Bernardus Claravallensis

Royal folio (16 x 11 3/8 in.; 412 x 293 mm). Collation: [1-3¹⁰ 4⁸ 5⁶ (5+1: libera[m] matrem); 6-9¹⁰ 10⁸; 11-15¹⁰ 16-17⁸ 18⁶; 19-25¹⁰]: 234 of 235 leaves, lacking only the final blank. Colophon and Fust-Schoeffer device on 25/7r, verso blank; Tabula 25/8r-9r, verso blank. 2 columns, 47 lines. Type 5:118G. Two section titles, colophon and printer's device printed in red. Two 9-line, one 4-line and many 2-line initial spaces. Handsomely rubricated: two foliate arabesque initials supplied in red and blue, red and blue lombard initials, capitals touched in red and blue. Single pinholes visible between columns in upper margins (rarely cropped) and lower margins. Printing-house corrections in red ink on 1/7r and 12/8v, as in most if not all copies. Contemporary manuscript annotations in margins of several leaves. Contemporary blind-stamped dark brown calf over wooden boards, edges yellowstained. Old restoration on the binding, spotting, dampstains on margins, fo. 19/9 with restored tear on margin not affecting the text, the two last quires browned in the lower margin. 

Augustinians of Neunkirchen am Brand, near Erlangen? (Conventus Novemecclesiensis 1525); a rare incunable provenance, for this house see Norbert Backmund, Die Chorherrenorden und ihre Stifte in Bayern (1966), p. 104.

Goff B-436; Hain 2844*; GW 3940; BMC I 32 (IC.197); Bod-inc B-185; BSB-Ink B-320

Contemporary blind-stamped dark brown calf over wooden boards, edges yellowstained. Old restoration on the binding, lacking frist blank leave, spotting, dampstains on margins, 199 leaf with restored tear on margin without affecting the text, two last quires browned in the lower margin.
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 of the Sermones de tempore et de sanctis of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and of other sermons attributed to him in the later Middle Ages. The works of St. Bernard of Claivaux, one of the most accomplished preachers and influential religious figures of the twelfth century, French founder of the reforming Cistercian order, enjoyed a new popularity in the fifteenth century, in Germany as elsewhere in Europe. Bernard's works were particularly popular with preachers and were recommended to young clerics. This edition of the Sermones de tempore et de sanctis et de diversis was the first of six printed in the fifteenth century and one of about 200 incunable editions of works attributed to Bernard.

Very large copy, a centimeter taller than the Friedlander copy (2001), with deckle preserved on some leaves.