Joannes de Sancto Geminiano.

Chancery folio (276 x 200mm.), 521 leaves (of 524, without initial blank, a1 blank and final blank), double column, Gothic type, 2- to 9-line initials in red and/or blue, 9-line initial on a2 in pink on a blue background, red and blue paraphs, red initial-strokes, seventeenth-century vellum, nineteenth-century lettering-piece, head of A2 excised, a few marginal paper repairs, occasional light staining, binding slightly rubbed and soiled, new endpapers

Ampleforth Abbey Library, armorial bookplate and library stamp on flyleaf

C 2649; GW M14692; BMC ix 45; Goff J427; Klebs 562.1; Simon, Bibliotheca Bacchica 94

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

First edition, produced by Pafraet, the first printer to set up shop in Deventer, where he operated from 1477 to 1485 after working for Ulrich Zel in Cologne. Joannes de Sancto Geminiano's encyclopaedic work (written in the early fourteenth century) covers a vast range of subjects from ethics to the elements to flora and fauna to wine-making. There were at least five incunabular editions of this popular text.