Ludolphus de Saxonia

Royal folio (393 x 273mm.), 394 leaves (of 395, without final blank), [a-p¹⁰ q⁸ r-t¹⁰ u⁸; A-M¹⁰ N⁸ O-V¹⁰ *1], final register leaf pasted to inside front cover, double column, 55 lines, gothic type, first 6 lines of text printed in red, 3- to 10-line initials in red, red initial strokes and underlining (some leaves unrubricated), manuscript quire numbers, contemporary blind-ruled pigskin over square wooden boards, paper lettering-piece on upper cover and on spine, two clasps, printed sheet (from a commentary on the Epistles of St Paul in Johann Mentelin's typeface 92b) used a board liner for lower cover, occasional light damp-staining, slight worming at beginning and end, binding somewhat soiled, lacking all bosses and both straps

Bavarian Royal Library, "Inc. Typ. No. 602", sold as a duplicate from Munich, "Duplum" in ink on flyleaf, around 1858; sale, Puttick and Simpson, 13 February 1889, lot 997, £2-2s, to Tinckler; [and again the same year] sale, Puttick and Simpson, 17 December 1889, lot 298, £1-19s, to Bennett; William O'Brien, bequest booklabel dated 1899

Goff L337; HC 10290; BMC i 75; BSB-Ink L-259; Bod-inc L-186; GW M19226; Grosjean & O'Connell 80

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."

WITH THE RARE REGISTER LEAF. This is one of a group of books printed with Eggestein's type, but possibly printed in the Carthusian monastery outside Strassburg rather than by Eggestein himself, though the copy once in the Charterhouse has a contemporary inscription recording the donation by Eggestein. The monastery did have its own bindery, but as there are no identifiable stamps on this binding it cannot be located with any certainty, though the presence of printer's waste from another Strassburg printing house may indicate a Strassburg binding.

Heinrich Eggestein is likely to have known Gutenberg personally, and he possibly worked with Mentelin. He is thought to have been responsible for the first advertisement for a book, dated to around 1468, and is now considered to be the second printer in Strassburg after Mentelin.