SCHRADER, MONUMENTORUM ITALIAE, HELMSTEDT, 1592, RED MOROCCO GILT FOR FABRI DE PEIRESC

folio (305 x 186mm.), woodcut device on title-pages, woodcut initials and headpieces, EARLY SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY RED MOROCCO GILT FOR FABRI DE PEIRESC, with his Greek monogram stamped on covers, most probably by Simon Corberan in Aix-in-Provence, spine gilt in compartments, title and dated lettered in gilt in second compartment, WITH A 2-PAGE LETTER extracted from one of De Peiresc's letter books (in a secretarial hand) tipped in at the front, some foxing and browning, extremities slightly rubbed

Book: Nicolas Fabri de Peiresc (1580-1637), arms on binding and monogram stamped on title-page; DD.2.30, old shelfmark on inside front cover; Henry Augustus Brudenell-Bruce (1842-1911), 5th marquess of Ailesbury, sale, Sotheby's, 3-5 March 1919, lot 500, £4, Tregaskis Letter: Alfred Morrison (1821-1897, a prolific collector of manuscripts), his sale, Third Portion, Sotheby's, 9-13 December 1918, lot 2534, £6, Tregaskis (described as autograph, not secretarial)

Both: James Tregaskis, Caxton Head, item 270 in one of his catalogues, price £16; Lucius Wilmerding, bookplate, sale, Parke-Bernet, 6 March 1951, lot 595; Saul Cohn, sale, Parke-Bernet, 19 October 1955, lot 846 (with the letter described as autograph), extract from sale catalogue loosely inserted

VD16 S 4043

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."

This copy of Schrader's compilation of Italian inscriptions has a letter in Italian by Fabri de Peiresc tipped into the front of the volume, dated Aix, 16 July 1626, addressed "Al Sig[no]re Aleandro, Roma", i.e. the scholar Girolamo Aleandro the younger, 1574-1629 (a regular correspondent of Peiresc's). Aleandro worked for Cardinal Francesco Barberini, and through him Barberini acquired the Barberini Ivory (from a late antique diptych) from Peiresc. The letter discusses some inscriptions but the bulk of the letter seems to relate to various church dignitaries and Italian aristocrats, including Aleandro's patron Barberini, who have recently passed through Aix or Avignon. The flower tool on the spine is illustrated in Pollard's "Changes in the style of bookbinding, 1550-1830", The Library, fifth series, XI (1956), plate II(c).