Saint jérome

1562 · réf. 37366 — Romae: Apud Paulum Manutium Aldi F. 1562. 4to 21.8 cm 8.5". 109 7 ff. Brought together here are St. Ambrose's De virginitate St. Jerome's Epistola ad Demetriadem de virginitate servandra and St. Augustine's De sancta virginitate three important works by three Church Fathers on celibacy and virginity concerns of the early church that greatly affected the life of early clergy and nuns and had significant ramifications for laity as well. The Roman Aldine press essentially served as an extension of the papacy which capitalized on its fame to disseminate — with great cachet — Vatican-approved texts in the publication war that was such an integral part of the Protestant and Catholic Reformations this work being no exception. This neatly printed text has single columns with unaccomplished guide letters and shouldernotes using roman font; the iconic Aldine device appears on the title-page and an errata list appears in double-column format at the end. Provenance: The printer's mark of Jan Baptiste Verdussen II depicting a stork feeding a snake to another stork with the Latin motto "Virtus pietas homini tutissima" which can be dated between 1659 and 1759 has been excised from another source and affixed to the front pastedown possibly as a bookplate as speculated by the Provenance Online Project; this title is later listed in the auction catalogue of Jean-Baptiste Verdussen III's book collection suggesting this copy may have belonged to the Verdussen family. Two early inked signatures of G.J. Enoch and J.F. Van de Velde also appear on the front endpapers. Most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard small booklabel "AHA" at rear. Searches of WorldCat and NUC located only four U.S. libraries reporting ownership CLU LNT MnCS UPB. Adams A950; EDIT16 CNCE 16242; Index Aurel. 104.682; Renouard Alde p. 186 no. 7; UCLA Aldine Press: Catalogue of the Ahmanson-Murphy Collection 2001 678. Not in Kallendorf & Wells Aldine Press Books. On the Aldine press at Rome see: Curt Buhler "Manutius and His First Roman Printings" Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 46 pp. 209–14. 19th-century polished calf spine stamped in gilt with two gilt-stamped leather title-labels covers framed with a dog-tooth roll two gilt fillets and small fleurons at corners; gilt floral rolls to board edges and turn-ins all edges stained red with marbled endpapers. Binding rubbed and refurbished one leather spine label chipped and the other removed; spotting on endpapers evidence of a removed bookplate at back. Mostly light offsetting of text throughout intermittent mild to moderate unobtrusive waterstaining including to title-page and other spotting; title-page and eight more leaves of text with marginal repairs one gutter showing narrow band of discoloration possibly glue action. Provenance indicia as above two pencilled endpaper notes. => An important collection from an interesting era of the Aldine Press; and a strong in fact quite handsome copy. Apud Paulum Manutium, Aldi F. hardcover books