Notitia dignitatum, Basel, 1552, contemporary vellum, Donaueschingen copy
Auction Closed
December 10, 04:10 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
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Description
NOTITIA DIGNITATUM. Notitia utraque cum orientis tum occidentis ultra Arcadii Honoriique Caesarum tempora. Basel: Hieronymus Froben and Nicolaus Episcopus, 1552
A finely coloured copy of the Notitia dignitatum, a register of the high officials of the Roman Empire compiled about AD 400. It survived in a single Carolingian or Ottonian manuscript (now lost) in the cathedral library of Speier. Partial editions were printed in Lyon in 1530 and in Basel in 1550. This is the first complete and the first illustrated edition, with woodcuts after the illustrations in the manuscript, edited by the Bohemian humanist, Sigismund Gelenius. It ends with a curious section on machines for use in warfare, which includes for the first time the idea of propelling a ship without oars and sails, and the invention of the paddle-wheel, an inspiration for Leonardo da Vinci.
Folio (302 x 204 mm). Roman type. collation: *8 a–o6 p4 q–r6: 108 leaves. Woodcut and metal historiated initials in various sizes, large woodcut printer's device on title page and verso of last leaf, 106 woodcut illustrations, of which 85 full-page and 16 half-page, all coloured by a contemporary hand, interleaved. (First nine leaves with small wormhole in upper margin, a4-6 with small wormhole in lower margin, internal marginal tear on f4, pale marginal stain on m1, small adhesion on device at end.)
binding: Contemporary vellum (312 x 213 mm), collector’s chemise and slipcase. (Spine defective, lacking ties.)
provenance: Johann Jacob Ziegler (1587-1656), ownership inscription on title — Joseph von Lassberg (1770-1855), inscription on front flyleaf "Villae Epponis ad Bibliothecam" and bibliographical note in French, and his red ink shelfmark 1573 on pastedown and at foot of spine — Donaueschingen, Court Library, Princes of Fürstenberg, ink stamp on verso of title and beneath colophon, sale, Sotheby's, 7 June 1982, lot 66 — with Marlborough Rare Books, 1982 — Arthur Vershbow (1922-2012) and Charlotte Vershbow (1924-2000), joint booklabel, their sale, Christie’s New York, 9-10 April 2013, lot 189. acquisition: Purchased at the preceding sale. references: USTC 678431; VD16 N 1884
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