THE COIN WHICH INSPIRED THE ALDINE ANCHOR 1. [ALDUS MANUTIUS.] Silver Denarius of Titus. Rome, AD 80. literature. I do not believe that this symbol was so illustrious when it was stamped on the imperial money and carried around to be rubbed Silver denarius; obverse: IMP TITUS CAES VESPESIAN AUG P M by the fingers of merchants, than now when it has been printed on the with laurated head of Titus, facing right; reverse: TR P IX IMP XV title-pages of books of all sorts, in both languages, among all nations, COS VIII P P with dolphin coiled round anchor; weight approximate- even those beyond the borders of Christendom. It is known, loved, and ly 3.37g, diameter 18 mm, struck on a broad flan, a few light fissures praised by all who cultivate the sacred studies of the liberal arts, and in the surface, but in near extremely fine condition. especially by those who despise turgid and barbaric dogma and aspire £800 to the true ancient learning’ (Erasmus, Adagia, II.i.1. Translation from www.philological.bham.ac.uk/speude/trans.html). Silver denarius of the Emperor Titus (AD 79-81) featuring the dolphin and anchor which inspired Aldus Manutius to create his iconic printer’s RIC 112; BMC 72. device. This example is unusual, with a much wider and more elegant curvature of the anchor arm than any of the examples in the BM catalogue, and is in excellent condition. ‘From the ancient coins minted by Titus Vespasian we can easily gather that this same proverb [Festina lente] pleased him, too. Aldus Manutius showed me a specimen, a silver piece of old and clearly Roman workmanship, which he said was sent to him as a gift by the Venetian nobleman Pietro Bembo, who honoured the youthful Aldus as an example of the foremost students and diligent investigators of literary antiquities in his time. The impression stamped on the coin From our copy of Ammonius, was like this. On the obverse was the portrait of Titus Vespasian with Porphyrii commentarius, his titles; on the reverse was a dolphin curving around and embracing Venice 1546. the shank of an anchor. This device means exactly the same thing as the saying of Augustus Cæsar, σπεῦδε βραδέως, and the evidence is in the monuments written in hieroglyphic letters. … Aldus has taken as his own this same device which once so pleased Titus Vespasian. He has multiplied it and made it not only famous, but also most beloved by everyone everywhere in the world who understands and loves A PRESENTATION MANUSCRIPT BY THE ‘CUMBERLAND BARD’ 2. ANDERSON, Robert. Autograph manuscript volume of ‘Poems, ‘Cumberland ballads’ – ‘The Hivverby House-warmin’, ‘The Hivverby Songs &c’. Wood Bank, July 13th, 1825. Hau’rels’ and ‘Dolly ov Dawston’. 8vo, pp. [22], a fair copy in a fine, neat hand; with an index at the end; The ‘Mrs Harrington’ to whom Anderson dedicates this volume is old repair to tear in one leaf, else in very good condition in the original presumably the wife of the calico printer James Harrington, of stiff paper wrappers, bound into later cloth covers. Woodbank near Carlisle. In 1825 Harrington went into partnership in £1200 the printworks at Woodbank with William Wilde and Robert Robley – Anderson was perhaps seeking patronage from a successful local, or An attractive manuscript by Robert Anderson (1770-1833), dedicated knew the Harringtons from his earlier years in the trade. ‘To Mrs Harrington, of Wood Bank; With the Author’s sincere wish, she may long enjoy Peace, Plenty, Wealth, & Happiness’. None of the fifteen poems included here appeared to have been published. A textile-worker turned poet much inspired by Burns, Anderson (1770-1833) is best known for his Ballads in the Cumberland Dialect (1805), though he also wrote verse in standard English. He was ‘much feared for his personal attacks; he had a keen eye for the ludicrous, and pictured with fidelity the ale-drinking, guzzling, and cock-fighting side of the character of the Cumbrian farm labourer’ (ODNB). Having begun life as a pattern drawer in the calico industry, he moved to London for further training (his first songs were sung at Vauxhall Gardens), before taking up a post in Belfast. On his return to Carlisle he was given a civic welcome, but he later fell into poverty, which the publication of his Poetical Works (1820), was an attempt to relieve. Subscribers to the latter included Southey and Wordsworth. He was buried in Carlisle Cathedral and a monument erected to him. The present collection post-dates Anderson’s Poetical Works and includes a ‘Sonnet on the death of David Garrick, Junr, Esq’ (who had overseen the publication of that collection). Among the ‘songs’ (‘Wellington and Waterloo’, ‘Poor little Fanny’) is one in Scots dialect (‘The Banks of Clyde’), and the manuscript closes with three SHE’S DEAD, ALAS! 3. ARWAKER, Edmund. A Pindaric ode upon our late soveraign lady of blessed memory, Queen Mary. By Edward [sic] Arwaker, author of The vision of the death of King Charles. London, for Rich. Parker, 1695. Fol., pp. 12; title within black mourning border, price at end ‘four pence’; a very good copy, disbound. £150 First edition of this ode on the death of Mary II (1662-1694) by the Irish poet and clergyman Arwaker (c.1655-1730), printed with a thick black mourning border to the title. Mary, who had jointly ruled England, Scotland and Ireland with her husband William III since 1689, died of smallpox at the age of 32. She was widely mourned in Britain. Arwaker begins by calling upon Britannia to mourn and imaginatively pictures a tearful Belgic lion (‘Till from the Flood-gates of her Eyes, Her Land is more in danger to be drown’d, Than by the Tides that at her Sluces rise’). He refers to the ‘fatal and ... loath’d Disease’ to which Mary succumbed, and imagines the king’s fear at her approach- ing death – he who had often faced death himself (‘Among loud Cannon and their roaring Balls’). The poem ends with a rallying cry ‘To scourge the haughty Insolence of France’. A graduate of Kilken- ny College, chaplain to the Duke of Ormond, and archdeacon of Armagh, Arwaker also penned poems on the death of Charles II and ‘on the excellent and useful invention of making sea-water fresh’, as well as a selection of fables done into English verse. ESTC R11733; Wing A3910. UNRECORDED 4. CALVET, sieur de. L'arithmétique nouvelle, dans sa véritable perfection, où l'on peut en très-peu de temps, facilement et même seul, apprendre à compter, chiffrer et calculer sans maître, toutes sortes de sommes... et traité de la nouvelle orthographe, contenant la manière d'écrire correctement les mots ordinaires; modèles de promesses, de quittances et autres actes sous seing privé; de modèles de lettres missives pour instruire la jeunesse. Sur la copie imprimée à Paris, chez P.D.R. ruë de la Huchette, au Pillier verd, [ca. 1785]. 12mo, pp. 31, [1]; light uniform toning, but a very good copy, stitched as issued in the original printed wrappers with woodcut coat of arms of Louis XVI (1754-1793) on both covers. £380 Unrecorded edition, the earliest known, of a manual for merchants rare in any version, which includes arithmetic instructions as well as specimens for the correct styling of letters of exchange, promissory notes, receipt notes etc., with a brief appendix on more general letter-writing. Two copies of two later editions are held at the BNF and the Sorbonne. THE FATHERS OF THE CHURCH ON THE VANITY OF THE WORLD 5. CANAYE, Jean (editor). Recueil de letres (sic) des plus saincts et meilleurs esprits de l’antiquité, touchant la vanité du monde. Paris, Sebastien Cramoisy, 1628. 8vo, pp. 108, [4], 423 (i.e. 407), [1]; engraved title-page by Jean Picart; paper slightly toned, but a very good copy, bound in contemporary French vellum, gilt, somewhat stained along the joints, small areas of loss of vellum to foot of spine and lower board; gilt edges; nineteenth- century ownership stamp ‘H. Tribout’ to front pastedown. £750 First and only edition, extremely rare, of a collection of letters of the Fathers of the Church on the vanity of the world. It includes St. Cyprian’s letter to Donatus, St. Jerome’s letters to Heliodorus and Demetrias, St. Augustine’s letter to Licentius and St. Eucherius’ letters to his cousin Valerian and St. Hilarius, each preceded by an introductory note by the editor and translator Jean Canaye (Jesuit scholar, 1594-1670). The collection is dedicated with a long letter by Canaye to Philippe- Emmanuel de Gondi (1580-1662), count de Joigny who, following the death of his wife in 1625, joined the Congregation of the Oratory of Jesus. COPAC records one copy only, at Lambeth Palace. OCLC records 3 copies, all in France (Toulouse, Sainte-Geneviève and BNF). AN ITALIAN POPULAR PRINTING OF A MIDDLE ENGLISH LEGEND 6. [CHIVALRY.] Vita, e morte di Buovo d’Antona, nella quale si tratta delle gran battaglie, e fatti d’Arme, che lui fece. Venetia, Padoa, et in Bassano, Per Gio: Antonio Remondini [c. 1700]. 8vo, pp. 144; woodcut of jousting knights to title page and 22 somewhat crude small woodcuts in the text, one at the beginning of each canto; a beautiful copy, entirely uncut, bound in slightly later plain brown boards, slightly worn at edges. £850 Rare Italian popular printing of this chivalric poem recounting the trials and triumphs of Bevis of Hampton, son of the Count of Hampton and his young wife, the daughter of the King of Scotland.