Rodriguez, Christoval | The fundamental and rare work of Spanish and New World paleography

Rodriguez, Christoval

Bibliotheca universal de la polygraphia española. Madrid: Por Antonio Marin, 1738

Folio (410 x 280 mm). Engraved plates, vignettes, woodcut initials, illustrations; some offsetting from plates and text, two folding plates with minor repairs, occasional spots, dampstaining of last few gatherings at inner margins. Contemporary mottled calf in gilt border, spine in six compartments with raised bands, gilt-lettered red morocco label in second, others with repeat gilt decoration, armorial bookplate of at foot, fore-edge stained red, marbled endpapers; hinges weak, upper board slightly soiled and nearly detached from spine, chipping and rubbed to spine and boards, minor loss to head and foot.

First edition of this fundamental work on Spanish and Portuguese paleography.

Completed in 1730 upon the order of King Philip V and published 3 years after Rodriguez’s death, Bibliotheca is a study of Spanish handwriting across the 16th century. 

Although Rodriguez believed himself to be the first scholar to publish work on early scripts, Rodriguez extends upon Benedictine Mabillon’s De re diplomatica (1681–1704) with the inclusion of fifteen of Mabillon’s plates. Arranged in chronological order, with separate section titles for each century, examples begin with Roman and medieval script of the sixteenth century.

REFERENCES

Palau 272808; Aguilar Piñal VII, 1119; Cotarelo y Mori, Diccionário biográfico y bibliográfico de calígrafos españoles 943; Mateu Ibars, Bibliografia paleográfica p. 59; Bonacini 1543; Universal Penman 218; Maggs, Spanish Books 877A; Heredia 3498; Victoria and Albert 218

PROVENANCE

Dukes of Pamela (library stamp to title page)