The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair - 2017
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BUDDENBROOKS AT The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair - 2017 Visit Us in Booth C23 March 9 - 12, 2017 21 Pleasant Street On the Courtyard Newburyport, MA. 01950, USA Boston MA. 02116 - By Appointment (617) 536-4433 F: (978) 358-7805 [email protected] or [email protected] www.Buddenbrooks.com Newburyport - Boston - Mount Desert Island De Civitate Dei - An Extremely Early Printing - Rome 1474 The Press of Ulrich Han - The First Active Printer in Rome The City of God - St. Augustine - The Efficacy of Grace With Fine Provenance - Beautifully Decorated 1 [St. Augustine]. Augustini, Aureliii Hipponen. DE CIVITATE DEI (Rome: Ulrich Han (Gallus) and Simon Nicolai Chardella, 1474, Feb. 4) A Rare Incunable Printing, the first printing by Ulrich Han in Rome, of this landmark text, and only the fifth printing overall. A rare and an unusually early printing of this great work. With Excellent Provenance. The open- ing leaf with magnificent illuminated gilt initial “I”, 15 lines tall on a field of blue, red and green and with further scroll and intertwined vine work extending across the top and down two-thirds of the page in red, blue, green, brown and burnished in gold, a second 9 line gilt initial “G”, on a field of green, blue, red and gilt, enclosed in a green box, further gold and black embellishments and a Visconti Biscione, coat of arms of the Duchy of Milan, from the era of the House of Sforza, (likely the fifth or sixth Duke) at the foot in green blue and red. Further rubricated throughout with large initials in blue and red. Folio (350 x 245 mm), bound in later full calf, the boards nicely paneled with a frame in blind, the spines with tall gilt ruled raised bands creating compartments with either gilt lettering or a central gilt tool in a thistle motif, additional giltwork at the spine tips. 248 (of 264) leaves, the work itself textually complete, lacking only 14 leaves of introduc- tory matter, a blank and a final leaf of register. A wonderful survival of this important and early printing, the text handsome and desirable, illuminated decoration on opening leaf trimmed a touch, the final six leaves with old paper repairs ranging in size, overall very clean and fresh, the paper with a nice crispness still to it, only very minor and occasional evidence of soil- ing, later leaves with some small flaws, the binding with cosmetic wear but still very sturdy, solid and sound. A RARE AND EARLY INCUNABULAR PRINTING. OF ST. AUGUSTINE’S CLASSIC WORK, THE CITY OF GOD, DE CIVITATE DEI. THIS PRINTING, FROM THE PRESS OF ULRICH HAN, the first active printer in Rome and one of the first in all of Italy. This is, an elusive and important printing of the great work. According to Goff, it was preceeded in Rome only by those of Sweynheym and Pannartz in 1468 and 1470. Sweynheym and Pannartz’s Subiaco printing (the editio princeps of 1467) and a Venetian printing by Johannes and Vindelinus de Spira (in 1470). Ulric Han is frequently considered to have established printing in Rome, though some would argue that the distinction might in fact, belong to Sweynheym and Pannartz. The immediate purpose of Augustine in writing THE CITY OF GOD (DE CIVITATE DEI) was as apologia; “ the fall of Rome cannot be attributed to the abolition of pagan worship...the happiness of mankind in this and the next world can only be assured by the Christian religion; and St Augustine explains the Christian Church as an organization which would fill the vacuum caused by the break-up of the secular state. There is no opposition between State and Church; the State is not necessarily evil; if it is pervaded by Christian ideals and the God-fearing life, then it approaches true justice and thereby the City of God. DE CIVITATIS DEI is Augustine’s most important work. His principal tenet was the immediate efficacy of grace, and his theology remained an influence of profound importance on Franciscans, Cistercians, and others in the Middle Ages, when it was often characterized as being an alternative orthodoxy to the Dominican system of Aquinas. The first five books deal with the polytheism of Rome, the second five with Greek philosophy, particularly Platonism and Neo- Platonism ...and the last twelve books with the history of time and eternity as set out in the Bible. History is conceived as the struggle between two communities...but history is understood as a continuous evolution of the divine purpose and all forces work towards redemption of man by God’s grace, the central figure of Augustine’s theology....For the first time a comprehensive survey of human history is presented....In economics Augustine praised labor as a means towards moral perfection...and his contrasting description of a just ruler (imbued with piety, humility, fairness) and the tyrant or Antichrist (imiety, craving for glory) powerfully influenced Renaissance thought. ‘The City of God’ pervaded the whole Middle Ages...in the struggle between Pope and Emperor both sides drew arguments from it....The idea of international law was partly derived from the book...” PMM. And in our own day Maritain, Niebuhr, Tillich and other great thinkers have drawn inspiration from this great work. Goff A-1234; HCR 2050; Pell 1549; CIBN A-681; Péligry 104; IGI 970; IBE 92; IJL2 42; SI 427; Sajó-Soltész 369; Madsen 392; Lőkkös(Cat BPU) 53; Martín Abad A-237; Günt(L) 2412; Kind(Göttingen) 1925; Döring-Fuchs A-394; Walsh 1310; Bod-inc A-521; Sheppard 2674; Pr 3359; BMC IV 24; GW 2878 $29,500. Very Rare True First Edition of a Cornerstone Text Charles Andersson - The Okavango River - 1861 - London A Narrative of Travel, Exploration and Adventure 2 Andersson, Charles John. THE OKAVANGO RIVER: A Narrative of Travel, Exploration, and Adventure (London: Hurst and Blackett, 1861) First edition. With a steel-engraved portrait vignette title page and 16 other engraved illus- trations as called for. 8vo, handsomely bound in half tan calf over boards, the spine with raised bands gilt ruled, black morocco lettering label gilt. [xxi], [iii], 364 pp. A very nice copy, with only very light mellowing to the extremities. RARE FIRST EDITION OF THIS CORNERSTONE TEXT. A very scarce vol- ume in first edition format, it was written five years after his LAKE NGAMI, and is a record of Andersson’s hunting adventures though Namaqualand and Damaraland (present day Namibia). “Andersson intended to explore these countries right up to the Cunene or Nourse River, but the difficulties of the expedition, though encountered with indomitable courage, proved to be insuperable, and he had to turn back. He obtained, however, much valuable information, and his success as a hunter and collector was unique in this part of the continent. The coast-line of South-West Africa is carefully described, and there is an interesting account of the once-famed guano island, Ichaboe” (Mendelssohn I, p. 42). $2850. An Enduring Classic - The Ship of Fooles The Earliest Obtainable Edition - With Woodcuts Throughout 3 Brant, Sebastian. STULTIFERA NAVIS...THE SHIP OF FOOLES, WHEREIN IS SHEWED THE FOLLY OF ALL STATES, with divers other workes adjoyned unto the same, very profitable and fruitfull for all men. Trans- lated out of Latin into Englishe by Alexander Barclay, Priest (London: J. Cawood, 1570) The second edition in English, after Pynson’s unobtainable edition of 1509. With 108 of 116 woodcut illustrations within the text, 9 repeats, and with small woodcut initials through- out. Folio (268 x 187 mm), in 20th century calf cor- rect in style to the period of the work, the spine with tall blind ruled bands, central gilt tools in three compartments, gilt lettering in two plus date at the tail in gilt. tp, [para]3-2[para]6, A-VV6, XX4. Lack- ing leaves: [para] 2 (a preliminary leaf), Dd2, Ii6, Kk6-Mm2. Bound without the reprints of Barclay’s Eclogues, which are found in only some copies. A very good copy of this very rare book, printed on thick, crisp paper, with excellent margins--- a good centimeter larger all around than most institutional copies. In general, copies of this edition are substan- tially incomplete; the present copy is comparatively very well preserved. The title is a bit soiled, sev- eral previous owner’s signatures show ownership by John Hysop and Sarah Hamvile, who both auto- graph the title-page twice. Six leaves appear to have been supplied from a smaller copy: [para]6 (which has also been mended at the head of the margin); K5 (remargined at the gutter with white paper); Y2, Y3, Hh4, Hh5 (all mended, and remargined). Leaves T2, Rr5, and Uu3 and Uu5 have tears with some loss of text. There are scattered minor tears and stains. Realistically speaking, this is the earliest obtainable edition in English of Brant’s classic. Pynson’s edition is of notorious rarity and now copies of Cawood’s edition also appear only rarely on the market. Barclay’s translation is based on Jacob Locher’s Latin Version of Brant’s Narrenschiff, first printed by Richard Pynson in 1509. Little is known about Alexander Barclay, except that he was a scholar who travelled abroad and absorbed the spirit of the Reformation in Europe, knew several languages, took holy orders, and became a Benedictine Monk. All but three of the illustrations for this edition were printed from the blocks of the 1509 edition, which Pynson copied from those accompanying Pierre Rivière’s French translation (Paris, 1497). These French illustrations were in turn based on those of the editio princeps (Basel, 1494), of which many were probably made or designed by Albrecht Dürer, an attribu- tion discussed by Arthur M.