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.

1499 Mantuanus Poetry + 1507 Satires of Persius Post-Incunable Satyrae ROME Roce

Along with Juvenal, Persius was one of the greatest 1st century Roman satirists. His works consisted of elements of stoicism and were greatly influenced by Horace and Juvenal, in fact the satires of both Juvenal and Persius are often found published together. In his 'Satires', Persius sought a few major philosophical ideas:
·
important questions to ask the gods
·
the meaning of life
·
the importance of gaining knowledge
·
freedom through Stoicism
·
the proper use of money

This 1507 post-incunable printing of Persius's 'Satyrae' was published in Paris by Jean Barbier and Denis Roce. This edition was edited by Giovanni Britannico, a 15th-century grammarian who is best known for his edition of Persius.

This book is bound with another early Roce printing of Baptista Mantuanus poetry. Mantuanus was a Carmelite poet whose 15th-century works were influential during the Protestant… Read More

1545 Saint Venerable BEDE Bible & Commentary English Monk Church Cosmology

Saint Venerable Bede was an English monk during the 7th- and 8th-centuries. He is most remembered for his ecclesiastical work on the history of English people, in which he discusses the establishment and growth of the church throughout the known world. He also wrote important commentaries on the books of the Bible. This work explains relevant Biblical passages, as well as describes the allegorical notes of Church Fathers. However, he did not write exclusively of church theology. He also wrote on the development of time and ideas of cosmology.
This 16th-century Latin edition was published in Paris by Roigny. An impressive, three-volume folio set!

Item number: #11735
Price: $3500
BEDE, Saint Venerable
Venerabilis Bedae presbyteri theologi doctissimi juxta ac sanctissimi, commentationum in Sacras Literas, tomus primus : in quo ea maximè quae Veteris Testamenti sunt, ita perspicuè ac dilucidè enarrantur, ut inter… Read More

in officina Frobeniana per Hieronymum Frobenium, & Nicolaum Episcopium, 1538. First Edition. Leather Bound. Good. Folio, pp. [28], 398 (i.e. 389), [11]; woodcut printer's device on title and colophon, numerous woodcut initials throughout; full 18th century calf, gilt-decorated spine with gilt faded, bookplate of an early owner (Henry F. Brooks, Esq.) on the front inside board, title page has small holes on edge and bottom. Small pin hole on right edge through to page 26 where probably punched on wrong edge when getting ready to bind. Water stains and tanning mainly to front and back pages. Page 121 is hand written with a blank back and starts back on page 125. Index pages are creased with a blank between last two pages of index. Front cover is detached.

Paris: Denys Ianot, [Janot], 1540. First Edition. Transl. from Spanish by "le Seigneur des Essarts", Nicolas de Herberay. (1540)-1542, 3 parts in 1 vol. 150; (4), 86; (3), 94 leaves., repeated woodcut printer's mark on 2 title-pages, 43 (some repeated) woodcut illustrations within borders. 65 historiated/ decorated initials (including Janot's white alphabet with thistle especially designed for the Amadis), 18th century calf with gilt spine and two contrasting leather labels. folio. - First part lacks the first two preliminary leaves (incl. title) So begins at aiii); Remaining prelims one leaf with tear in text and one leaf lacks upper outer blank corner; first part partly wormholed in lower margin; title-page. to second part some soiling and old owner's entries; title-page. to third part slightly. dust stained; lower corner of final three leaves of third part restored and small inkstain in outer margin; All three parts occasionally. finger soiled / stained; engraved heraldic bookplate of Ham Court… Read More

1534 1ed Apian Instrumentum Astronomy Mathematics Alchemy Durer ART Trigonometry
Peter Apian was a 16th-century humanist who is remembered for his studies in astronomy and mathematics. One of his best known works was his 1534 mathematics treatise 'Instrumentum Primi Mobilis'. This book was Apian's studies in trigonometry, and, according to Tomash & Williams,
"Apian published a table of sines that, for the first time, was based on a circle with a radius of a power of ten, in this case one hundred thousand. The values of the functions were thus decimal and were easily adapted to any situation in which the defining circle was a decimal power."
This 1534 first edition is exceedingly rare and valuable. It contains the expected sine charts as well as numerous woodcut illustrations depicting protractor and arc readings. Note that this incredible work includes the original title page, which features a woodcut after Albrecht Durer.
Item number: #19895
Price: $2950
APIANUS, Peter
Instrumentum primi mobilis :… Read More

1554 Petrarch Poetry Triumphs Italian Il Petrarca Venice Vellutello Woodcuts MAP

Petrarch was a 14th-century Italian humanist known for his discovery of the letters of Cicero and establishment of the study of humanism. He wrote sonnets and poems, many of which were the model of poetry during the Dark Ages. This exceedingly rare 1547 edition of the works of Petrarch includes his 'Triumphs' with commentary and notes by Alessandro Vellutello, a 16th-century Venetian author who was perhaps best-known for his commentary on Petrarch which first appeared in 1525.
Item number: #20229
Price: $2500
PETRARCH, Francesco
Il Petrarca
In Vinegia : Per Giouan. Griffio, 1554.

Details:
· Collation: Complete with all pages
o [16], 214 leaves, [4]
o Numerous woodcut vignette engravings and illustrated initials throughout
· References: USTC 847854
· Language: Italian
· Binding: Vellum; tight and secure
· Size: ~8.25in X 6.25in (20.5cm x 15.5cm)
· Exceedingly rare and… Read More

1593 English LAW 1ed Doctor & Student Christopher St Germain Dialogues Divinity
Christopher St. Germain was a 16th-century English lawyer who is best remembered for his first published book 'Dialogues'. More commonly known as 'Doctor and Student', this work is a series of fictional conversations between a divinity doctor and an English barrister. This work is important because it was the first work to cover equity in English laws. Additionally, it influenced later books on English common law.
Item number: #20493
Price: $1950
ST GERMAIN, Christopher
The dialogue in English, betweene a Doctor of Diuinitie, and a student in the lawes of England
London : In Fleetestreete, within Temple Barre at the signe of the Hand and Starre by Richard Tottill, 1593. First edition.

Details:

· Collation: Complete with all pages
o
176 leaves, [8]
o
Signatures: A-Y8 Z4
·
References: USTC 512467
·
Provenance: Handwritten
o Arthur Myles Junr., 1670
o Eames Wilforde
·
Language: English… Read More

1559 1ed John Froissart Chronicles Medieval Hundred Years' War Chivalry Sauvage 4v

The 'Chronicles' of Jean Froissart have continually been perceived as an important work on medieval history for centuries since its inception in the 14th-century. While some of the subjects covered are repetitive and insignificant, many topics are of utmost importance including famous battles, deaths of monarchs, and the Catholic Church Great Schism. According to Adams in the "Manual of Historical Literature,"
"Froissart might be called the great interviewer of the Middle Ages. He lived from 1337 to about 1410, and wrote chiefly of contemporaneous events. The 'Chronicles' are universally considered as the most vivid and faithful picture we have of events in the fourteenth century. As a picture of the most favorable side of chivalry, the work has no equal"

This 1559 first edition was translated and edited with commentary by Denis Sauvage, printed in an impressive vellum-bound folio!

Item number: #22092
Price: $2950… Read More

1519 Paolo Emili FRANCE De Rebus Gestis Badius FOLIO p Incunable Chronicle Kings

Paolo Emili was a 15th-century Veronese humanist known for his histories of France and the Gauls. First published in 1515 and appearing in multiple parts, "De Rebus Gestis Francorum" was written to chronicle the lives and reigns of the French kings from Pharamond through Charles VIII. However, Emili died in 1529 before he could complete the work and it was finished by numerous contributors into the early 17th-century.

This printing from Josse Badius was published around 1517-1519 as Badius did not publish any other editions of Emili after.

Item number: #22725
Price: $2950

EMILI, Paolo

Pauli Aemilii Veronensis De rebus gestis Francorum, libri IIII [i.e. IX]

Venundantur in aedibus Iodoci Badii Ascensii, [Paris: between 1517-July 1519 and Feb 1520].

Details:
· Collation: Complete with all pages
o CCLXXXVII leaves
o Signatures: a-s6 t-z8 A-H8 I6 K-Q8 R6 S8 x2
· References: USTC 187359
·… Read More

1591 Hanging of Martin Luther 1ed MALTA Inquisition Bozio Catholic Signis 2v

Tommaso Bosio (or Bozio) was an early 16th-century Italian Catholic inquisitor bishop known for his service in Malta. Little is known of his life outside of Malta, however, Bosio wrote a book entitled "De Signis ecclesiae dei', or 'Signs of the Church of God'. While at first glance, this book appears to be like many others of its kind – a description of the history of the catholic church, and it is. However, this book, unlike any other, contains a highly controversial tale on the life, rather, death of Martin Luther.

Bozio's "De Signis ecclesiae" is the first published account, whether accurate or not, to describe Martin Luther's suicide by hanging. According to Bozio, a servant of Luther found Luther hanged in a tree from a rope. Curiously, it is widely accepted that the cause of Luther's death remains a mystery, but some scholars believe suicide by hanging was the cause. Bozio's account is one of the first, if the… Read More

1584 John Calvin Institutes of Christian Religion Geneva Bible Catechism FAMOUS
"We should ask God to increase our hope when it is small, awaken it when it is dormant, confirm it when it is wavering, strengthen it when it is weak, and raise it up when it is overthrown."
― John Calvin
A rare, 16th-century Latin translation of John Calvin's "Institutio Christianae relgionis", or "Institutes of the Christian Religion." It is still widely read and considered highly influential in Western world Christianity. At its core, "Institutes" was intended to provide Christians inspiration in their living as well as being an introductory work to those new to the faith. It attacked those who opposed Calvin's teachings, most notably Roman Catholicism.
"Institutes" was immensely popular during the 16th-century and has since been held in the same respect as Augustine's "City of God," Aquinas's "Summa Theologica," Melanchthon's "Loci Communes" and other important Christian doctrines.
This 1584 edition of Calvin was… Read More

1520 Thomas Aquinas 1ed BIBLE & Commentary Gospel Matthew Catena Aurea Incunable

"The truth can be perceived only through thinking"
― Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica

Thomas Aquinas was a 13th-century Dominican monk known as one of the most important and influential church fathers and Catholic philosophers. He is remembered for his best-known works such as 'Summa Theologica' as well as his Bible commentaries on Old Testament prophets and the Epistles of Paul. Throughout his commentaries, Aquinas supports with his principle that everything Jesus did on earth was to teach us and leave an example.

This extremely rare volume from the 1520 printing of 'Catena Aurea', or Aquinas's commentary on the four Gospels. This particular volume features his commentary on the Books of Matthew and Mark.

Item number: #25003
Price: $1950

AQUINAS, Thomas

Cathena aurea angelici Thome Aq[ui]natis i[n] q[ua]ttuor Eua[n]gelia

Lyon: Francesco Giunta, 1520.

Details:
· Collation: Complete with all pages
o… Read More

1566 Ottoman TURKISH Ceremonies & Music Croatian Peregrine SLAVE Guyrgieuvits

Barol Guyrgieuvits was a 16th-century Croatian historian who is primarily remembered for his written histories of Croatian music and ceremonial arts. Gyurgieuvits lived as an Ottoman slave for 13 years, a period which allowed him to gain substantial understanding of the culture. In his book 'De Turcarum ritu et caeremonis', Gyurgieuvits describes Ottoman customs and culture and is known to be one of the first books to describe the music of Turkish ceremonies. First published in 1544, this book included a Croatian vocabulary dictionary with French and Latin translations.

This 1566 edition was published in Paris is exceptionally rare.

Item number: #25492
Price: $2500

GEORGIJEVIC, Bartolomei

De Turcarum moribus epitome Ex variis aditionibus adauctii opus, & lingua Turcice principiis locupletatum

Parisiis: apud H. de Marnef & G. Cauellat, 1566.

Details:
· Collation: Complete with all pages
o 170, [6]
o 6… Read More

1515 FAMED Trithemius History of FRANKS Frankish Kings Macromer Childeric France

Johannes Trithemius was a 15th-century German Benedictine monk who was known for his works on monastics, spiritual exercises, and occult magic. One of his most important works "Annalium sive historiarum de origine regum et gentis Francorum". This work, first published in 1514, proved to be one of the earliest published works on the history of the Franks and Frankish kings. Trithemius describes the earliest of Frankish leaders such as Macromer I, Antharius, and Dagobert I ending with Childeric III the final Merovingian king and the election of Pepin the Short and the start of Carolingian dynasty in 751AD.

This 1515 edition of Trithemius's "Francorum" is incredibly rare and valuable with only one known example sold at auction in the last decade.

Item number: #25424
Price: $2950

TRITHEMIUS, Johannes

Compendium sive breviarium primi voluminis annalium sive historiarum de origine regum et gentis Francorum ad… Read More