Étoile

1552 · réf. H8IABU6I693Z — Antwerp: Martinus Nutius I 1552. Near contemporary limp vellum sewn on 5 double tanned leather supports cut flush with the bookblock but with later alum-tawed thongs laced through the vellum cover with 6 fragments of a 16th-century manuscript reinforcing the spine of the bookblock blind- and later gold-tooled spine with a neatly lettered title in caps and small caps reading down the spine and a later one in caps and lowercase across the spine headbands in yellow and green old paper labels with letterpress and manuscript shelfmarks. Small folio 27 x 19.5 cm. With a woodcut architectural cartouche on the title-page the arms of the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain Charles V with columns strapwork and allegorical figures representing stability and fairness a full-page woodcut triumphal arch erected in Ghent for Philip’s entry with letterpress title and key to elements A-N Nutius’s woodcut device at the end a strapwork cartouche with a crane feeding a worm to its young dozens of woodcut decorated initials 4 series and a vine-leaf ornament Vervliet 170. Set in roman and italic types many and the vine-leaf by François Guyot in Antwerp. First and only early edition in the original Spanish of an eyewitness account of the future King Philip II of Spain's travels from Spain through Italy and the German states to the Low Countries from 1548 to 1550 or 1551 intended as preparation for the duties he would face when he succeeded to in the event only some of the titles of his father the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V who was also King Charles I of Spain. The Aragon humanist scholar Juan Cristóbal Calvete de Estrella ca. 1510/20-1593 served in the Spanish court of Charles V who appointed him tutor to Prince Philip 1527-1598 in 1541. He accompanied Philip on these travels so that his book forms an essential primary source for both the life and personality of the future King Philip II who was to bring Spain its golden age and its greatest power and wealth and for the early beginnings of his relations with the Netherlands which was to revolt against the King bring about Spain's fall from power and develop its own golden age as an independent state. Calvete de Estrella remained in Antwerp when Philip returned to Spain having his book printed there. It is an excellent piece of book production anticipating the role Antwerp was to play as Europe's leading centre of printing and publishing.With an early marginal manuscript note and occasional later mostly pencil notes and marks. With a small worm trail in the inner foot margin of about 40 leaves not approaching the text and faint marginal water stains in the last and first three leaves but still in very good condition. The cover has nearly come loose from the bookblock has some tears and stains has lost its 2 pair of ties and the endpapers are tattered.l Adams C264; Belg. Typ. 539; Iberian books 2403; Heredia 7039; Landwehr Splendid ceremonies 14; Netherlandish books 6408; Palau 40491; Peeters-Fontainas Meridionaux 170; Ruggieri 913; Salvá 3758; USTC 440071; not in Bibl. Belg. Martinus Nutius I, hardcover