Carly Printed Books. Fifteenth Century. AUGUSTINUS. De Sancta Virginitate. Gothic Letter. Colored Initials. Without Title, Table of Contents, Paging, Signatures, or Catch-words. 4to. Morocco. Gilt leaves. Of the many books supposed to have been printed by Gutenberg, none can be authenticated as such, being without imprint, or any mark by which they may be identified. The above book comes within this category. It is the first edition of an exceedingly rare tract, presumed to have been printed by Gutenberg, at Mentz, about 1460. It is well proved that of the immortal trio who are considered as the inventors of Printing, Gutenberg, alone, was the real inventor. Without the means of Fust and the skill of Schoeffer, the Art, however, might have remained long in its infancy. But infancy, so to speak, it had none; for, like Minerva, it sprang, full grown, at once, into existence. The beautiful execution of the first printed book, the Psalter, the date of which, 1457, cannot be called into question, can scarcely be surpassed at the present day. The date assigned to the celebrated Mazarine Bible, is conjectural. If printed by Gutenberg, it is the opinion of some eminent bibliographers that it must have been subsequently to the printing of the Psalter. AUGUSTINUS. De Vita Christiana. Gothic Letter. Colored Initials. Without Title Page, Date, Signatures, Paging, or Catch-words. Printed in the Office of Fust and Schoeffer. Circa 1465. 4 to. Morocco. Gilt edges. "The following is the head of the prologue, beginning on the recto of the first leaf: Incip plogus beati Augustini de vita xpiana. The title to the work is specified at the bottom of the reverse of the same leaf. A full page contains 28 lines. At the bottom of the 17th and last leaf, rev., we have Explicit liber beati augustini de vita xpiana. Hec faciendo quisq5 vita obtinebit eternă. The Shields, only, printed in red, are beneath."-Dibdin's Spenceriana, Vol. I., p. 184. AUGUSTINUS. De Vera Vita Cognitione. Gothic Let= ter. Colored Initials. Without Place or Date, but printed in the Office of Fust and Schoeffer. 4 to. Morocco, gilt. Gilt leaves. "This appears to be the earliest impression extant, separately executed, of the above work. The type is the smallest of the founts of letter used by the above printers, and similar to that of the Durandus and the Offices of Cicero. * ** * The description of this tract need only be brief and explicit. The recto of the first leaf is blank. The table begins on the reverse of it, and ends on the reverse of the second leaf. On the recto of the third leaf, we read, at top Incipit phemiù libelli. The proheme occupies 2 pages; and the entire work comprehends xliii chapters, or 34 leaves. A full page contains 28 lines. There are neither numerals, signatures, nor catch-words. On the recto of the 34th and last leaf, we read the concluding line thus: Augustini de vere vite cognicõe libellus explic. The device of Fust and Schoeffer (the shields printed in red) is beneath."-Dibdin's Spenceriana, Vol. IV., p. 446. SPECULUM VITE HUMANE. Gothic Letter. Illuminated Capitals. Without Title, Numerals, Catch-words, or Signatures. 4 to. Morocco, extra gilt. Gilt leaves. Printed by Ulric Zell, at Cologne. Circa 1468. "Ulric Zel ou Zell, d' Hanau, artiste aussi ancien que célèbre, éxerçait le talent de copiste ou calligraphe, dans le diocèse de Mayence, du temps de Jean Fust et Pierre Schoiffer, chez qui il apprit l'art typographique." -Santander. Dict. Bib., p. 159. Zell was the first printer in Cologne, and the first book issued from his press was in 1467: namely, the small tract, "De Singularitate Clericorum." RETZA (Francis De.) Comestorium Viciorum. Gothic Letter. Capitals and every Initial Illuminated. With out Numerals, Signatures, and Catch-words. Folio. CCLXXXI leaves, large paper. Old Russia. Printed at Nuremberg, 1470. "EDITIO PRINCEPS. This is the first Book (hitherto discovered) with a date, which was printed at Nuremberg. It is a magnificent monument of the splendor of the art, in its infancy, in that city; and whether Rummel, or Creussner and Zeninger, or Keffer and Senschmidt, were the printer or printers of it, is a point which cannot now be satisfactorily settled. Nor is it of very material importance. All that we are disposed to admit, on opening this ponderous tome, is, the dryness of the subject discussed, and the splendor of the type and paper which are made the vehicle of its publicity.”—Dibdin's Spenceriana, Vol. III., p. 489. AUGUSTINUS. De Civitate Dei, libri XXII, cum commentariis Thomæ Valois et Nic. Trivet. Gothic Letter. Illuminated Capitals, large Paper, without Title, Signatures, Paging, or Catch-words. Folio. Old Calf. Printed by Schoeffer. Moguntiæ. 1473. On one of the fly leaves there is the following note, in the autograph of Dr. Valpy: "This is a most splendid production of ancient typography. De Bure calls it 'très rare et très recherchée.' La Vallière's copy sold for 381 livres, and this lately sold for £ 8. 8." The following colophon, to which is appended Schoeffer's well known device, is printed in red ink: "Igitur Aurelii Augustini civitatis orthodoxe sideris prefulgidi de civitate dei opus preclarissimum binis sacre pagine pfessorib> eximiis id cōmentatib> rubricis tabulaq3 discretum pcelsa in urbe mogūtina partium alemanie nō calami per frasim - caracterū autē apicib› artificiose elemētatum ad laudē trinitatis individue civitatis dei presidis operose est consumatu. p. Petru Schoiffer de gernzheim Anno domini. M. CCCC. lxxiii die. V. mensis septembris Presidibus ecclesie catholice Sixto tercō pontifice sumo Sedi aut mogutine Adolfo secundo presule magnifico Tenēte aūt ac gubernāte xpianismi monarchiaз Imperatore serenissmo frederico tercio Cesare semp augusto." Some large STRABONIS GEOGRAPHIA. ROMAN LETTER. Illuminated Capitals, heightened with Gold. Large paper. Without Title, Signatures, Catch-words, or Paging. Superbly bound by Mackenzie, in his best style. Folio. Extra gilt. Gilt leaves. Printed by Vindelin de Spira. Venetia: 1470. "We have here a magnificent specimen of the press of Vindelin de Spira. A wide page, with 51 lines in a full page, ample margins, and 217 leaves, may give the notion of a volume of no ordinary dimensions," -Dibdin's Spenceriana, Vol. IV., p. 164. Venice, as regards early printing, takes the foremost rank. Not less than 150 printers can be counted who exercised the art in that city, during the last thirty years of the 15th century. John de Spira who introduced it into Venice, died in 1470. His brother Vindelin who was associated with him, carried on the establishment. "These two brothers soon surpassed all other printers, in the beauty and symmetry of their types, and the elegance of their impressions, which render their editions admired and esteemed by the curious, in preference to those of all other ancient typographers. Venice, by this, gained so much reputation for the fineness of her types, that some eminent printers at Rome, and in other places, either furnished themselves with founts of the same letter, or endeavored to imitate their beauty."—Timperley's Dict., p. 129. "One of the most elegantly executed volumes from the press of Hailbrun. On the recto of the first leaf, signature a, it is as follows: Pomponij Melle Cosmographi de situ orbis liber primus. Promium Orbis situ dicere aggredior impeditum opum The first two lines of this extract are executed very neatly in red ink. A full page has 26 lines. natures run from a to f. thus: There are marginal printed notes, and the sig On the reverse of ƒ viij, we read the imprint, tials. Large paper. Ornamented Ini Signatures, but no Title Page, Paging, or Catch-words. Folio. Printed by Pictor, Ratdolt and Loslein. Venice: 1477. Perfect copy, in fine condition, from Roscoe's library. The above printers were in partnership, at Venice, in 1476-'77 and '78. Ratdolt then printed alone until 1485, when, recalled to his native city, Augsburg, he established his press there. "This is one of the most beautiful ancient editions of the classics, as to typographical execution."-Robert Watt. "Few ancient volumes of the classics display greater beauty of typographical execution, than does the present one. The first page, on the recto of signature A 2, presents us with the address of Candidus, surrounded by a broad frame, or border, of extremely rich arabesque decorations, printed upon a black ground; with a large blooming capital initial A, executed in the same manner. This may be considered unusual with books printed before the year 1480. On signature ▲ 3, the proheme of the history begins; and on the recto of A 7, begins the history itself. As far as K, the signatures run in tens; from K to o, in eights; o has ten on the recto of the tenth of which there is the following colophon : Impressum est hoc opus Venetijs per Bernardu Picto- Dibdin's Spenceriana, Vol. I., p. 254. BIBLIA SACRA LATINA. Gothic Letter. Folio. Printed by Anthonius Koberger. Nuremberg: 1478. Without title, signatures, or catch-words. The leaves are numbered from i to cccclxi, then follow four leaves, making, with the table of contents facing the first page, 930 pages. As in most early printed books, places were left vacant for the capital initials, which have been supplied by the illuminator. The ink is very black, and paper thick and strong. The binding, as old as the book, consisting of wooden boards, is covered with parchment, with clasps, and brass knobs on the sides. The colophon is as follows: "Anno incarnatōnis dñice. Millesimoquadringensimoseptuagesimo octavo. Novēbris vó ydus quarto. insigne veteris no uiq3 testamenti opus.cum canonibɔ evāgelistarumqз concordantijs. In laudez & gloriaz Sancte ac individue trinitatis. Intemerate virginisq3 Marie impssum. In oppido Nurnbergi. per Antoniu Coburger prefate oppidi incolam industria cuius diligentissime fabrefactum. finit feliciter." NUREMBERG CHRONICLE. Registrum hujus operis libri cronicarum cu figuris et ymagibus ab inicio mudi. Gothic Letter. Folio. Old Calf. Printed by Anthonius Koberger. Nuremberg: 1493. |