16th-Century from D & E Lake Ltd. (ABAC, ILAB)

[cGermany or The Netherlands: c16th-17th century]. The subject, Ulrich Varnbüler [1474-1545], was a German humanist and public official. In 1521 he was appointed chancellor to the Reichsregiment [1521-30] which was to exercise imperial powers in Germany in the absence of Charles V. With the Reichsregiment he first resided in Nuremberg where his friend Albrecht Dürer sketched his portrait for a… Read more about this item

[Basel: Hieronymous Froben & Nicolaus Episcopius], 1564. Sixth Edition (first: 1523) of this Hebrew dictionary compiled by the distinguished German geographer, mathematician, Hebraist, linguist, and theologian. Münster was court preacher at Heidelberg, where he also lectured in Hebrew and Old Testament exegesis, and from 1536 until his death he taught at Basel. A disciple of Elias Levita, he… Read more about this item

[Lyon]: Vincent de Portonariis, 1529. Second Edition (?) of this text on criminal law by Bolognese teacher, lawyer, and judge Ippolito Marsili. Marsili is best known for documenting or inventing what is known as the Chinese water torture method, in which drops of water consistently falling on a victim's forehead gradually drives him to the point of… Read more about this item

Paris: Gilles Gorbin, 1557. First Edition with the Latin translation and commentary of Adrian l'Alemant. It is preceded by the 1529 edition with translation and commentary by Janus Cornarius. Stillwell mentions a 1542 edition but it is not listed in the other bibliographies or on Worldcat. "The first book ever written on medical geography, climatology, and anthropology." (G… Read more about this item

Geneva]: Henri Estienne, 1593. First Estienne Edition. "This important edition of the great Athenian orator Isocrates (436-338 B.C.), with Hieronymus Wolf's text revised by Estienne, who has contributed 7 useful Diatribae, or Dissertations, represents Henri's last major work – the Concordantiae of the following year had been compiled in great part by his father – and constitutes his… Read more about this item

[Geneva]: Henri Estienne, 1573. "First Edition of this important work, commonly dismissed as a "supplement" to the Thesaurus Graecae Linguae [see Printing and the Mind of Man 62n]; it is in fact an independent work, though a by-product of Henri Estienne's work for the Thesaurus. The volume is divided into two parts, of which the first consists of… Read more about this item

Magdeburg: Paulus Donat for Ambrosius Kirchner, 1587. First Combined Edition of these two travel narratives to the Holy Land (first separately published in 1519 and 1525). German Dominican friar, Buchardus de Monte Sion traveled to the Middle East between 1274 and 1284, being one of the last pilgrims to travel to the Holy Land and write a full… Read more about this item

Venice: Gabriel Giolito de' Ferrari, 1562. First Combined Edition of this early example of Italian Renaissance utopian literature, inspired by Sir Thomas More (originally published as two separate volumes in 1552 and 1553). Doni himself had edited the first Italian translation of More's Utopia by Ortensio Lando, which appeared in Venice in 1548 (Gibson 37). "In a mixture of… Read more about this item

[Geneva:] Jean Crispin, 1567. Crispin had previously published the Iliad in 1559; the two works are listed together in the bibliographies. Adams H756. Brunet III 271. Graesse III 327. Moss II 485. 16mo. pp. 2 p.l., 528 [i.e. 428]. text in Greek. woodcut printer's device on title. woodcut headpieces & initials. 17th century calf, covers paneled in blind (joints… Read more about this item

[Geneva]: Conrad Badius, 1559. An appealing copy of this early edition of "the most important single source of the Reformation era" (Thompson), written by the great German humanist diplomat. Sleidan, whose real name was Johann Philippson, was appointed historian of the Reformation by the Schmalkaldic League in 1542. His monumental chronicle was first printed at Strassburg in 1555, one… Read more about this item

Venice: Gabriel Giolito De’ Ferrari, 1558. Second Edition of the Italian Translation by Lodovico Domenichi (first: 1548). Adams X40. Bongi II p. 64. BM STC Italian 738. Graesse VI 403. Hoffmann III p. 605. Schweiger I p. 344. small 8vo. ff. 163. lacking final leaf with printer’s device. part of title within woodcut border. woodcut printer’s device on title.… Read more about this item

Rostock: Myliander, 1591. First Edition. An extremely rare treatise and scarce imprint. Poet, philologist, and theologian Nathan Chytraeus, was the younger brother of the theologian David Chytraeus, a disciple of Philip Melanchton. Nathan was a professor first at the University of Rostock, where he is credited with founding the library in 1569, and later at the Gymnasium in Bremen.… Read more about this item

Venice: Fabio & Agostino Zoppini, 1589. Fifth Edition (first: 1563). Houzeau & Lancaster state that in his notes Grotto regards spheres as being originally in equilibrium in space, and that they move as a result of magnetic attraction produced by more distant bodies. Adams B2379. Houzeau & Lancaster 2618. This edition not in BM STC Italian. 8vo. ff. 132,… Read more about this item

Venice: Domenico Nicolini, 1564. Second Edition of the first volume of the author's principal treatise in legal philosophy. Vazquez Menchaca was an outstanding Spanish legal scholar of the sixteenth century. Jose Antonio Maravall refers to him in Carlos V y el Pensamiento Político del Renacimiento (Madrid, 1960) as "el más negador de la idea imperial". Writing during the reign… Read more about this item

London: Richard Tottel, 1579. First Edition. Index to the law reports of the reigns of Edward V, Richard III, Henry VII and Henry VIII. Fleetwood, recorder of London and M.P. for the city, was famous for his vigorous enforcement of the laws against vagrants and papists. STC 11034. Sweet & Maxwell I.311.4. small 8vo. unpaginated. black letter. contemporary calf (worn… Read more about this item

Basel: In Officina Frobeniana [Hieronymus Froben & Nicolaus Episcopius], 1535. A handsome and important folio edition, based on the Basel Froben edition of 1531, the first to incorporate the first five books of the Fifth Decade (Books 41-45), sourced from a manuscript discovered by German humanist Simon Grynaeus [1493-1541] in the Benedictine abbey of Lorsch in 1527. This edition… Read more about this item

London: Ralph Newbery, assign of Henry Bynneman, 1582., 1582. 3 Parts with separate titles. 8vo. [ff. 64]; [ff. 24]incl. blank M4; pp. 8 p.l., 97, [7]. woodcut royal arms on A3v. printer's device on titles. woodcut ornaments & initials. 18th century paneled calf, rebacked (title & last leaf soiled & with small marginal tears, hole in blank M4). from the… Read more about this item

Lyons: Guillaume Rouillé, 1554., 1554. 16mo. pp. 650, [47]index. woodcut printer's device on title. contemporary limp vellum (small piece wanting from spine, library rubberstamp on title, dampstain to outer margin in first half). 3 pp. old ms. notes at end & occasional notes in text. This copy does not include the Greek text of the Aphorismi (pp. 64) at the… Read more about this item

Paris: [B. Prévost for] Jean de Roigny, 1552., 1552. folio. pp. 2 p.l., [3]-776, [38]index & colophon. numerous large criblé & smaller foliated initials. 145 woodcuts in the text measuring approximately 2 x 3". (including some repeats). 17th century sheep, rebacked with gilt spine mounted, corners renewed (some scarring to covers, occasional stains, dampstaining to some leaves in middle gatherings).… Read more about this item

[Geneva]: Conrad Badius, 1559., 1559. 2 Volumes in 1. 16mo. ff. 458, [14]index; 50, [6]index. woodcut printer's device on titles. woodcut initials. ruled in red throughout. early red morocco, all edges gilt (joints rubbed, neat repair to first title, dampstain just visible at lower edge of some leaves, spotting to last gatherings of second title). bookplates of P.J.B.Despaux & William… Read more about this item