‎Manuscrit‎

‎Assarotti, Ottavio Giovanno Battista, philanthropist and educator (1753-1829).‎

‎Dottrina Christiana. [Genoa, ca. 1815-1820].‎

‎8vo (233 × 170 mm). Italian manuscript on paper. One leaf with written introduction (one leaf missing), 117 ff. (instead of 118, numbered 1-95, 97-118) of full-page coloured drawings within two-line borders (206 × 138 mm) illustrating the Christian Doctrine, on strong paper, 3 blank ff. Contemporary half calf, spine gilt with with title lettered in gold. Interesting manuscript by Padre Ottavio Giovanni Battista Assarotti (1753-1829), containing a method to teach and explain the 'Dottrina Christiana' to Genoese deaf-mutes. Assarotti was an Italian philanthropist and founder of the first school for deaf-mute people in Italy. After qualifying for the church, he entered the society of the Pietists, Scuole Pie, who devoted themselves to the training of young men. In 1801 he heard of the Abbé Sicard's education of deaf people in Paris, and resolved to do something similar in Italy. He began with one pupil, and by degrees collected a small number around him. In 1805, Napoleon, hearing of his endeavours, ordered a convent to give him a school-house and funds for supporting twelve scholars, to be taken from the convent revenues. This order was poorly heeded until 1811, when it was renewed, and the following year Assarotti, with a considerable number of pupils, took possession of the new school. He continued here until his death in 1829. The traditional and distinctive Italian manual alphabet is said to have been invented by Assarotti. - It is not certain that Assarotti himself is the author of the manuscript: while it may equally well have been conceived by one of his collaborators, it is based on the method invented and developed by Assarotti, who also designed the plates. The introduction explains how difficult it is to teach abstract concepts, such as religion, to deaf-mute pupils, so he painted these plates, invented by Assarotti: "He (Assarotti) never wrote down his educational philosophy and methods, and so fell into obscurity after his death" (Deaf History Unveiled, 244f.). As far as we know this manuscript is the only surviving witness of his theories. - The style of the watercolours is somewhat primitive and popular, but very rich in detail, including elaborate plates illustrating Faith in general ('Fede'; nos. 1-42); Commandments ('Legge'; nos. 43-51); Prayers ('Preghiera' 1-10; nos. 52-61); 42 Sacraments ('Sacramenti'; nos. 62-95, 97-104); Virtues ('Virtu' 1-14; nos. 105-118). The illustrations include views of paradise, hell, creation, functions of priests, symbols of all kinds of aspects of the Catholic faith, etc. - In very good condition. Dizionario biogr. degli Italiani IV, 433f. S. Monaci, Storia del R. Istituto nazionale dei sordomuti in Geneva (1901), 17-88 and passim. F. Donaver, "Il padre Assarotti", in: La Rass. naz. 23 (1901), 79-87. Deaf History Unveiled, ed. John Vickrey van Cleve (1993), 244f.‎

‎[Jus - Rechtsphilosophie].‎

‎"Einleitung des natürlichen Privatrechts", "Staatsrecht. Einleitung" und "Einleitung zur Statistik". [Wohl Wien], erste Hälfte des 19. Jhs.‎

‎Deutsches Manuskript auf Papier. 42 SS. auf 24 ff. Einfach fadengeheftet. 8vo. Interessante studentische Mitschrift bzw. Abschrift aus juristischen Lehrbüchern, zweifellos der Zeit vor 1848 zuzurechnen. Der längste Text ist die "Einleitung des natürlichen Privatrechts", die anhebt mit der Definition: "Naturrecht bedeutet die sistematische Darstellung dessen, was nach dem vernünftigen Selbstbewusstsein des Menschen für recht zu halten ist". Der stark kantianisch geprägte Text greift mehrere Begriffe wie "Noumenon" im Sinne des Königsberger Philosophen auf. - Der erste Paragraph der darauf folgenden staatsrechtlichen Abhandlung lautet: "Der Staat ist in der Idee: eine menschliche Gesellschaft, unter der Herrschaft einer zur Begründung u. Erhaltung der menschlichen Ordnung äusseren u. unabhängigen Macht." Die Definition steht in der Tradition von Hobbes' "Leviathan", der als die wirkmächtigste rechtsphilosophische Legitimation des Absolutismus gelten darf. - Mit nur 2 SS. am kürzesten ist die abschließende "Einleitung zur Statistik", eine Kompilation von Lehrsätzen aus Johann Nepomuk Zizius' Lehrbuch "Theoretische Vorbereitung und Einleitung zur Statistik" (Wien/Triest, 1810). Für Zizius ist Statistik "die wissenschaftliche Darstellung derjenigen Daten, woraus der Zustand der gegenwärtigen politischen Macht eines gegeben Staates gründlich erkannt wird". Wie diese Definition bereits anklingen lässt, betreibt Zizius Statistik gemäß der ursprünglichen Wortbedeutung als staatswissenschaftliche Disziplin. Der weitgehend vergessene Jurist J. N. Zizius (1772-1824) hatte seit 1810 den Lehrstuhl für Statistik an der Universität Wien inne. Er war Mitbegründer der Wiener Literatur-Zeitung und 1813/14 eines der Gründungsmitglieder der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien. - Wohlerhalten.‎

‎Zarqali, Abu Ishaq Ibrahim al- / Bianchini, Giovanni (ed.).‎

‎Tabulae de motibus planetarum. [Ferrara, ca. 1475].‎

‎Folio (242 x 340 mm). Latin manuscript on paper. 160 leaves (complete including four blank leaves at the beginning and six at the end). Written in brown ink in a neat humanistic hand, double columns, 37 lines to each page, numerous two and three line initials supplied in red or blue. With one large illuminated initial and coat of arms of the Scalamonte family flanked by floral decoration on first leaf, painted in shades of blue, green and lilac and heightened in burnished gold. With altogether 231 full-page tables in red and brown, some marginal or inter-columnar annotations, and one extended annotation on final leaf. Fifteenth century blind stamped goat skin over wooden boards, remains of clasps. The so-called "Toledan Tables" are astronomical tables used to predict the movements of the Sun, Moon and planets relative to the fixed stars. They were completed around the year 1080 at Toledo by a group of Arab astronomers, led by the mathematician and astronomer Al-Zarqali (known to the Western World as Arzachel), and were first updated in the 1270s, afterwards to be referred to as the "Alfonsine Tables of Toledo". Named after their sponsor King Alfonso X, it "is not surprising that" these tables "originated in Castile because Christians in the 13th century had easiest access there to the Arabic scientific material that had reached its highest scientific level in Muslim Spain or al-Andalus in the 11th century" (Goldstein 2003, 1). The Toledan Tables were undoubtedly the most widely used astronomical tables in medieval Latin astronomy, but it was Giovanni Bianchini whose rigorous mathematical approach made them available in a form that could finally be used by early modern astronomy. - Bianchini was in fact "the first mathematician in the West to use purely decimal tables" and decimal fractions (Feingold, 20) by applying with precision the tenth-century discoveries of the Arab mathematician Abu'l-Hasan al-Uqilidisi, which had been further developed in the Islamic world through the writings of Al-Kashi and others (cf. Rashed, 88 and 128ff.). Despite the fact that they had been widely discussed and applied in the Arab world throughout a period of five centuries, decimal fractions had never been used in the West until Bianchini availed himself of them for his trigonometric tables in the "Tabulae de motis planetarum". It is this very work in which he set out to achieve a correction of the Alfonsine Tables by those of Ptolemy. "Thorndike observes that historically, many have erred by neglecting, because of their difficulty, the Alfonsine Tables for longitude and the Ptolemaic for finding the latitude of the planets. Accordingly, in his Tables Bianchini has combined the conclusions, roots and movements of the planets by longitude of the Alfonsine Tables with the Ptolemaic for latitude" (Tomash, 141). - The importance of the present work, today regarded as representative of the scientific revolutions in practical mathematics and astronomy on the eve of the Age of Discovery, is underlined by the fact that it was not merely dedicated but also physically presented by the author to the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in person on the occasion of Frederick's visit to Ferrara. In return for his "Tabulae", a "book of practical astronomy, containing numbers representing predicted times and positions to be used by the emperor's […] astrologers in managing the future" (Westman, 10ff.), Bianchini was granted a title of nobility by the sovereign. - For Regiomontanus, who studied under Bianchini together with Peurbach, the author of the "Tabulae" counted as the greatest astronomer of all time, and to this day Bianchini's work is considered "the largest set of astronomical tables produced in the West before modern times" (Chabbas 2009, VIII). Even Copernicus, a century later, still depended on the "Tabulae" for planetary latitude (cf. Goldstein 2003, 573), which led to Al-Zarquali's Tables - transmitted in Bianchini's adaption - ultimately playing a part in one of the greatest revolutions in the history of science: the 16th century shift from geocentrism to the heliocentric model. - In the year 1495, some 20 years after our manuscript was written, Bianchini's Tables were printed for the first time, followed by editions in 1526 and 1563. Apart from these printed versions, quite a few manuscript copies of his work are known in western libraries - often comprising only the 231 full-page Tables but omitting the 68-page introductory matter explaining how they were calculated and meant to be used, which is present in our manuscript. Among the known manuscripts in public collections is one copied by Regiomontanus, and another written entirely in Copernicus's hand (underlining the significance of the Tables for the scientific revolution indicated above), but surprisingly not one has survived outside Europe. Indeed, the only U.S. copy recorded by Faye (cf. below) was the present manuscript, then in the collection of Robert Honeyman. There was not then, nor is there now, any copy of this manuscript in an American institution. Together with one other specimen in the Erwin Tomash Library, our manuscript is the only preserved manuscript witness for this "crucial text in the history of science" (Goldstein 2003, publisher's blurb) in private hands. Apart from these two examples, no manuscript version of Bianchini's "Tabulae" has ever shown up in the trade or at auctions (according to a census based on all accessible sources). - Condition: watermarks identifiable as Briquet 3387 (ecclesiastical hat, attested in Florence 1465) and 2667 (Basilisk, attested to Ferrara and Mantua 1447/1450). Early manuscript astronomical table for the year 1490 mounted onto lower pastedown. Minor waterstaining in initial leaves and a little worming at back, but generally clean and in a fine state of preservation. Italian binding sympathetically rebacked, edges of covers worn to wooden boards. A precious manuscript, complete and well preserved in its original, first binding. Provenance: 1) Written ca 1475 by Francesco da Quattro Castella (his entry on fol. 150v) for 2) Marco Antonio Scalamonte from the patrician family of Ancona, who became a senator in Rome in 1502 (his illuminated coat of arms on fol. 1r). 3) Later in an as yet unidentified 19th century collection of apparently considerable size (circular paper label on spine "S. III. NN. Blanchinus. MS.XV. fol. 43150"). 4) Robert Honeyman, Jr. (1928-1987), probably the most prominent U.S. collector of scientific books and manuscripts in the 20th century, who "had a particular interest in astronomy" (S. Horobin, 238), his shelf mark "Astronomy MS 1" on front pastedown. 5) Honeyman Collection of Scientific Books and Manuscripts, Part III, Sotheby's, London, Wed May 2, 1979, lot 1110, sold to 6) Alan Thomas (1911-1992), his catalogue 43.2 (1981), sold to 7) Hans Peter Kraus (1907-1988), sold to 8) UK private collection. Bernard R. Goldstein & José Chabas, 'Ptolemy, Bianchini and Copernicus: Tables for Planetary Latitudes,' Archive for the History of Exact Sciences, vol. 58, no. 5 (July 2004), pp. 553-573. Bernard R. Goldstein & José Chabas, Alfonsine Tables of Toledo (= Dordrecht-Boston-Londres, Kluwer Academic Publishers ("Archimedes, New Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology" 8), 2003. José Chabás & Bernard R. Goldstein, The Astronomical Tables of Giovanni Bianchini (Leiden & Boston: Brill, 2009). Thorndike, 'Giovanni Bianchini in Paris Mss,' Scripta Mathematica 16 (1950) 69ff. & his 'Giovanni Bianchini in Italian Mss.,' Scripta Mathematica 19 (1953) 5-17. Rashed, Development of Arabic Mathematics: Between Arithmetic and Algebra. Boston, 2013. Mordechai Feingold & Victor Navarro-Brotons, Universities and Science in the Early Modern Period. Boston 2006. R. Westman, Copernicus and the Astrologers. Smithsonian 2016. M. Williams, The Erwin Tomash Library on the History of Computing, 2008, 141. Simon Horobin & Linne Mooney, English Texts in Transition: A Festschrift Dedicated to Toshiyuki Takamiya on his 70th Birthday. Woodbridge 2014. Silvia Faschi, Prima e dopo la raccolta: diffusione e circolazione delle Satyrae, di Francesco Filelfo. Spunti dall' epistolario edito ed ineditio. In: Medioevo e Rinascimento. XIV, n.s. XI (2000), 147-166 (mentioning a connection between the Italian Humanist and Marco Antonio Scalamonte). C. U. Faye & W. H. Bond, Supplement to the Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada (1962), p. 21, no. 12 (this manuscript).‎

‎[Pharmacopöe].‎

‎Mittelalterliches Rezeptbuch (Fragment). O. O., 14. Jh.‎

‎Doppelseite aus einer lateinischen Handschrift auf Pergament. Karolingische Minuskel mit dekorativen Lombarden. Qu.-4to. Gerahmt (391 x 491 mm). Hübsches Fragment eines mittelalterlichen Arzneibuchs, basierend auf Texten der Schule von Salerno, der ältesten medizinischen Schule des Abendlandes. Der Ausschnitt behandelt Zusammensetzung und Verwendung verschiedener pflanzlicher Arzneien, darunter Acaristum, hergestellt aus Gummi arabicum, Dialibanum, beruhend auf Weihrauch, sowie das aus Schafkraut gewonnene Adrianum. - Mit kleinen Fehlstellen durch Wurmfraß.‎

‎[Deichverletzung].‎

‎Amtliches Protokoll über einen Ortstermin und Zeugenverhöre wegen einer Deichverletzung. Tessin (bei Rostock), 1.-8. II. 1796.‎

‎Deutsche Handschrift auf Papier. 139 SS. Mit Planskizze und Lacksiegel. Geheftet. Folio (). Protokoll über eine Ortsbesichtigung und die mehrtägige Zeugenvernehmung wegen der Verletzung einer Verdämmung auf dem ehemals nach Gnewitz gehörenden Feld im Besitz des Gutsherrn Flotow auf Reppelin. "Wegen Widersetzlichkeit und Weigerung der Zeugen wurde das weitere Verhör eingestellt und abgebrochen". - Bindung teils gelöst, das letzte Blatt rückseitig mit montiertem Papier, fleckig und gebräunt.‎

‎[Biblia latina].‎

‎Latin manuscript on vellum. Northern France or England?, ca 1300.‎

‎4to (150 x 195 mm). 440 ff. (quires: a-f16, g18, h-x16, y12, zA-D16, E10; recent pencil foliation). 55 lines, 2 columns (written space ca. 75 x 125 mm). Miniscule gothic bookhand in blank ink; emphases in red, page captions, chapter numbers, rubrication and Lombardic initials in red and blue, numerous red and blue initials with elaborate penwork in complementary colours. 16th century auburn morocco on four raised double bands, gilt spine ornaments, both covers with fleurons to corners, multiple rules along the edges, and gilt coat of arms (quarterly, a goat rampant and a sheaf of corn; inescutcheon a lion rampant; not in Olivier), dated "1587" on upper cover. 4 modern cloth ties. Stored in custom-made half morocco case. A beautiful, complete mediaeval Bible written in a miniscule bookhand on extremely delicate vellum, probably copied in England or commissioned from there. As is common, the Bible is prefaced with the epistle of St Jerome to Paulinus (53: "Frater Ambrosius [...] moriturum", fols. 1r-3r), followed by Jerome's prologue to the Pentateuch ("Desiderii mei [...] in latinum eos transferre sermonem. Amen"); the text of Genesis begins on fol. 4r. The Second Book of Kings is followed by the Book of Isaiah (139v) and the Prophets; on fol. 227r follow the Book of Job and the Poetic Books; 287v ff. contain the Books of Chronicles and the historical books to 2 Maccabees; the New Testament begins on fol. 351r. - Some page headings and penwork flourishes slightly trimmed, still an uncommonly wide-margined specimen. Occasional flaws in the vellum were carefully avoided by the scribes. The margins contain numerous contemporary and later annotations in what appear to be four different hands (a number of which are also very slightly trimmed), some exceedingly delicate: one 8-line annotation measures no more than 10 mm! The early marginalia would appear to be in a 15th century English hand; at least one (at the lower edge of fol. 41v) is an extract from the Psalm commentary of the Yorkshire mystic Richard Rolle (d. 1349). Furthermore, the plummet lines along many of the earliest marginalia, but also the order of the Old Testament Books, uncommon for a French Bible, suggest an English provenance. As the continental hands of the later annotations show, the Bible must have reached France or Germany in the later 15th century. - Professional repairs to spine-ends and one corner of the fine Renaissance binding. First and last quires a little browned and dust-stained, very slight worming to beginning, occasional, largely insignificant waterstains to margins, a few edge cuts and cut-out sections in the blank margins. An old edge repair to fol. 155, fols. 310-323 as well as a few others more strongly browned and wrinkled, but generally in fine state of preservation. - Provenance: Karl & Faber, sale 81 (1962), no. 3.‎

‎[Brooklyn].‎

‎Deed from William Morris and wife to the Corporation of New York. Signed by William and Rebecca Morris. Breuckelen (Brooklyn), Long Island, 12. X. 1694.‎

‎English manuscript on vellum. Approx. 620 x 555 mm (with folded plica). With two red seals. Stored in a custom-made half morocco case with gilt-stamped spine. Original deed of the first substantial purchase of land on the Brooklyn side of the East River ever made by the New York municipality, a purchase that was called by Henry E. Pierrepont (1808-88), director and historian of the Union Ferry Co., "the foundation of the claim of the City of New York to their land in Brooklyn" (23). After the capture of New Amsterdam from the Dutch in 1664, a municipal government had been formed, the Corporation of New York, while across the water, "Breuckelen" (as it was then called) long remained an independent, rival city on its own. - "As early as the 12th of October, 1694, the Corporation of New York purchased from William Morris, for no specific consideration, his hourse, barn and premises, situated at the 'Ferry', on Long Island. The house stood on the north side of the road, opposite the present Elizabeth Street, about one hundred feet from the then shore of the river" (Pierrepont, 16ff.). The site was then known as "Brookland Ferry", the place where George Washington escaped with his troops after the Battle of Long Island. It adopted its modern name, Fulton Ferry, when in 1814 Robert Fulton established the first steam ferry route connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn, which played such a major role in their shared history and evolution. - Incipit: "This Indenture, made the twelfth day of October, in the sixth year of the reigne of our Sovereigne Lord and Lady, William and Mary, by the grace of God, of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, King and Queen, defenders of the faith etc., and in the yeare of our Lord one thousand six hundred ninty and four, between William Morris, now of the Ferry, in the bounds of the towne of Breuckle, in Kings county, on Long Island, gent., and Rebecca his wife, of the one part, and the Mayor, Aldermen and Commonalty, of the City of New York of the other part [...]". - Two copies of the deed would have been made, and this appears to be the deed retained by the Morris family and heirs, with an early note indicating that it was also "recorded in the Office of the Town of Clerk of City of New York in the Book of Grants". Pierrepont, writing in 1879, was still able to locate the City's copy at the Office of the Comptroller, where it may have remained until 1910, when such documents were transferred to the New York State Library; it probably perished in the notorious archive fire of 1911. - Drafted and signed by Ebenezer Wilson, later Mayor of New York City (1707-10). Verso signed additionally by William Pinhorne (d. 1720), the American colonial politician and jurist. Folded, few small tears to folds with negligible loss. Gabriel Furman, Notes, Geographical and Historical, Relating to the Town of Brooklyn, in Kings County on Long Island (Brooklyn, 1824), Appendix A, pp. 102f. (published in part). Henry Evelyn Pierrepont, Historical Sketch of the Fulton Ferry, And Its Associated Ferries (1879), pp. 16-23.‎

‎Ege, Otto F.‎

‎Fifteen original oriental manuscripts. [Compiled in Cleveland, by Otto F. Ege, 1940s-1950s].‎

‎Folio portfolio (485 x 340 x 45 mm). 15 manuscript leaves of various sizes (see the detailed list of contents for specific dimensions). 14 of the manuscripts are on paper (varyingly glazed or unglazed), 1 written on vellum (no. 7), most rubricated and/or decorated in various colours, some are heightened or highlighted in gold. All manuscript fragments are mounted (hinged to allow access to both sides of the leaves) in mattes (ca. 465 x 330 mm) with an additional leaf each (ca. 10 x 18 cm), containing explanatory text, mounted at the foot of the matte. Original black and red portfolio with the author in white and title in red on the spine, with three sets of black ties (one on the inside) and a label on the inside of the right black flap giving the information of the limited edition: "Edition limited to forty numbered sets of which this is No 33". Number 33 out of the 40 famous limited edition Ege portfolios containing a collection of 15 leaves from oriental manuscripts, written between the 12th and 18th centuries. - Otto Frederick Ege (1888-1951) was the dean of the Cleveland Institute of Art, a lecturer on the history and the art of the book at Western Reserve University and a famous (or infamous) biblioclast. He was one of the key figures in creating a market for medieval manuscript leaves in America during the 20th century. Between 1917 and 1950, Ege acquired, deconstructed and subsequently dispersed hundreds of mostly medieval manuscripts and early printed books, wanting to give as many private collectors and public institutions as possible the opportunity of owning these individual leaves. He was convinced that his purpose of inspiring as many people as possible by bringing them in contact with historical and artistic heritage justified the means of scattering the manuscript fragments. From the 1940s onwards, he compiled his famous portfolios as limited editions, resulting in 40 portfolios with western medieval manuscript leaves and 40 portfolios with 12th to 18th century oriental manuscript leaves. - The present portfolio includes 15 fragments: 14 manuscripts on paper and one on vellum, many decorated or even heightened in gold. They originate from books produced between the 12th and the 18th century, in Egypt, Syria, Byzantium, Persia, Russia, Tibet and other places. These mainly religious texts were written in several different languages, including Arabic, Syriac, Armenian, Ethiopic, Persian, Tibetan, Greek, and Church Slavic. Two of the fragments, one in Greek and one in Church Slavic, even include including musical notation. - As Ege intended, many of his portfolios and other fragments were sold and distributed worldwide. His personal collection, including 50 unbroken manuscripts, has been part of the special collections at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale since 2015. - A detailed list of contents is available upon request.‎

‎Hertodt von Todenfeld, Johann Ferdinand, German alchemist and royal physician (1645-1714).‎

‎Autograph alchemical manuscript notebook. [Probably Austria or Moravia, later 17th century].‎

‎4to (166 x 195 mm). German and Latin autograph manuscript on paper, signed at the end. (2), 158 ff. with 3 illustrations (on leaves 2r, 68v and 151v). Numerous contemporary manicules and pencil notes. Contemporary blind-tooled vellum over pasteboards. Hertodt's working alchemical notebook, written in a fluid mixture of German and Latin. The manuscript contains detailed instructions on alchemical processes, including the transmutation of lesser substances into gold (with first-person remarks on experiments), alongside a cryptographic alphabet and a list of inauspicious dates for the practice of alchemy. It is signed on the final page by its author "Dr. Hertodt" (f. 158r). - The first of the numerous recipes, experiment records, and alchemical notes is: "Ein gutt Particular gold zu machen" (f. 1r-v). We also find recipes with instructions on "Ein oleum Philosophorum zu bereiten" (f. 7r), "Crocum Martis [alchemical symbol for iron]" - ferric oxide (f. 9v), "Oleum sulphuris" - or fuming sulphuric acid (f. 10v), "Augmentum auris [alchemical symbol for gold]" (f. 18v), the process of coagulation of mercury (f. 23r), a recipe for making bismuth (f. 34r), "Ein schön und treffliche Particular Tinctur ex [alchemical symbols for iron, copper and gold] aus Fratri Basilii Valentini" (f. 35r), "die Venus [alchemical symbol for copper] zu transmutieren (f. 38r), the separation of gold from antimony (f. 63r), "Modus faciendi Cinabari", in Latin (f. 63v), the transcription of a cryptographic cipher (ff. 53v-54r), a list of days and months on which the alchemical process should not be performed (f. 80r/v), a recipe for flowers of antimony (by roasting and condensing white fumes), "Weise Flores [alchemical symbol for antimony] zu machen" (f. 82v) and instructions for making rosemary spirit ("hungarisches Wasser"), a popular early modern perfume (ff. 143v-144r). - Johann Ferdinand Hertodt von Todenfeld was a German physician from Moravia (now in Czechia). He wrote a series of monographs on medical and natural philosophical topics, including a geological and botanical description of his homeland, the "Tartaro Mastix Moraviae" (1669), and the "Crocologia" (1671), a medico-scientific treatise on saffron, translated into English with a biography of the author as recently as 2020. He later became personal physician to Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I and a member of the German National Academy of Sciences "Leopoldina" (cf. Ferguson I, 400). As a recognised authority in medical matters, it is no surprise to see Hertodt call on the learning of his colleagues in the present manuscript. Sigismundo Fueger, Swiss professor of alchemy, whose mines Paracelsus worked as a younger man, is mentioned on f. 25r, for example, as is the German alchemist Basilius Valentinus on f. 35r. - Apparently complete, with contemporary foliation (also used here), and an autograph signature of the author on the final page. Pages have varying numbers of lines, in a single hand switching fluidly between cursive German and humanist Latin scripts following switches between the two languages. Foxed and browned throughout, the text has fading between ff. 104v-142r owing to the quality of the ink. The manuscript offers a singular, hands-on perspective on the working life of a royal physician and scholar in the 17th century Habsburg lands.‎

‎[Manuscript prayerbook].‎

‎Form zu betten unser liebe[n] frawen mantel, Gebet. [Incipit:] Cegrüest seiestu o süesse aller heiligste junckfraw maria [...]. [Ravensburg?, ca. 1670].‎

‎Small 16mo in 8s (85 x 100 mm; leaf size 75 x 90 mm). [423], [3 blank] pp. plus 3 endleaves at the front and 5 at the back. German manuscript in red and black ink on paper, written in an upright, semi-cursive gothic hand, with Lombardic initials in red (a few 2-line and hundreds of 1-line initials), rubricated throughout. 11 lines per page, written space 55 x 70 mm. Contemporary blind-tooled pigskin over bevelled wooden (beechwood?) boards, sewn on 3 double supports, each board bearing a double rectangular border of multiple rules, inner frame with an oval centrepiece stamp (22 x 32 mm, the front with a female figure [the Virgin Mary or a saint?] within decorative borders; back divided by 2 diagonal double rules and 4 diagonal double arcs into 4 inner and 8 outer compartments, each filled with arabesque decoration; outer compartments coloured, inner compartments thus forming a lighter lozenge with concave sides). An arabesque stamp inside each corner of the inner border and a decorative border between the inner and outer frame composed of at least 2 straight branches with leaves and at least 4 rosettes (5, 6 and 7 petalled); spine and turn-ins rules. In total more than 100 impressions of about 9 stamps. Further with 2 strap fastenings with brass clasps (each with an owner’s [?] stamp: 1.5 mm Roman capital initials "LH" above a 3 mm head in profile, facing right), catchplates and anchor plates, plain headbands, blue edges. With 27 mm Roman capital initials "BR" in brown ink on the lower edge. A charming, pocket-sized Catholic manuscript prayerbook in German, written in red and black, bound in contemporary blind-tooled pigskin, both manuscript and binding probably the work of a monastery in Ravensburg or the surrounding region. - The manuscript begins with prayers to the Virgin Mary on 19 leaves (a1-c3) and continues with three series of rosary prayers on 47 leaves (c3-i1), further prayers to the Virgin Mary on 28 leaves (i1-m4), prayers for various days from Palm Sunday to Easter on 18 leaves (m4-o5), prayers for the 24 hours on 56 leaves (o5-x4), further rosary prayers in five parts on 21 leaves (x4-z8), the litany of all saints on 20 leaves (z8-2c3), and the litany of specific saints, including St Augustine, on 10 leaves (2c3-2d4). - The manuscript is very regular in its structure, only a few blank leaves have been removed: the final quire used for the prayerbook text itself ends with a blank leaf, followed by stubs of 3 leaves that have been torn out. The quires that contain the text of the prayerbook collate: [a]-[2c]8 [2d]8 (- 2d6, 7, 8) = [212], [1 blank] ff. The 17th century binder trimmed most of the quire signatures (quire a probably had none), but on the first leaf of a few quires one can see the top of the letter that was shaved (confirming the collation): i, k, r, s. The top of some letter or mark, also shaved, can be seen in the same position on c3, f2 and 2d1-4, but it is not clear what they are. The endpapers appear to have been a quire of four leaves at the front and a quire of six leaves at the back, probably each with its first leaf removed and the outermost remaining leaf pasted down. - The paper is almost certainly of foolscap size, nearly all watermarked with the Ravensburg coat of arms (a castle represented as a gate between two towers, standing upon a corbel). The gate in the present watermarks probably has a door under a peaked roof, rather than a portcullis, but this and the initial(s) or other sign in the corbel are difficult to make out because each watermark is divided between four leaves with the central parts lost in trimming. The crenellated battlement of each tower is rounded, has three merlons, and sits directly on a rounded slab, the battlement having no narrower neck leading to the slab. Each tower has one window, connected to the wall on the gate side by (in most cases) two diagonal wires that form a triangle with the wall as its base and the point touching the window. We have not found an example in the literature with this triangular link, but otherwise the present watermarks resemble many from the period 1655 to 1675 (Piccard III, group IX, 171-186 & 253-259, plus many scattered throughout group VIII). Those in quires a, f and probably b and g have two initials (probably "HL") flanking the corbel; the literature shows no initials in that position before 1666. This suggests that the manuscript was probably produced in the period ca. 1665 to ca. 1675. One Ravensburg castle mark in WZIS has an HL monogram in the corbel, but not the initials flanking it, and the style of the castle is completely different: it is not clear whether it dates from 1666 or between 1686 and 1700. Not surprisingly, Ravensburg castle watermarks appear most frequently in Ravensburg (in Upper Swabia, just north of Lake Constance), but also in the vicinity (Konstanz, Weingarten, Salem, Überlingen); they are rare elsewhere. - The endpapers were probably made from one of the paper stocks used for the manuscript itself (one leaf shows one side of the foot of the Ravensburg castle watermark, with no initials flanking the corbel), suggesting that the production of the manuscript and its binding were closely tied, perhaps at a monastery in the region. Three bifolia show parts of a different watermark: two bifolia in quire c show a crown, perhaps from a coat of arms or an Imperial double-headed eagle, while one in quire l shows what may be the foot of a coat of arms or possibly the tip of the tail of an eagle, with scroll decorations. - In a 16mo in 8s, one expects each quire to represent a half-sheet, and each sheet would provide one half sheet with a watermark and one without. Here, eight quires show parts of a watermark in four of the eight leaves, and six show no watermark. But even these quires were not consistently made from regularly folded half sheets: some were assembled from separate bifolia, so that some of the watermarks appear at the foot of the fore-edge rather than its head. Most of the quires a-l and a few others show parts of watermarks in 1, 2 or 3 leaves, demonstrating that they contain bifolia from different half-sheets. In quire e, three leaves show one of the two towers from a Ravensburg castle watermark, proving that they come from parts of two different sheets (c and l, which include parts of a different kind of watermark, also mix bifolia from different sheets). - One or more early owners of the present manuscript have written six pages of further prayers on the endpapers (2 at the front and 4 at the back), mostly in a single contemporary hand, including "ein gebeid der Reponsori deß H. Bonaventura"; "So du nun mirackel suchst der Godt"; "Wo man alle nacht mit Jesu schlaffe soll"; "Fünff vögelen singen, daß es in den Rainen" (five songs, numbered 1 to 5). There is also a two-line inscription on the back pastedown. Parts of the front pastedown, which probably contained an owner's inscription, have been removed or obliterated, but bits of an early inscription remain visible. - Some minor and mostly marginal foxing, a hole in l6 and 7, a small marginal tear in l8 and insignificant ones in a few other leaves, but still in good condition. The binding has a hole in the pigskin covering the spine, along one of the supports, is slightly soiled and most of the blue colouring of the edges of the leaves is lost. The centrepiece on the front board does not appear to be worn, but its image (probably the Virgin Mary or a female saint) is nevertheless difficult to make out: perhaps the binder did not impress it strongly. The binding also remains in good condition.‎

‎Mayer, Lieven.‎

‎Der hochen Deutschen Ritterordens Buech [...] (= drop-title on fol. 5r). [Germany, after 1606 and probably before 1618].‎

‎4to. (5), 129 ff. German and Latin manuscript on paper, written in a 17th century hand. With 3 heraldic crosses showing the coats of arms of the Teutonic Order (a black cross) and 4 drawings showing costumes of several members of the order, all executed in watercolours with some albumen highlights. 20th century calf, blind-ruled double fillet borders on both boards, spine ruled in blind and lettered in green. Highly interesting 17th century German manuscript of the Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic or German Order. Founded in 1190, it was primarily founded as a military society with its Teutonic Knights serving crusadings Christians in the Holy Land during the Middle Ages. In time, the Order also developed into a Catholic religious institution, although it would not lose its military function until the 20th century. - The present manuscript opens with a short history of the Order, beginning with the year 1190 and ending in 1606. It continues with the statutes, divided into several chapters, which are interspersed with prayers in Latin. This combination of statutes and prayers gives evidence that the Teutonic Order was not merely a military order, but also had a strong focus on religion. This is also reflected in the liturgical calendar, which is part of a chapter of the statutes, listing the saints and their feast days as celebrated by the Order. The end of the work (fol. 125) states that Maximilian III of Austria approved the statutes. Maximilian (1558-1618) was the Grand Master of the Order from 1585 until his death. The date 1606, as well as his passing in 1618, suggest that the manuscript was written in the first quarter of the 17th century. - The last five leaves of the manuscript appear to contain the names of the Landkomturs who ruled the various bailiwicks of the Holy Roman Empire's commanderies. These Landkomturs, subordinate to the Grand Master, were very often important German noblemen. - Uncommonly for this type of text, this manuscript is illustrated: the first illustrated leaf shows three black crosses, forming the arms of the Teutonic Order, including that of the Grand Master. The Grand Master's coat of arms is a black cross with a golden cross superimposed upon it, with an imperial eagle in the centre. It continues with four illustrations showing the typical costumes of several members of the Order. The second illustration in this series shows the white overcoats bearing a black cross, such as were typically worn by the Knights since 1205. - Only a few very minor spots, overall in very good condition. According to a 21st century inscription in pencil on the first endpaper, the manuscript was formerly part of the collection of the Belgian historian and politician Philippe Kervyn de Volkaersbeke (1815-81). Altogether a rare survival, and a rich source of information on the formal organisation of the most important 17th century German Order, but also on their statutes and their religious customs and habits. The manuscript beautifully reflects the religious as well as the military character of the Teutonic Order.‎

‎Gregory of Narek / Origen of Alexandria / Arewelts'i, Vardan / Gregory of Tat'ew.‎

‎Four commentaries on King Solomon’s Song of Songs. Ejmiadzin, Armenia, 1787.‎

‎4to (170 x 222 mm). Armenian manuscript on paper. (30 blank), 233 (instead of 235), (29 blank) pp., paginated in the original hand, lacking one leaf (pp. 7-8). 31 lines, 2 columns. Script in black and purple, columns ruled in purple. Illustrated with an illuminated headpiece and border on title-page, 5 further illustrated headers, 3 of which are illuminated, and 4 botanical paintings. Leading and terminal blanks have vertical rules in colours and gilt. Contemporary modified traditional Armenian binding, full leather stamped in blind and gilt, red silk pastedowns. A striking and finely illuminated compilation of commentaries on the Song of Songs, written in classical Armenian by the scribe, clerk, and notary Yohan Vagharshapatets’i for the patron Yakob (Hagop) vardapet. A valuable piece of art in its own right, one of the manuscript's previous owners, revealed by an inscription, was Prince Georgy Vasilyevich Obolensky (1826-86), an active prince who worked as a lawyer and held the rank of lieutenant general in the Imperial Russian Army. - The four commentaries herein are copied in a professional notrgir (notary) script with some bolorgir (minuscule) and erkat’agir (majuscule) throughout. The first commentary in this compilation is by the famous St. Gregory of Narek (ca. 945-1003), beloved by Armenians for his Book of Lamentations, mystical prayers, poetry, hymns, homilies, and other works. His commentary on the Song of Songs, his earliest work, was written at the request of Prince Gurgen-Khachik Artsruni in 977. The second text is the Armenian translation of the Commentary written by Origen of Alexandria (ca. 185-253), the Greek theologian and ascetic. The third was penned in the 13th century by Vardan Arewelts’i (ca. 1200-71), scholar, educator, and vardapet (learned priest), best known for his History and Geography. The fourth and last commentary was composed by Gregory of Tat’ew (ca. 1344-1409), a renowned exegete, scholar, and teacher. - The influence of print technology is apparent in the manuscript, which mixes manuscript tradition and 18th century modernity. It includes a title-page, which is unusual in manuscripts but common in printed books, clearly showing the scribe and artist’s knowledge of and exposure to books produced on a printing press. The floral decorations are unrelated to the text and are included to embellish the book. In the 17th to 18th centuries, such motifs become more prevalent in both late Armenian and Islamic manuscripts, and were possibly introduced through exposure to Western European printed herbal books - which in turn had been inspired hundreds of years previously by Arabic and Greek herbal manuscripts. - Covers lightly worn, binding delicate, a few minor stains. A beautiful example of the Armenian manuscript tradition.‎

‎Arnaldus de Villanova (Pseudo-) et al.‎

‎Compilation of alchemical texts, including the Rosarium philosophorum. [Austria, possibly Schwaz], 1529 [and ca. 1600].‎

‎8vo (157 x 105 mm). Decorated Latin and German manuscript on paper by two hands. (115) ff. (collation: 18 [of 10, i and x cancelled blanks], 27 [of 8, lacking ii], 37 [of 8, lacking ii], 46 [of 8, lacking ii and vi], 58 [of 10, lacking iii and x], 66 [of 8, lacking ii and vi], 76 [of 8, lacking ii and vi], 86 [of 8, lacking ii and vi], 96 [of 8, lacking ii and vi], 106 [of 8, lacking ii and vi], 116 [of 8, lacking iii and viii], 127 [of 8, lacking vi], 137 [of 8, lacking iv], 147 [of 8, lacking ii], 150-178, 186 [of 8, vii and viii cancelled blanks], with modern foliation in pencil (ff. 1-87): the earlier 16th century section ff. 1-86 with 17-20 lines of text, large initials and rubrics in red, capitals touched in red; the later German section with 18-19 lines of text, one full-page illustration for the Rosarium philosophorum. Contemporary blind-stamped calf. Worn and cracked, especially on spine. This fascinating alchemical miscellany, compiled by the Tyrolean alchemist and humanist Michael Cochem in 1529, includes the earliest dated manuscript witness to the famous Rosarium philosophorum, an alchemical florilegium that was falsely attributed to the mediaeval physician Arnaldus de Villanova (ca. 1240-1311). - The compendium comprises: Lapis philosophorum, or Lapis hic ph[ilosoph]orum vere, incipit: "Si felicitari desideras ut benediction[n]em ph[ilosoph]or[um] obtineas [...]" ff. 1-1v; Arnaldus de Villanova, Epi[isto]la Arnoldi de novavilla ad rege[m] Neapolitanu[m], incipit: "Scias o tu rex q[uod] sapie[n]tes posueru[n]t" ff. 2-7; blanks ff. 8-9; Pseudo-Arnaldus de Villanova, Rosarium philosophorum, here "Rosella Philosophorum", incipit: "Qui desidera[n]t artis phi[losophi]ce scie[ntie] maioris cognition[n]em" ff. 10-83v; blanks ff. 84-86. - The later German manuscript is an alchemical treatise with chapters on the preparation of the Philosophers' Stone from antimony (f. 87), on the calcination of lead (91v), the extraction of Cypriot sugar (f. 92), its purification (f. 93) and fixation (f. 96v), incineration (f. 104v), trituration (the reduction of substances to a powder) and projection (in which the stone or elixir is tossed upon the molten base metal, here lead or tin, to transmute it). - The text of the Rosarium in the present manuscript matches the famous florilegium traditionally attributed to Arnaldus de Villanova (cf. an unillustrated copy in the National Library of Israel, Ms. Ed. 13, dated to the first half of the 16th century). Describing the preparation of the Philosophers' Stone, the text would provide the foundation for the hugely influential 1550 Frankfurt publication of the Rosarium Philosophorum in "De Alchimia Opuscula complura veterum philosophorum". The canonical illustrations of the Rosarium that are best known in the form of 20 woodcuts from the 1550 edition appeared in various alchemical works throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. The only surviving illustration in the present manuscript on f. 13 is an exquisite example of the alchemical fountain, the first illustration of the Rosarium. Framed by the the six-pointed star, the Sun and Moon, and the two-headed dragon, the fountain pours forth the three substances that supposedly flow from the centre of the soul: "Lac Virginis" (the Virgin's milk), "Acetum fontis" (the spring of vinegar,) and "Aqua Vitae" (the water of life). The confluence of these liquids that symbolize the male and female, solar and lunar forces, in the fountain's basin creates the water of Mercury that is central to all further stages of the alchemical process described in the text. - Provenance: 1) Michael Cochem, 16th century humanist and alchemist, his autograph colophon on f. 83v: "Explicit libello Rosella ph[ilosoph]orum i[n]titulata. Et unum per me Michaele[m] Coche[m] collectus atque appositus. Et scripta anno salute hu[m]ane 1529 Lucie virginis. De quo sit b[e]n[e]dicta s[an]cta dei t[ri]nitas. Amen. Amen". Little is known about Cochem, but a small number of alchemical texts datable from 1522-33 written and owned by him can be found in St Gallen (Kantonsbibliothek Vadiana, MSS 403 and 430), and it is from one of those manuscripts that we know he was from Schwaz, Austrian Tyrol; 2) B. Magnus Fässle of the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Maria (Marienberg), near Malles, in Val Venosta, Italy, with his ownership inscription on f. 1: "Possessor B. Magnus Fässle Profess[us] Marie Montensis in Tyroli Ord. S. Benedicti, 1600". For Cochem cf. U. Gantenbein, Das Kunstbuch des Michael Cochem [Ms. Vadiana 407] aus dem Jahr 1522. Seine Bedeutung für die medizinische Alchemie, in: Mitteilungen der Fachgruppe Geschichte der Chemie der Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker 15 (2000), pp. 32-61.‎

‎Otto, Sigismund (ed.).‎

‎[Medical manuscript]. Artznei Buch. 1590. Opusculum non magnarum, sed necessarium rerum per Sigismundum Otthonem collectum. [Germany], 1590.‎

‎4to (175 x 202 mm). German manuscript in brown ink with red underlinings on paper by two hands. Title, 356, (16) pp., of which 162 written. The final 8 leaves with an index added later, probably mid-18th century. Contemporary vellum with ms. title to spine. A wide-ranging compilation of medicinal recipes and treatments for a great variety of ailments, certainly drawing on various medical and pharmacological texts, although only one specific reference is made, namely to Melchior Sebisch's 1580 translation of Charles Estienne's agricultural treatise "L'agriculture et maison rustique" (Paris 1564). A medicine for the treatment of aphasia following a stroke ("Wann einen Menschen der Schlag gerühret und sprachlos liegt") is said to have been successfully used to treat Paul von Gröbel, princely hunter of Christian I of Saxony in the 2nd half of the 16th century (p. 11). The third personal mention in the manuscript, a "Doctor Longobart", who lends his name to a powder with several cold-related applications, seems to be folkloristic. - Many recipes are organized by illnesses or conditions like toothaches and gum disease, sleeplessness, epidemics affecting children and old people ("Zu heilen die schweren Seuch in Kindern und alten Leuten"), the plague ("In Zeit der Pest"); others stand for themselves like a miraculous rejuvenation tonic ("Ein wunderbarlich gleichsam göttliches und heimliches Wasser zumachen, welches alle alte verlebte Läuthe Verjüngen", p. 41), a "delicious stomach and chest powder" (p. 46 f.), or a tonic named after Emperor Charles ("Keyser Carll Kraftwasser", p. 47 f.). On pp. 83-105 follows an unrelated copy of a short treatise on gold ore with a description of locations for gold panning in Bohemia. The title suggests that the text on "finding gold mountains and gold washing locations" had been sent by a Venetian named Gratianus Gündell to Jacob Schaden of St. Gallen in 1530 or 1560. Among the locations indicated are: "Frauenstein bey Freyberg [...] Das rothe Wetterhaus [...] Der Eisenberg im Böhmen [...] Brun in Böhmen [...] Radebergh [...] Neunmarck [...] Gera und Weida [...] Weidenstein [...] Hammerberg [...] Schnegrube [...]". Further recipes listed are a remedy for nose bleeds ("Wieder das Bluten aus der Nasen", p. 149) and a cure for worms in children and old people ("Für die Würme der Kinder und alten Leutt", p. 237). The curious final pages present advice on how to tell the age of a horse ("Wie man das Alter eines Pferdes erkennen soll", pp. 335-337) with reference to Melchior Sebisch's 1580 publication, an alchemistic "piece" that had supposedly been commissioned by a member of the Bohemian Rosenberg family (p. 340 f.), three spells to stop a fire, including one that demands a shirt that has been worn by a virgin when she had her first period ("ein Hemdt, so eine Jungfrau ahn ihrem Leib getragen, so sie erstmals ihre Zeit bekam") and that is "used by all gypsies and is reliable" (p. 347 f.), a method for turning red roses partly white and instructions on how to keep beer from going stale due to contaminated kegs. - Covers somewhat soiled and warped. Some foxing and browning throughout; occasional collector's notes in pencil. A fine survival.‎

‎[Bhagavadgita].‎

‎Miniature Bhagavad Gita manuscript. Probably Kashmir or Punjab / Northern India, ca. 1845 / mid-19th century CE.‎

‎Ca. 94 x 60 mm. Sanskrit manuscript on polished paper. 222 leaves, 5 lines of Devenagari script in black ink within red, orange, and black rules, some phrases picked out in red, some words gilt. With 14 charming miniature illustrations. Modern full black leather binding. A miniature Sanskrit devotional consisting of the complete text of the Bhagavadgita, the famous Hindu devotional poem. The text is written in black glossy ink with rubricated punctuation marks; significant words, such as chapter titles, are also written in red. The text is elegantly laid out with five lines per page enclosed within a black, orange and red rectangular border, surrounded by ample margins. The 18 fine miniatures in Pahari style, with opaque water-based pigments and gold, depict devotional scenes with a special emphasis on Krishna and show Lord Vishnu in his ten principal manifestations (Avatars). - The Bhagavad-Gita, considered one of the holy scriptures for Hinduism, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that forms part of the epic Mahabharata. Dated to the second half of the first millennium BCE, it is a work typical of the Hindu synthesis. - A few very minor edge flaws near the end; the final page is annotated in English in a 19th century hand: "The mysterious Bhagavat-gita; a dialogue between Crishna and Arjuna, on the Knowledge of God, & the means of attaining reunion to the divine soul: in eighteen lectures extracted from the Mahábhárata, an epic poem". Provenance: private UK collection.‎

‎[Evangelion].‎

‎Armenian Gospel Book. Armenia, Iran or Anatolia, ca.1700 / 17th or 18th century.‎

‎8vo (120 x 162 mm). Armenian manuscript on polished laid paper. 261 leaves, 25 lines of Armenian calligraphy in black ink, 2 columns, capitals in red. With a full-page colour frontispiece illustration of an evangelist, 3 finely illuminated chapter heads, and numerous marginal illuminations, some in the form of birds. Later foliation in pencil. Contemporary full leather binding over wooden boards, lacking the metal applications formerly applied to the covers. Well preserved, uncommonly pretty Armenian Gospel manuscript with Persian provenance. The charming illumination is directly comparable to that of a religious manuscript in the National Library of Armenia, dated 1740 (Matenadaran 101, cf. Stone/Kouymjian/Lehmann, pp. 468f.). Although the style emerges as early as the 14th century and finds its full expression between the 15th and the 17th century (cf. ibid., nos. 109, 121, 157 and 167), the colour palette, the details of the marginal palmettes and also the type of paper used place our manuscript in the early 18th century. - The numerous bird-shaped initials contribute to the complexity and luxurious effect of the illuminations. In the lower margin of the frontispiece showing an Evangelist, apparently St Matthew, an invocation inscribed in Persian ("in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit") suggests that the manuscript belonged to an Armenian from Iran. A Gospel Book in the collections of the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul shows the same arrangement of a painting of St. Matthew illustrating the beginning of the text (APIP33). - A few edge tears, chips and other flaws with a few minor instances of loss (fols. 14, 82, etc.); occasional light stains. Binding rubbed; fore-edge flap preserved in fragments. A semé of holes in the upper cover (as well as few additional holes in the lower cover) give evidence of a once-elaborate decoration of metal bosses that has not survived. Cf. Michael E. Stone / Dickran Kouymjian / Henning Lehmann, Album of Armenian Paleography (Copenhagen, 2002), no. 176, pp. 468 ff.‎

‎Bibliotheque Nationale De France‎

‎Les Plus Beaux Manuscrits Des Romanciers Francais‎

‎The front endpaper has been torn out and someone's notes are inside the front board. Otherwise the book is in very good condition. Full red cloth boards. 429 pages. Color illustrations. Text in French. Price-clipped dust jacket.‎

‎Brooke, Rupert; Geoffrey Keynes‎

‎Four Poems: The Fish, Grantchester, The Dead, The Soldier; Drafts and Fair Copies in the Author's Hand with a Foreword and Introdutions By Geoffrey Keynes KT‎

‎Faded blue cloth cover with 'Rupert Brooke' in gilt to front. 10"w x 12 1/2"h. In pocket on the inside front cover are four individual folded grey paper files, each containing loose reproductions of the notes and ephemera relating to each poem . This set appears to be missing three sheets in comparison to other booksellers' descriptions. The contents of the folders in this set are The Fish, five sheets; The Soldier, three sheets; Granchester, five sheets; The Dead, two sheets. Also included are eighteen bound pages of commentary and associated text by Geoffrey Keynes. The tipped in print of Rupert Brooke is missing.‎

‎Morris, William‎

‎The Ideal Book: Essays and Lectures on the Arts of the Book‎

‎A clean, unmarked book with a tight binding. 134 pages. Photographs and illustrations.‎

‎Staff‎

‎Monuments of Book Illustration, Early Printing and Manuscripts: From the XVth to the XVIIIth Centuries World Literature in Original Editions, Geographical and Scientific Discoveries in First Editions: Catalogue 27‎

‎Gallery catalogue #27 from the publisher, a large format collection of Illuminated and Literary Manuscripts from the 14th to the 16th Centuries, Incunabula Typographica, Fine Illustrated Books from the 15th to the 18th Centuries, "Great French Authors" in First Editions like Descartes, Moliere, Montaigne, Pascal, Racine, and others, History of Science and Medicine, Autographs of Brahms, Galilei, La Fontaine, Luther, etc. 130 pages with many full page b&w illustrations thoughout.‎

‎Thomas, Marcel‎

‎The Golden Age: Manuscript Painting at the Time of Jean, Duke of Berry‎

‎A clean, unmarked book with a tight binding. 120 pages. 8"w x 11"h. Beautiful full-page color plates.‎

‎Nencini, Franco; Enrico Mattei (fwd.)‎

‎Florence: The Days of the Flood‎

‎Book is in excellent condition with bumped upper corners, otherwise very clean. Binding is solid and square, exterior shows no other blemishes, text/interior is clean and free of marking of any kind. Dust jacket shows the slightest signs of shelf wear, 1" tear at upper back. A textual and pictorial recounting of the flood of Florence in 1966 and how it wiped out the city. Many large b&w photos, text to page 42. Map at front. Previous owner's name and date at front end paper.‎

‎DR. NECMI DAYDAY - PROF. DR. VURAL ALTIN.‎

‎Gök biliminde Türk - Islâm bilginleri.‎

‎New New English Original bdg. Dust wrapper. Large 4to. (34 x 30 cm). In Turkish. 226 p., color ills. Gök biliminde Türk - Islâm bilginleri. Turkish - Islamic pioneers in astronomy. The largest share, in the achievement of the present level of civilzation, belongs to share. In studying the historical development of scimade discoveries throughout history and leading the scientific development, were Turkish-Islamic scientists. The monumental names such as Birunî, Bedîüzzaman Cezerî, Farabi, Gazal, Harezmi, Ibn-i Firnas, Cabir bin Hayyan, Ibn-i Sina among many others shaped science, especially astronomy, and set their directions. The culture and the value system put forward by Turkish-Islmic countries, between the ninth and fifteenth centuries, have affected then and continue to affect the humanity.".‎

‎AHMET EMIN GÜVEN.‎

‎Kayseri yakin tarihinden kültürel arastirmalar VII: Kayseri'de yazma mecmualar (ve muhtevalarindan seçmeler).‎

‎Fine English Paperback. Roy. 8vo. (24 x 16 cm). In Turkish. [xcvii], 204 p. Kayseri yakin tarihinden kültürel arastirmalar VII: Kayseri'de yazma mecmualar (ve muhtevalarindan seçmeler).‎

‎SALIH SAIM IMAMZÂDE [UNAR].‎

‎Bayazid-i Bistami Kuddise Sirreh üs-Sâmi.‎

‎Very Good English In contemporary bdg. Foolscap 8vo. (18 x 12 cm). In Ottoman script. 16 p. Hejra: 1315 = Gregorian: 1897. Özege: 1728. A biographical study on Bistami who was Persian Islamic scholar (874-877). Bayazid-i Bistami Kuddise Sirreh üs-Sâmi.‎