A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany Volume III Part 14
1475. Folio. A very beautiful book, printed upon white and delicate VELLUM.
Many of the leaves have, however, a bad colour. I suspect this copy has been a good deal cropt in the binding.
AUGUSTINI S. EPISTOLae. LIBRI XIII. CONFESSIONUM. 1475. Quarto. This volume is printed in long lines, in a very slender roman type, which I do not just now happen to remember to have seen before; and which _almost_ resembles the delicacy of the types of the first _Horace_, and the _Florus_ and _Lucan_--so often noticed: except that the letters are a little too round in form. The present is a clean, sound copy; unbound.
BIBLIA LATINA. This is the _Mazarine_ Edition; supposed to be the first Bible ever printed. The present is far from being a fine copy; but valuable, from possessing the four leaves of a Rubric which I was taught to believe were peculiar to the copy at Munich.[117]
BIBLIA LATINA; _Printed by Pfister_, folio, 3 volumes. I was told that the copy here was upon vellum; but inaccurately. The present was supplied by the late Mr. Edwards; but is not free from stain and writing. Yet, although nothing comparable with the copy in the Royal Library at Paris, or with that in St. James's Place, it is nevertheless a very desirable acquisition--and is quite perfect.
---- _Printed by Fust and Schoeffher._ 1462.
Folio. 2 vols. UPON VELLUM. This was Colbert's copy, and is large, sound, and desirable.
---- _Printed by Mentelin._ Without Date. Perhaps the rarest of all Latin Bibles; of which, however, there is a copy in the royal library at Paris, and in the public libraries of Strasbourg and Munich. I should conjecture its date to be somewhere about 1466.[118] The present is a clean and sound, but much cropt copy.
---- _Printed by Sweynhyem and Pannartz._ Folio. 1471-2, 2 vols. A remarkably fine large copy, almost uncut: in modern russia binding. This must form a portion of the impression by the same printers, with the Commentary of De Lyra, in five folio volumes.
BIBLIA LATINA; _Printed by Hailbrun_. 1476. Folio. Here are _two_ copies; of which one is UPON VELLUM, and the other upon paper: both beautiful--but the vellum copy is, I think, in every respect, as lovely a book as Lord Spencer's similar copy. It measures eleven inches one sixteenth by seven one eighth. It has, however, been bound in wretched taste, some fifty years ago, and is a good deal cropt in the binding. The paper copy, in 2 vols. is considerably larger.
BIBLIA LATINA. _Printed by Jenson_. 1479. Folio. Here, again, are two copies; one upon paper, the other UPON VELLUM. Of these, the vellum copy is much damaged in the princ.i.p.al illumination, and is also cropt in the binding. The paper copy can hardly be surpa.s.sed, if equalled.
BIBLIA ITALICA. MALHERBI. _Printed in the month of October,_ 1471. Folio. 2 vols. Perhaps one of the finest and largest copies in existence; measuring, sixteen inches five eighths by eleven. It is bound (if I remember rightly) in blue morocco.
BIBLIA HEBRAICA. _Printed at Soncino_. 1488. Folio. FIRST EDITION OF THE HEBREW BIBLE. Of all earliest impressions of the sacred text, this is doubtless the MOST RARE. I am not sure that there are _two_ copies of it in England or in France. In our own country, the Bodleian library alone possesses it. This is a beautiful, clean copy, but cropt a little too much in the binding. It has had a journey to _Paris_, and gained a coat of blue morocco by the trip. The binder was Bozerain. This was the first time that I had seen a copy of the FIRST HEBREW BIBLE. There was only one _other_ feeling to be gratified:--that _such_ a copy were safely lodged in St.
James's Place.
BIBLIA POLONICA. 1563. Folio. The Abbe Strattman, at Molk, had apprised me of the beauty and value of this copy--of one of the scarcest impressions of the sacred text. This copy was, in fact, a PRESENTATION COPY to the Emperor Maximilian II., from Prince Radzivil the Editor and Patron of the work. It is rather beautifully white, for the book--which is usually of a very sombre complexion. The leaves are rather tender. It is bound in red velvet; but it is a pity they do not keep it in a case--as the back is wearing away fast. Notwithstanding the Abbe Strattman concluded his account of this book with the exclamation of--"Il n'y en a pas comme celui-la," I must be allowed to say, that Lord Spencer may yet indulge in a strain of triumph...
on the possession of the copy, of this same work, which I secured for him at Augsbourg;[119] and which is, to the full, as large, as sound, and in every respect as genuine a book.
JERONIMI STI. EPISTOLae. _Printed by Sweynheym and Pannartz._ 1468. Folio. 2 vols. A magnificent and unique copy, UPON VELLUM. "There are ONLY SIX VELLUM Sweynheyms and Pannartz in the world,"--said the Abbe Strattman to me, in the library of the Monastery of Molk. "Which be they?" replied I.
"They are these"--answered he ... "the _Caesar_, _Aulus Gellius_, and _Apuleius_--ach the edit. prin.--of the date of 1469: and the _Epistles of St Jerom_, of 1468--all which four books you will see at Vienna:--the _Livy_, which Mr. Edwards bought; and the _Pliny_ of 1470, which is in the library of Lord Spencer. These are the only known vellum Sweynheyms and Pannartz." I looked at the volumes under consideration, therefore, with the greater attention. They are doubtless n.o.ble productions; and this copy is, upon the whole, fine and genuine. It is not, however, so richly ornamented, nor is the vellum quite so white, as Lord Spencer's Pliny above mentioned.
Yet it is bound in quiet old brown calf, having formerly belonged to Cardinal Bessarion, whose hand writing is on the fly leaf. It measures fifteen inches three eighths, by eleven one sixteenth.
LACTANTII OPERA. _Printed in the Soubiaco Monastery._ 1465. Folio. Here are two copies of this earliest production of the Italian press. That which is in blue morocco binding, is infinitely the worse of the two. The other, in the original binding of wood, is, with the exception of Mr. Grenville's copy, the finest which I have ever seen. This however is slightly stained, by water, at top.
---- _Printed at Rostock._ 1476. Folio. A copy UPON VELLUM--which I had never seen before. The vellum is thin and beautiful, but this is not a _comfortable_ book in respect to binding. A few leaves at the beginning are stained. Upon the whole, however, it is a singularly rare and most desirable volume.[120]
MISSALE MOZARABIc.u.m. 1500. Folio. First Edition. A book of exceedingly great scarcity, and of which I have before endeavoured to give a pretty full and correct history.[121] The present is a beautiful clean copy, bound in blue morocco, apparently by De Seuil--from the red morocco lining within: but this copy is not so large as the one in St. James's Place. The MOZARABIC BREVIARY, its companion, which is bound in red morocco, has been cruelly cropt.
MISSALE HERBIPOLENSE. Folio: with the date of 1479 in the prefatory admonition. This precious book is UPON VELLUM; and a more beautiful and desirable volume can hardly be found. There is a copper-plate of coat-armour, in outline, beneath the prefatory admonition; and M. Bartsch, who was by the side of me when I was examining the book, referred me to his _Peintre Graveur_, vol. x. p. 57. where this early copper-plate is noticed.
PSALTERIUM. Latine. _Printed by Fust and Schoeffher._ 1457. Folio. EDITIO PRINCEPS. If there be ONE book, more than another, which should induce an ardent bibliographer to make a pilgrimage to Vienna, THIS is a.s.suredly the volume in question! And yet, although I could not refrain from doing, what a score of admiring votaries had probably done before me--namely, bestowing a sort of _oscular_ benediction upon the first leaf of the text--yet, I say, it may be questionable whether this copy be as large and fair as that in our Royal Collection!? Doubtless, however, this is a very fine and almost invaluable copy of the FIRST BOOK printed with metal types, with a date subjoined. You will give me credit for having asked for a sight of it, the _very first thing_ on my entrance into the room where it is kept. It is, however, preserved in rather a loose and shabby binding, and should certainly be protected by every effort of the bibliopegistic art. The truth is, as M. Kopitar told me, that every body--old and young, ignorant and learned--asks for a sight of this marvellous volume; and it is, in consequence, rarely kept in a state of quiescence one week throughout the year: excepting during the holidays.
PSALTERIUM. Latine. _Without Printer's name or Date._ _Folio._ This is doubtless a magnificent book, printed in the gothic letter, in red and black, with musical lines not filled up by notes. The text has services for certain Saints days. What rendered this volume particularly interesting to my eyes, was, that on the reverse of the first leaf, beneath two lines of printed text, (in the smaller of two sizes of gothic letter) and two lines of scored music in red, I observed an impression of the very same copper-plate of coat-armour, which I had noticed in the Wurtzburg Missal of 1482, at Oxford, described in the _Bibliographical Decameron_, vol. i. p.
30. Although M. Bartsch had noticed this copper-plate, in its outline character, in the above previously described Wurtzburg Missal, he seemed to be ignorant of its existence in this Psalter. The whole of this book is as fresh as if it had just come from the press.
TESTAMENTUM NOV. Bohemice. _Without Date._ Folio. This is probably one of the very rarest impressions of the sacred text, in the XVth century, which is known to exist. It is printed in the gothic type, in double columns, and a full page contains thirty-six lines. There are running t.i.tles. The text, at first glance, has much of the appearance of Bamler's printing at Augsbourg; but it is smaller, and more angular. Why should not the book have been printed in Bohemia? This is a very clean, desirable copy, in red morocco binding.
TURRECREMATA I. DE. In LIBRUM PSALMORUM. _Printed at Crause in Suabia._ Folio. This, and the copy described as being in the Public Library at Munich, are supposed to be the only known copies of this impression. Below the colophon, in pencil, there is a date of 1475: but quaere upon what authority? This copy is in most miserable condition; especially at the end.
ANCIENT CLa.s.sICAL AUTHORS.
aeSOPUS. Gr. Quarto. EDITIO PRINCEPS. A sound and perfect copy: ruled.
---- _Ital._ 1491. Quarto. In Italian poetry, by Manfred de Monteferrato.
---- 1492. Quarto. In Italian prose, by the same. Of these two versions, the Italian appears to be the same as that of the Verona impression of 1479: the cuts are precisely similar. The present is a very sound copy, but evidently cropt.
APULEIUS. 1469. _Printed by Sweynheym and Pannartz._ Folio. Editio Princeps. This copy is UPON VELLUM. It is tall and large, but not so fine as is the following article:
---- _Printed by Jenson._ 1472. Folio. A fine sound copy; in red morocco binding. Formerly belonging to Prince Eugene.
AULUS GELLIUS. 1469. Folio. Edit. Prin. This is without doubt one of the very finest VELLUM copies of an old and valuable Cla.s.sic in existence.
There are sometimes (as is always the case in the books from the earlier Roman press) brown and yellow pages; but, upon the whole, this is a wonderful and inestimable book. It is certainly unique, as being printed upon vellum. Note well: the _Jerom, Apuleius_, and _Aulus Gellius_--with one or two others, presently to be described--were Cardinal Bessarion's OWN COPIES; and were taken from the library of St. Mark at Venice, by the Austrians, in their memorable campaign in Italy. I own that there are hardly any volumes in the Imperial Library at Vienna which interested me so much as these VELLUM SWEYNHEYMS and PANNARTZ!
AUSONIUS. 1472. Folio. Editio Princeps. The extreme rarity of this book is well known. The present copy is severely cropt at top and bottom, but has a good side marginal breadth. It has also been washed; but you are only conscious of it by the scent of soap.
CaeSAR. 1469. _Printed by S. and Pannartz._ Folio. Edit. Princeps. A beautiful and unique copy--UPON VELLUM. This was formerly Prince Eugene's copy; and I suspect it to be the same which is described in the _Bibl.
Hulziana_, vol. i. no. 3072--as it should seem to be quite settled that the printers, Sweynheym and Pannartz, printed only _one_ copy of their respective first editions upon vellum. It is however but too manifest that this precious volume has been cropt in binding--which is in red morocco.
---- 1472. _Printed by the same._ Folio. This also was Prince Eugene's copy; and is much larger and finer than the preceding--on the score of condition.
CICERO DE OFFICIIS. 1465, Quarto. Here are _two_ copies: each UPON VELLUM.
One, in blue morocco, is short and small; but in very pretty condition. The other is stained and written upon. It should be cast out.
---- 1466. Quarto. UPON VELLUM. A beautiful copy, which measures very nearly ten inches in height.[122] In all these copies, the t.i.tle of the "Paradoxes" is printed.
CICERONIS. EPIST. FAM. 1467. Folio. Editio Princeps. Cardinal Bessarion's own copy, and unquestionably THE FINEST THAT EXISTS. The leaves are white and thick, and crackle aloud as you turn them over. It is upon paper, which makes me think that there never was a copy upon vellum; for the Cardinal, who was a great patron of Sweynheym and Pannartz, the printers, would doubtless have possessed it in that condition. At the beginning, however, it is slightly stained, and at the end slightly wormed. Yet is this copy, in its primitive binding, finer than any which can well be imagined. The curious are aware that this is supposed to have been the _first book printed at Rome_; and that the blanks, left for the introduction of Greek characters, prove that the printers were not in possession of the latter when this book was published. The Cardinal has written two lines, partly in Greek and partly in Latin, on the fly leaf. This copy measures eleven inches three eighths by seven inches seven eighths.
CICERO. RHETORICA VETUS. Printed by Jenson. When I had antic.i.p.ated the beauty of a VELLUM COPY of this book (in the _Bibl. Spencer._ vol. i. p.
349--here close at hand) I had not of course formed the idea of seeing such a one HERE. This vellum copy is doubtless a lovely book; but the vellum is discoloured in many places, and I suspect the copy has been cut down a little.
---- ORATIONES. _Printed by S. and Pannartz._ 1471. Folio. A beautifully white and genuine copy; but the first few leaves are rather soiled, and it is slightly wormed towards the end. A _fairer_ Sweynheym and Pannartz is rarely seen.
---- OPERA OMNIA. 1498. Folio. 4 vols. A truly beautiful copy, bound in red morocco; but it is not free from occasional ms. annotations, in red ink, in the margins. It measures sixteen inches and three quarters in height, by ten inches and three quarters in width. A fine and perfect copy of this _First Edition of the Entire Works_ of Cicero, is obtained with great difficulty. A n.o.bler monument of typographical splendour the early annals of the press cannot boast of.
HOMERI OPERA OMNIA. Gr. 1488. Folio. Editio Princeps. A sound, clean copy, formerly Prince Eugene's; but not comparable with many copies which I have seen.
BATRACHOMYOMACHIA. Gr. Without date or place. Quarto. Edit. Prin: executed in red and black lines, alternately. This is a sound, clean, and beautiful copy; perhaps a little cropt. In modern russia binding.
JUVENALIS. Folio. _Printed by Ulric Han_, in his larger type. A cruelly cropt copy, with a suspiciously ornamented t.i.tle page. This once belonged to Count Delci.
JUVENALIS. _Printed by I. de Fivizano _. _Without date_. Folio. This is a very rare edition, and has been but recently acquired. It contains twenty-seven lines in a full page. There are neither numerals, signatures, nor catchwords. On the sixty-ninth and last leaf, is the colophon. A sound and desirable copy; though not free from soil.
LUCIANI OPUSCULA QUaeDAM. Lat. _Printed by S. Bevilaquensis._ 1494. Quarto.
This is really one of the most covetable little volumes in the world. It is a copy printed UPON VELLUM; with most beautiful illuminations, in the purest Italian taste. Look--if ever you visit the Imperial Library--at the last illumination, at the bottom of _o v_, recto. It is indescribably elegant. But the binder should have been hung in chains. He has cut the book to the very quick--so as almost to have entirely sliced away several of the border decorations.