Raymundus de Sabunde

Chancery folio (280 x 208mm.), 256 leaves, A a-z aa-hh⁸, double column, 39 lines, gothic type, 2- to 4-line initials supplied in red, 5-6 line initials supplied in blue, all with printed guide letters, contemporary manuscript title on first blank leaf, printed end-title on final verso (otherwise blank), near full-size panels of contemporary blind-stamped calf laid down on a nineteenth-century calf binding tooled in period style over original wooden boards, covers with borders and diaper pattern composed of triple fillets, with small square fleurs-de-lys and bee stamps and smaller floral stamps, two clasps, holes from a chaining staple at head of lower cover, a few deckle edges, four leaves of contemporary manuscript in a German hand containing local records in Latin bound at front and at back, damp-staining in first few quires and final quire, initial blank leaf somewhat soiled with an old paper repair, a few small wormholes (particularly in last few quires), last leaf with small tear affecting a couple of letters, extremities rubbed

Franciscan convent of Dorsten (Westphalia), inscription at head of first leaf with warning "anathema auferenti" ("a curse on the thief"); John Deakin Heaton (1817-1880) of Leeds, armorial bookplate; Richard Caton, Liverpool, armorial bookplate

Goff R32; HC 14067; BMC ix 45; BSB-Ink R19; Bod-inc R-017; GW M36906

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."

Editio princeps. Sabunde, a follower of Ramon Lull and an opponent of scholasticism, originally composed this treatise in Spanish in 1434-1436; it is his only extant work, and the prologue was later put on the Index of Prohibited Books.

Richard Pafraet, the first printer to set up shop in Deventer in 1477, made use of a printed end-title in at least one other work, the Sermones of Johannes Herault printed in 1485 (BMC ix 45). Margaret M. Smith, in The title-page: its early development 1460-1510 (London, 2000, p. 71), estimates that fewer than 0.5% of incunables have this sort of printed title.

A book from the Dorsten convent now in Cambridge University Library, Gregory the Great's Pastorale (Oates 658), has a near-identical binding, also with a chaining mark on the lower cover.