16th Century Literature

London. William Pickering. 1825. Sumptuously bound in period Full scarlet crushed levant morocco. Blind rules to front and rear covers with gilt tooled harp device. Ornate gilt tooled fleural and harp motifs to spines. Gilt titles. Elaborate gilt tooled inner-dentelles. Elaborate gilt-tooled edges. aeg. Octoavo. (182 x 111mm), The very rare and significant 'Wreath Edition', containing the attributed works and Samuel Johnson's classic preface. Illustrated with a Frontis engraving. Some mild soiling to various covers. A Fine, crisp very appealing set. Jaggard p. 516; Lowndes 3, 2266.

Full calf. Probable first issue of the Stowe Edition with Chaucer's arms dated 1560 and before woodcut additions. Relative to the precedence of issues of the 1561 Stowe edition David R. Carlson ("The Woodcut Illustrations in Early Printed Editions of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales," in Chaucer Illustrated: Five Hundred Years of The Canterbury Tales in Pictures [British Library, 2003]) states "the most plausible explanation seems to be that the printer and publisher of the [Stowe] edition, came into possession of the woodcuts belatedly after most of the press work for the edition had been done. After obtaining the blocks, they ran up a new issue of the beginning of the book, incorporating a "General Prologue" illustrated with woodcut. In all documented cases, the unillustrated [i.e. first]"General Prologue" occurs with a title page showing the Chaucer arms, dated 1560 at the top of the shield. A different title-page, dated 1561, is found in copies incorporating the [woodcut] illustrated… Read More

TYPOGRAPHIA MEDICEA 1594, Arabic text of Thrir Usul Iqlidis (Eclid) translated by Nasir ud Din al Tusi. 453 p. iclude many woodcuts. chapter headings are in bold script. Firman (Imperial order) of the Ottoman Sultan Murad Khan IV dated 996 H ( November 1588 AD. ) in 31 lines, ordering the Ottoman citizens not to prevent the book dealers (whos names are mentioned in the Firman and seem to be Italian Book dealers.. Branton and Horacio (?) sons of Bandini ) from traviling in the Ottoman states and selling their Arabic, Turkish and Persian books freely. In early 20th c. dark green hard covers. almost un-cutted wide margins of papers. 32.5 x 22.5 cm. Copy in vey good condition.

Hardcover. Fine. 4to. Bound in 20th-century 1/4-vellum over marbled boards. Strasbourg: Matthias Schürer, July 1510. Second Strasbourg edition of Erasmus heavily annotated collection of Greek and Latin proverbs. Printed in Roman and Greek types. This is the original version, containing 818 adages, which is considerably shorter than the later expanded versions published under the title Adagiorum chiliades. (Adams E-420; Bezzel, Erasmusdrucke, 50; Van der Haeghen, Bibliotheca Erasmiana, p.25-6; Bibl. Belgica II, 276: no. E.61; Muller, Strasbourg II, p. 179, no. 45.) The Adagia could only have been possible in the new world of European education, in which careful attention to a broader range of classical texts produced a much fuller picture of the literature of antiquity. Its impact has been long lasting. Such popular expressions such as one step at a time, between a rock and a hard place, break the ice, an iron in the fire, looking a gift horse in the mouth, and many other sayings can trace their… Read More

London: London: printed [by Henry Denham] in Aldersgate street at the signe of the Starre, 1587. 2nd Edition . Hardcover. Very Good. Second edition; large folio; 3 volumes bound into 2 physical volumes. Vol. 1: [10], 250; [4], 202, [2]pp. Vol. 2: 61, [13], 183, [1]; 421, 424-430, 436-438, 431-433, 439-445, 450-464, [56]pp. Vol. 3: [8], 1080, 1080-1327, [2], 1332-1371, 1371-1421, 1490-1491, 1536-1555, 1574-1592, [62]pp. Mismatching set. Volumes 1-2 bound in 17th century reversed calf (somewhat worn with a few old repairs, hinges cracked, corners and spine ends worn with minor loss), blind rolls to margins of boards, spine with five raised bands, gilt-lettered red leather spine label to second compartment and additional hand-written leather spine label to third compartment, housed in attractive custom-made clam-shell box in red half leather over marbled boards with five raised spine bands and gilt lettering direct to spine in second compartment. Unobtrusive creasing and wear to opening and… Read More

1589 ENORMOUS LAW Corpus Juris Civilis Justinian Codex Digest Godefroy 6v SET

"Freedom is the natural ability of everyone to do what he likes, unless it is prohibited by law or by force."
― Justinian I
Justinian's 'Corpus Juris Civilis' is unquestionably the fundamental work on law and jurisprudence! Parts of this work were originally intended to be used by law students, but they were not solely used as a textbook – they carried legal weight …as law! It includes four distinct parts – Codex, Digest, Institutes, and Novellae – each written with a different purpose.
'Digest' or 'Pandectae' is a collection of juristic treatises taken from various legal writings of Ulpian and Paulus. 'Codex'
was the Justinian's attempt at organizing the laws in a systematic manner – each of these works is included in this enormous 16th-century six-volume edition.
The Godefroy editions of this iconic work were influential in the law field well into the 20th-century. While Godefroy was known as a jurist, his… Read More

4° (mm 185x135); cc. LXXIIII. Caratteri gotici; titolo e anno impressi in rosso, entro cornice silografica a quattro scomparti e con bellissimo legno centrale; al verso dell'ultima carta, marca tipografica silografica. Legatura ottocentesca in mezza pelle. Bell'esemplare, nonostante i margini non amplissimi.
Very rare edition of the earlier Spanish sentimental romance, originally published in Valencia in 1513.
About the authorship of Qüestión de amor, one of the most intriguing among the Spanish sentimental romances:
"In a series of articles on the authorship of the earlier sentimental romance Qüestión de amor, I suggested first that the anonymous author was a member of the aristocratic Cardona family (1994a) basing this attribution on a series of clues deeply imbedded within the text itself – in other words, evidence interior to the work. Furthermore, I suggested that the author was the poet Alonso de Cardona whose work was found in the Cancionero General of 1511 (1994b and 2006). Finally,… Read More

Venice,: Felice Valgrisi, 1584., 1584. Folio (in 6). *6, A-Dd8, Ee4, Ff8-Mmm8, Nnn10. Foliation: [6], 469 ff. Woodcuts: title-vignette, 138r, 331v, 333r, 335v, woodcut initials, head & tail pieces. Binding: Modern full dark brown morocco, gilt ruled, raised bands, gilt decorative spine with title, original endleaves preserved. Occasional water-stain to corners, paper repairs to margins (f. 51, 75, 157, 170, 324). PROVENANCE: bookseller label: Jacques LeChevalier [medical bookseller, Paris]. Early manuscript signature of Joannus Lyould [possibly Jean--- [of] Lyons?]. WITH: 11-line manuscript on front blank. Rubber stamp: Doctor Mario E. Spada. AN ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL COPY. Rare. First collected edition of the collected works of Falloppio. There were two issues of the same year, the other issued in Frankfurt by the firm of Andreas Wechelus (d.1581). / The work contains fourteen books, or sections, [1] De Simplicibus Medicamentis purgantibus [of simple medications, drugs]; [2]Ad Eccell. D. Hieronymum… Read More

8° (mm 153x104); cc. (46). Al frontespizio, bellissima silografia raffigurante un erudito nel suo studiolo. Testo in carattere romano, diposto su due colonne. Piccoli capilettera silografici. Marocchino nero giansenista: titolo al dorso, dentelles interne e taglî in oro. Copia molto bella.Extremely rare Italian version - probably based on the first Italian translation of the previous year (Venice, Zorzi di Rusconi, 1514) - of this famous novel, one of the masterpieces of early Spanish literature. Rarissimo volgarizzamento – verosimilmente coniato sulla prima traduzione italiana dell'anno precedente (Venezia, Zorzi di Rusconi, 1514) – "di questo celebre romanzo, tra i capolavori della letteratura spagnola; e pubblicato per la prima volta a Siviglia nel 1492. Esso apre l'interpretazione delle posteriori raffigurazioni letterarie in materia d'amore: influì sulla Celestina, sull'Amadigi di Gaula, sulla Diana, sulla Galatea e sugli episodi sentimentali del Don Chisciotte" (C.A. Chiesa, Libri… Read More

London: Jacob Tonson & Edmund Curl, 1709. Hardcover. Very Good+/No Jacket. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. THE WORKS OF MR. WILLIAM SHAKESPEAR IN SIX VOLUMES: ADORN'D WITH CUTS was published in 1709 by Jacob Tonson & edited by Nicholas Rowe. They are the 1st edition of Shakespeare's plays published after the four folios. These are the first illustrated edition of Shakespeare's plays, 1st edition to indicate acts, scenes & dramatis personae, 1st to provide stage directions, 1st to include a formal biography of Shakespeare. Also includes THE WORKS OF MR. WILLIAM SHAKESPEAR. VOLUME THE SEVENTH. CONTAINING VENUS & ADONIS, TARQUIN & LUCRECE AND HIS MISCELLANY POEMS published in 1710 by Edmund Curll. "The significance of the 'volume the seventh' as has been generally understood, is in the fact that the book was intended as a supplementary volume to be sold to purchasers of the set of Rowe's Works of Shakespeare" (Alden, 1916). This octavo… Read More

1566 1ed Serlio Architecture Italian Renaissance ROME Woodcuts Egypt Pyramids
Sebastiano Serlio was a 16th-century Italian architect whose book 'The Works of Architecture and Perspective' helped establish orders of architecture and design. While Serlio was not the first to publish a book on architecture, this book was the first to be fully illustrated and incorporate woodcut examples of ancient (Roman, Greek, and Egyptian) architecture, geometry and perspective, and construction design.
Each section of this highly desirable 1566 first octavo edition contains a separate title page. There are seemingly countless woodcuts throughout this tome – full-page and in-text views of arches, Roman ruins, Egyptian pyramids, pottery, forts, domes, columns, and entire building facades, all engraved by German engraver Johann Chrieger.
Item number: #20434
Price: $3500
SERLIO, Sebastiano
Libro primo [-quinto, estraordinario] d'architettura, di Sebastiano Serlio Bolognese
Venetia : Appresso Francesco Senese, & Zuane… Read More

Lyons, C. Davost pour Et. Gueymard, 1510.
4to of (6) ll., 219 ll., (9) ll., 16 woodcuts in the text, a wormhole skillfully restored without loss in the margin of the first 2 ll., small waterstain in the margin of about ten ll., handwritten contemporary annotations on the second inner cover.
Brown limp calf, covers entirely decorated with a wide framing with blind-stamped fleurons and a central rectangle decorated with blind-stamped fillets and with 4 wide blind-stamped rose fleurons, rebacked.
Contemporary binding.
249 x 135 mm.
A precious edition, the first illustrated in Lyons, of Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Baudrier, Bibliographie Lyonsnaise, XI-223 ; Mortimer-Harvard, French, n°397 ; Brun, Le Livre français illustré de la Renaissance, 262 ; Du Plessis, Essai bibliographique sur les différentes éditions des œuvres d'Ovide, n°25 ; Sander II, n°5330 for the illustration of 1497 ; not in Brunet, Murray and Rothschild.
" 'The Metamorphoses' is the title of several works from Antiquity which, under an… Read More

1585 DUTCH History Chronicle Divisiekroniek Netherlands Holland Zealand Woodcuts
"The keystone [work] of Middle Dutch historiography!"
The "Divisiekroniek" was the first and most important 16th-century Dutch national chronicle. It was notable for containing some of the most famous descriptions of Dutch history, providing insight into the Renaissance in Northern Netherlands – Holland, Zealand, and Friesland – first printed in 1517. According to Blok, the 'Divisiekroniek'
"was the usual reading-book in the 16th- and 17th-centuries for the ancient history of the countship of Holland, and may be reckoned as the keystone of Middle Dutch historiography."
While the contents of this work are indisputably important, the in-text woodcuts of kings and Dutch royals with their coats-of-arms are highly desirable and make this already famous work highly coveted.
Item number: #20907
Price: $4950
anonymous
Die cronycke van Hollant, Zeelant ende Vrieslant. Noch is hier byghevoecht een cort verhael vande regeringe… Read More

London, printed by Adam Islip, at the charges of Thomas Wight, 1598.. TITLE CONTINUED: In this Impression you shall find these Additions: 1, His Portraiture and Progenie shewed. 2, His Life collected. 3, Arguments to every Booke gathered. 4, Old and obscure Words explaned. 5, Authors by him cited, declared. 6, Difficulties opened. 7, Two Bookes of his never before printed. SIXTH EDITION, THE FIRST EDITION OF CHAUCER to be edited by Thomas Speght 1598. Folio bound in sixes, approximately 305 x 200mm, 12 x 8 inches, engraved portrait frontispiece of Chaucer surrounded by a genealogical chart of his "Progenie", title page within architectural border, 3 highly decorated divisional title pages, full page arms on verso A6, woodcut illustration of the Knight at the head of the Knight's Tale, decorative initials, small coat of arms on the second leaf of the Life of Chaucer, text in double columns and black letter. Pages: [54], 1-394, [1], [26]. A Catalogue of Translations by John Lidgate, of The Old and… Read More

1589 ENGLISH 1ed Henley Husbandry Booke of Thrift Medieval Agriculture Farming

Walter de Henley was a 13th-century French agriculturalist primarily remembered for his treatise on husbandry. In fact, this book is considered to be
"undoubtedly the most original contribution of the Middle Ages to scientific agriculture". (Power).
Henley provided some of the earliest French instructions on farm management and upkeep the upkeep of a manor.

In 1589, an English edition of Henley's "Husbandry" was translated by Jacuqes Bellot and published by Wolfe under the title "The Booke of Thrift".

It is incredibly rare and valuable. In fact, there is only one known auction record of this work sold in recent history where it sold for more than $7,000

Item number: #22665
Price: $4950

HENLEY, Walter de

The booke of thrift, containing a perfite order, and right methode to profite lands, and other things belonging to husbandry

London: Printed by Iohn Wolfe, 1589. First edition.

Details:
· Collation:… Read More