Armorial

1640 · Best.-Nr. ST19814 — Lugd. Batavorum Leyden: Ex officina Elzeviriana 1640. Third Elzevier Edition. 130 x 72 mm. 5 1/8 x 2 7/8". 4 p.l. 536 30 47 pp. Excellent late 18th century dark blue straight-grain morocco in the style of Roger Payne gilt covers with floral vine cornerpieces gilt supralibros of George Spencer-Churchill 5th Duke of Marlborough Stamp 3 featuring the head and wings of a griffin emerging from a ducal coronet surmounted by the coronet of a marquess raised bands spine panels with gilt fleuron centerpiece gilt lettering gilt-ruled turn-ins all edges gilt. Title page with engraved frame featuring the Four Evangelists and their symbols. Rahir 500; Willems 505. For the binding: Smith and Benger p. 46; "British Armorial Bindings" https://armorial.library.utoronto.ca/node/31988. ◆Spine evenly faded and gilt consequently a little dulled a touch of rubbing to extremities tail margin of text with half-inch wide light dampstain extending an inch up on the fore-edge margin of the last couple quires a hint of foxing and browning other trivial imperfections but still a pleasing copy without serious defects internally and in a scarcely worn binding with lustrous covers. This Elzevier printing of the first lexicon of New Testament Greek comes in an elegant binding and with illustrious provenance. First printed in 1619 the "Manuale" is the work of German philologist Georg Pasor 1570-1637 and was the authority on New Testament Greek throughout the 17th century. Printed by Bonaventure and Abraham Elzevier our volume is bound in the style of the venerable English artisan Roger Payne using the straight-grain morocco process developed by Payne with delicately tooled gilt panels framing the cover. The supralibros of a man whose love of books brought him to ruin was added at the center both boards sometime before 1817. The coronet above the griffin indicates that George Spencer-Churchill 1766-1840 was at that time the Marquess of Blandford before his father's death in 1817 made him the 5th Duke of Marlborough. According to DNB "He spent great sums on his gardens and his library at White Knights near Reading." His extravagance eventually ruined him financially and most of his collection had to be auctioned during his lifetime. According to the University of Toronto's "British Armorial Bindings" this volume was Lot 3017 in the sale of the "Distinguished and Celebrated" White Knights Library conducted by R. H. Evans of London in June of 1819; it sold for eight shillings. Our book was later sold at Sotheby's on 13 June 1934 lot 725; the catalogue for that sale described the binding as "in the style of Roger Payne." We find ourselves inclined to believe even more heartily in this association. Ex officina Elzeviriana unknown books