Bonifacius VIII, Pont. Max. (formerly Benedetto Gaetano)

Royal folio, printed partially on vellum (401 x 281 mm). [1-3¹⁰ 4¹² (+11* nullius penitus) 5-7¹⁰ 8¹⁰ (+9* in quibus iura) 9¹² 10-11⁸ 12⁶ 13-16¹⁰ 17⁴]: 161 of 162 leaves, lacking final leaf with colophon. 

 Types 5:118G (text), 6:92G (commentary), 2 X 66 lines commentary surrounding text (303 X 281 mm), 2 to 4 line initial spaces for both the text and commentary, red printing (rubric headings, colophon), rubricated (lombard initials and paragraph marks alternately red and blue, red headlines and capital strokes); the first initial handsomely illuminated (green initial with leafy molding, on deep magenta ground with gold ink decoration). Contemporary Viennese blind-stamped dark brown calf, pierced brass clasp plates in the Viennese manner, edges yellow-stained, possibly by Blasius Coniugatus. Final leaf containing colophon (only), supplied in vellum facsimile, otherwise a tall fresh copy. Bosses removed, careful repairs to head and foot of spine, the lower cover with some scratches and a vertical crack in the leather.

Vienna, University, with inscription facultatis philosophicae Viennae 1686- Hans Furstenberg, with his label

Goff B-981; Hain-Copinger (Add) 3590*; GW 4853; BMC I 29 (C.177); Van Praet I (ii) nos. 12-13. Binding: see Otto Mazal in Gutenberg-Jahrbuch 1962, p.477; Gertraut Laurin, ibid. 1963: 278 sqq.; Kurt Holter, "Verzierte Wiener Bucheinbande," Codices manuscript, Sonderheft (1977). 

Final leaf containing colophon (only), supplied in vellum facsimile, otherwise a tall fresh copy. Bosses removed, careful repairs to head and foot of spine, the lower cover with some scratches and a vertical crack in the leather.
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.

Schoeffer's third edition. A rare copy gathered of both vellum and paper sheets, the outer and innermost sheet of each quire being vellum, the remainder, paper. Such mixed codices are by no means rare among fourteenth and fifteenth century manuscripts., but the present edition appears to be the only recorded incunable of which copies were issued in such a form, alongside pure paper and pure vellum copies. This form of issue is not mentioned in the incunable handbooks of Konrad Haebler and Ferdinand Geldner, nor is it discussed by Schoeffer's biographer, Lehmann-Haput. Other mixed copies of the edition are recorded at the Bodleian Library, Bibliothèque Nationale Paris, Hunterian Museum Glasgow, and University Library Graz (see F. Eichler in Gutenberg-Jahrbuch 1939, 121 sqq.); and Van Praet mentioned one copy formerly in the Premonstratensian house in Prague. It should be noted with regard to Schoeffer's two earlier editions of Boniface VIII that all known copies of the 1465 edition are on vellum except for paper copies at the Rylands Library and at Trier; and that all known copies of the 1470 edition are on vellum. The combined records of Van Praet, GW, and Goff suggest that there are about a dozen surviving full vellum copies of the 1472 Boniface VIII, the only in America being at the Library of Congress (Rosenwald Gift).

The attractive Viennese binding is from a shop with defined tools, which may be identified as that of Blasius Coniugatus whose name scroll blasius occurs on one binding, and who is mentioned in 1479 in the records of the university at Vienna.