Lot 370
  • 370

Ferrarius, Johannes

Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 USD
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Description

  • Ferrarius, Johannes
  • A Woorke of Ioannes Ferrarius Montanus, Touchynge the good Orderynge of a Common Weale: wherein aswell Magistrates, as Private Persones, bee put in Remembraunce of their Dueties … according to the Godlie Institutions and Sounde Doctrine of Christianitie. Englished by William Bauande. London: Jhon Kingston for Jhon Wight, dwellyng in Poules Churchyarde, 1559
  • Paper, Ink, Leather
4to (7 5/8 x 5 5/8 in.; 193 x 140 mm). Black letter, woodcut title border (McKerrow & Ferguson 38), woodcut initials, with errata leaf ¶3 and blanks Ss4 and ¶4; trace of dampstain to lower margin of final quire. Contemporary English calf with gilt semé and with fine Persian-style gilt-ground arabesque cornerpieces and oval centerpiece, the plaques heightened with silver paint, smooth spine gilt, board edges gilt, plain endpapers, edges gilt; some repairs to head of spine and other extremities. Brown cloth folding-case with morocco labels.

Provenance

William Herbert, English bibliographer, with his inscription, 1771 — T. Spencer, Grays Inn (signature) — A. G. Hunter (signature, 1812) — Britwell Court Library (Sotheby’s London, 3 May 1920, lot 479) — Bernard Quaritch catalogue no. 369 (1922); sold to — Major J. R. Abbey (booklabel and purchase note; Sotheby’s London, 22 June 1965, lot 326) — H. Bradley Martin (Sotheby’s New York, 14 June 1990, lot 3390). acquisition: Purchased at the foregoing sale through Bernard Quaritch

Literature

STC 10831; ESTC S102013

Condition

4to (7 5/8 x 5 5/8 in.; 193 x 140 mm). Black letter, woodcut title border (McKerrow & Ferguson 38), woodcut initials, with errata leaf ¶3 and blanks Ss4 and ¶4; trace of dampstain to lower margin of final quire. Contemporary English calf with gilt semé and with fine Persian-style gilt-ground arabesque cornerpieces and oval centerpiece, the plaques heightened with silver paint, smooth spine gilt, board edges gilt, plain endpapers, edges gilt; some repairs to head of spine and other extremities. Brown cloth folding-case with morocco labels.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

First edition in English, dedicated to Queen Elizabeth, of Ferrarius’s De republica bene instituenda (Basel, 1556). Throughout the work are scattered Bauande’s translations from classical poets. Jasper Heywood, in his translation of Seneca’s Theystes (1560), describes the translator with this quatrain: “There Bauande bides that turned his toil | A commonwealth to frame, | And greater grace in English gives | To worthy authors name.”

Internally a very fresh copy, with a highly attractive and well-preserved English luxury binding. This is a very early example for England both of center- and cornerpiece plaques in general, and of the Persian filigree motifs in particular. Very rare: this appears to be the only copy in the trade for more than a century.