231 R[OWLEY] (W[illiam]) A MATCH AT MIDNIGHT, a Pleasant Comœdie; as it hath beene Acted by Children of the Revells, written by W. R., London, Printed by Aug. Mathewes, for William Sheares, 1633. FIRST EDITION, sm. 4to., edges of sigs. B 1, 2, and some headlines cut into, some MS. corrections on C2, calf (rubbed), g.e., £21 * Prof. Dyce describes this as Rowley's best piece." 232 SALOMON III. [RAMSCHWAG], Bishop of Constance.-Begins on recto of a 2, column 2, "SALEMONIS ECCLESIE CONSTANTIENSIS EPISCOPI GLOSSE EX ILLUSTRISSIMIS COLLECTE AUCTORIBUS INCIPIUNT FOELICITER." Preceded by "Epistola prelibaticia in sequentis operis commendationem breuibus absoluta "; occupying the first column. Sine nota [Augsburg, Anton Sorg, at the monastery of SS. Ulrich and Afra, before 1475]. Large thick folio, ROMAN LETTER (type 105), double columns, 55 lines to a full column, no pagination, signatures nor catchwords, rubricated throughout, DECORATED WITH 45 LARGE ORNAMENTAL INITIALS OF VERY FINE DESIGN, ENGRAVED IN OUTLINE ON WOOD WITHIN LINE BORDERS AND COLOURED BY A CONTEMPORARY ARTIST IN BLACK, BLUE, GREEN, PURPLE, RED, AND YELLOW, FORMING A COMPLETE ALPHABET, AND ALL BUT TWO LETTERS OF A DUPLICATE ONE, the smaller initials supplied by hand in red, two trifling worm-holes in lower margin of first two leaves and last leaf. remarkably fine copy with many uncut edges, and so large that it retains most of the printer's manuscript signatures and sheet marks, the leather chapter marks and the first blank leaf marked a 1, ORIGINAL MONASTIC BINDING OF WOODEN BOARDS COVERED WITH STAMPED PIG SKIN, chased metal catches and clasps, the 10 metal corner and centrepieces and lettering piece on front cover removed, £150 *Hain *14134; Proctor 1636. FIRST AND PROBABLY ONLY EARLY EDITION. A splendid example of XVth century Augsburg printing, unpressed and as fresh as on the day it was printed, and so rare that only three copies are recorded as being sold by auction during the last fifty years. The woodcut initials are very fine, and it is remarkable that they do not re-appear in any other book. Information as to the printing done at this monastery largely depends on a contemporary chronicle written by one of the monks, Wilhelm Wittwer, still unpublished, but quoted by Placidus Braun in his "Notitia historica litteraria of the incur.abula in the monastery library (1788). The making of presses occupied about a year, and the Abbot seems then to have caused to be printed the Speculum humanae Salvationis (completed before the end of 1473) in Gunther Zainer's type 2, the Dialogue of Pope Gregory, and other popular theological works, dated 1473, in Johann Bamber's type 2, and the Speculum Historiale of S. Vincent de Beauvais in Anton Sorg's type 1. Differences of typographical practises make it unlikely that these books in type 105 were printed by the same workmen as the Speculum, and it is most probable that Anton Sorg was engaged on this work and set up for himself soon after it was finished. His first dated book is the Cato disticha," printed at Augsburg, 2 Nov., 1475, but there is an undated " Augustinus quinquaginta" assigned to 1 Feb., 1475. The present copy is particularly interesting, as it enables us to give the exact collation from the printer's own signatures: a 12 leaves, including the blank first leaf marked al, b to o 10 leaves each, p 8 leaves, q and r 10 leaves each, long s 10 leaves, capital s 10 leaves, t to z and aa to dd 10 leaves each, ee 8 leaves, in all 288 leaves. 66 A MAGNIFICENT EARLY XVTH CENTURY ENGLISH ILLUMINATED 233 SARUM MANUSCRIPT HORAE. HIC INCIPIUNT MATUTINE BEATE MARIE VIRGINIS, IN LAUDIBUS, AD PRIMAM, &C. [SECUNDUM USUM ECCLESIAE SARISBURIENSIS], cum Calendario et aliis officiis. A SUPERB ILLUMINATED ENGLISH MANUSCRIPT ON 150 LEAVES OF FINE WHITE VELLUM, 111 by 7 inches, executed in or near London about 1420-30, written in a large bold gothic letter in red and black, long lines, 18 to a full page, the Calendar in letters of gold, blue, red, and black. DECORATED WITH 12 VERY BEAUTIFUL MINIATURE PAINTINGS OF EXCEPTIONALLY LARGE SIZE (7) by 4 inches each), IN THE FRONT RANK OF ART FOR CONCEPTION OF THE SUBJECT AND QUALITY OF EXECUTION, all within rich borders of floral, scroll, and line and leaf work, with grotesques and birds occasionally introduced. OPPOSITE EACH MINIATURE IS A PAGE WITH A LARGE AND HIGHLY ORNAMENTAL INITIAL (about 2 inches square) of acanthus work on a gold ground, the first with a bar border in gold, blue, and red, with twisted scroll work at each corner and in the centre, intermixed with line and leaf work, &c., IN THE CHARACTERISTIC ENGLISH STYLE OF THE PERIOD, all the other borders are similar to that surrounding the first miniature, together with 2 additional and similar initials with three-part borders before extra offices at the end, ALSO 226 FINE LARGE INITIALS IN GOLD ON ORNAMENTAL COLOURED BACKGROUNDS, with leafy sprays attached. occasionally forming a side border where there are several initials on a page, AND OVER 1,800 LARGE AND SMALL CAPITAL LETTERS IN GOLD AND BLUE, with delicate pen ornamentation in blue and red attached, and a few finials, THE WHOLE SPLENDIDLY ILLUMINATED IN GOLD AND COLOURS BY ONE OF THE FOREMOST ENGLISH ARTISTS OF HIS TIME; beyond a few trifling wormholes in the first two and last three leaves, in very fine state with wide margins, old red velvet, preserved in a morocco case, £2,000 *We have seen most of the illuminated manuscripts that have been offered for sale during the past 40 years, but have never met with an English early XVth century example to equal this one, nor have we seen one at all like it on exhibition in any of the great public libraries and museums. It is a glorious example of purely English work, remarkable for the large size of all its miniatures, which are medieval pictures of the finest sort; rich in illustration of the manners and costume, military and civil, of the period; while from the standpoint of art they are of the best kind that English artists in the XVth century could produce. They represent: (1) The Annunciation; (2) Gethsemane, Christ healing the ear of the high priest's servant, Peter sheathing his sword on the right, a group of Roman soldiers on the left, a gold chalice on a hillock in the background; (3) Christ before Pilate, who is depicted washing his hands; (4) The scourging of Christ, who is surrounded by 5 soldiers; (5) Christ bearing the cross, preceded by 2 soldiers, a troop of others following; (6) The crucifixion, the 2 Maries and St. John on the left, 6 soldiers on the right; (7) The descent from the cross, with the Virgin, St. Joseph, St. John, and two others in attendance; (8) The entombment, with the three Maries, St. Joseph, and St. John; (9) David praying; (10) A funeral service, monks in white on one side, on the other nuns in black; (11) Commendation of souls; (12) Emblems of the Passion, including St. Veronica's handkerchief. The liturgical interest is also great. The calendar is typically Sarum, is fairly full, and very unusual in having the names of the saints in four different colours, those in gold include the festivals of the Virgin, Epiphany, All Saints, and the Nativity; those in blue the festivals of the apostles, with the addition of St. Thomas à Becket twice, his translation on 7 July and festival on 29 Dec. (both erased, but not sufficiently to hide the identification); those in red include St. George, St. Erkonwold, Bishop of London, twice, on 30 April and Translation on 14 Nov.; St. Dunstan; St. Erasmus (unusual); and the translation of Edward the Confessor; those in black include nearly all the saints usually found in a Sarum calendar, amongst them may be mentioned St. Thomas a Becket (octave on 5 Jan., not erased); St. Wulstan, Bishop of Worcester (twice); St. Bridget; St. David; St. Edward, king and martyr; St. Cuthbert (twice); St. Richard, Bishop of Chichester; St. Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury; St. John of Beverley; St. Adelelm of Sherborn; St. Etheldreda of Ely; St. Alban; St. Swithun of Winchester; St. Kelelm; St. Wandregislaus (unusual); St. Oswald of Northumbria; St. Cuthberga of Barking; St. Edith; St. Thomas Cantelupe, Bishop of Hereford (unusual); St. Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln; St. Tecle; St. Edmund the Archbishop; and St. Edmund of Bury St. Edmunds. The litany invokes St. Thomas a Becket; St. George; St. Erasmus; St. Alban; St. Swithun; St. Birine; St. Sotheris; St. Prisca; St. Talca; St. Affra and St. Edith. Though nowhere specially named, the use is undoubtedly that of Salisbury, proved both by calendar, litany, hymn at matins, and the capitulum and collect at lauds Among the Memoriæ at lauds is that for Thomas a Becket (with very faint ink crossing). Vespers also contains Memoriæ, including St. Thomas again, and, as before, slightly ink crossed. The special attention paid to St. Erkonwald, Bishop of London, and St. Thomas of Canterbury, as major festivals, points clearly to London or its neighbourhood as the provenance of the manuscript. Its date is approximately shown by the arms of France modern, azure 3 fleur-de-lys or, forming part of the design of the lower part of the border to the first miniature. As Henry V., who died in 1422, was the first English king to use the arms of France modern, it seems very probable that this manuscript was executed about that time. A whole rubric towards the end, and the word pope " in the calendar are crossed out. The initials and rubrication of the last 3 pages were never filled in, blank spaces being left for the purpose. Of the original 5 blank leaves following the calendar 2 of them have been filled with prayers in a little later hand, without any ornamentation. On the page containing the calendar for March is an interesting inscription in the margin opposite the 12th of that month, Nata d Willm lathum anno dni MCCCCCI. in the XVI. yere of H. the VII. the XII. day of March," showing that at an early period this manuscript was in the possession of the ancient Cheshire and Lancashire family of Lathom of Lathom, now represented by the Earls of Derby. 66 44 See two illustrations, one as frontispiece of this Catalogue (reduced size). 234 SAVONAROLA DA FERRARA (H.) OPERETA MOLTO DIUOTA SOPRA EDIECI COMANDAMENTI DIDIO: diricta alla madonna, o uero badessa del monasterio Murate di Firenze. Impresso in Firenze adi, XXIII. doctobre, 1508. 8vo., roman letter, long lines, 38 to a full-page, WITH TWO REMARKABLY FINE LARGE OUTLINE FLORENTINE WOODCUTS, one, on the first page, representing Savonarola preaching to a party of nuns, the other, on the last page, depicting the crucifixion, slightly foxed in places, fine large copy, half morocco, £10 * A very rare edition, remarkable for its two beautiful large Florentine woodcuts. Collation: a and b 8 leaves each, c 6 leaves, d 4 leaves. |