Priscianus

Opera (ed. Benedictus Brognolus). Venice: Georgius Arrivabenus, 4 (pridie non.) December 1488



Super-Chancery folio (12¼ x 8½ in.; 312 x 214 mm). Types 11:110R (text), 12:79R (commentary), 80 Greek. 43 lines (60 lines commentary). Initial spaces with printed guide letters.collation: a–c^{8; d–u8 x6 y z & © ® aa–ee8 ff6; A–K8; L8 M6: 346 leaves, the first blank. Unrubricated. Contemporary Italian (Padua) blind-stamped sheep over beech boards, brass corner- and centerpieces, remains of 4 pairs of clasps with catchplates on lower cover, title label on upper cover, no pastedowns, spine lining of a vellum manuscript with musical notation, edges plain; binding rubbed. Red cloth slipcase with chemise.}

Johannes Protzer (inscribed by him, "Comparauit In Italia," 1490) — Frederick S. Peck, 1868–1947, of Barrington, Rhode Island (bookplate)

Goff P-968, Hain 13661; BMC V 383 (IB.22509); BSB-Ink P-765; Bod-inc. P-457. See Margaret Gibson, "The Collected Works of Prisician," Studi medievali 3rd. ser. 18 (1977) at pp. 252-3. On Johannes Protzer, see A. R. A. Hobson, "A German Student in Italy: His Books and Bindings," in Mélanges ...Georges Colin, ed. Cl. Sorgeloos (Brussels, 1998), 87-99. The present volume is no. 36 on Hobson's list of the Italian books sold from Nördlingen in 1859.

Opera (ed. Benedictus Brognolus). Venice: Georgius Arrivabenus, 4 (pridie non.) December 1488 Super-Chancery folio (12¼ x 8½ in.; 312 x 214 mm). Types 11:110R (text), 12:79R (commentary), 80 Greek. 43 lines (60 lines commentary). Initial spaces with printed guide letters.collation: a–c8; d–u8 x6 y z & © ® aa–ee8 ff6; A–K8; L8 M6: 346 leaves, the first blank. Unrubricated. Contemporary Italian (Padua) blind-stamped sheep over beech boards, brass corner- and centerpieces, remains of 4 pairs of clasps with catchplates on lower cover, title label on upper cover, no pastedowns, spine lining of a vellum manuscript with musical notation, edges plain; binding rubbed. Red cloth slipcase with chemise.
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.

First edition with the commentary or gloss to the Institutiones grammaticae, dating to the late eleventh century. The colophon attributes the gloss to "Johannes de Aingre," whose name does not appear in any of the manuscripts of the text. Margaret Gibson suggested that this could be a corruption of "Dei Gratia," and hence a reference to Johannes Gratiadei, who flourished ca. 1080. 

This volume was purchased and bound in Padua, 1490, by Johannes Protzer (ca. 1470–1528), a patrician of Nördlingen. During his years of legal studies in Italy 1490–1497, he built an extensive library, which after many years as a councillor in Nuremberg he bequeathed to his native city. The city sold a substantial number of these in 1859, and they are now widely dispersed. Anthony Hobson has ascribed the tools found on this and other bindings from Protzer's library to a Padua shop, the "Scholastic Binder." The books of the Protzer bequest were chained in the library of the Hospital of the Holy Ghost in Nördlingen; a hole for the hasp of the chain is below the bottom catchplate of the lower cover.