefaces. Giraldi rejected the Greek arrangement of plays into prologue, episodes, and choral odes and returned to the five acts of the Roman theatre. He reasoned that a good play should first present the argument, direct the argument toward its end, present obstacles to its resolution, offer a means of removing the obstacles, and end with a resolution, all… Read More

Venice: Appresso Francesco Ziletti [for Girolamo Porro], 1582. FIRST EDITION, SECOND ISSUE. Edited by Girolamo Porro. With a dedication by Porro to Giacomo Contarini dated Nov. 20, 1581. The 40 double-page etched plates of monuments are by Giovanni Battista Pittoni (1520-1583). Extremely rare, especially the first issue, which is recorded in one copy, at Cambridge Univ. Library. Hardcover. Fine. A fine, fresh copy, bound in contemporary limp vellum, spine with discreet restoration. Printed on heavy paper. This copy is complete with the final errata leaf, lacking in many copies. The text and plates are in excellent condition. The etched and engraved title page depicts Roman ruins seen through an elaborate arch with Corinthian columns, segmented pediment, flanking allegorical personifications, interpreted as geometry (or architectural theory) and (practical) architecture, and Ziletti's printer's device below. Illustrated with 40 double-page plates of Roman architectural monuments, 39 of which are… Read More