Sixteenth-century pierced vellum binding
The last edition revised by the author
10 BIBLE; O.T., Psalms, Latin. Davidis regii prophetae Psalterium, vario genere carminis latine redditum. Schmaldkalden: [Michael Schuck, 1590] £15,000 [ 159867 ] Quarto, ff. [149]. Contemporary binding of vellum decorated in silver and elaborately pierced to reveal contrasting silk underlays (green on front cover and red on rear), spine decorated with fleurons in compartments, edges gilt and gauffered. Housed in a custom green morocco box. Woodcut arms on title, large woodcut arms on verso of final leaf. Minor wear, splits in front joint, spine darkened, silver now oxidized, ties missing, but in remarkably good condition, occasional very light spotting internally, but a very good copy. ¶ Adams B 1477; Foot, The History of Bookbinding as a Mirror of Society , pp. 20 & fig. 30; Nixon, Broxbourne Library, pp. 105–7; VD 16B 3258. L. Bickell, Bucheinbände des XV. bis XVIII. Jahrhunderts aus Hessischen Bibliotheken , Leipzig, 1896, pl. 29. Provenance: Susan Morgan (18th-century ownership inscription on front flyleaf); Walter Ashburner (1864–1936), with his ownership inscription on title noting that it was given to him by Mary Lewellin; Maurice Burrus (1882–1959), acquired from Lauria in 1938.
11 CERVANTES, Miguel de. El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid: Juan de la Cuesta, for Francisco de Robles, 1608 £225,o00 [155187] Large octavo (181 × 134 mm). Mid-19th- century deep red morocco signed E. Niédrée (of Paris, active 1836–54), spine with blind ruled raised bands, compartments panelled in blind, gilt lettering to second and third, covers framed with a double blind rule, inner dentelles richly gilt, marbled endpapers, edges gilt and marbled, green silk bookmarker. Tiny spot to front cover, joints very slightly rubbed, glue traces to verso of front free endpaper, title page and last leaf dusty, small hole to one leaf due to paper flaw affecting three words, crease to one lower outer corner also due to a paper flaw causing minor offset of a few words on three lines, short closed tear to one outer margin skilfully repaired, small light ink stain to two leaves and rare light spots not affecting reading, contents thoroughly washed. ¶ Palau, 51982; Salva 1549; Ruis 8; see Printing and the Mind of Man 111 (first ed. Madrid 1605). F. Rico, ed., Don Quijote de la Mancha , 2004.
First edition of Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse’s verse translation of the Psalms, elaborately bound for presentation in pierced vellum, probably by the Schmalkalden binder Hans Bapest von Erfurt. Pierced vellum bindings are extraordinarily rare. A substantial proportion of those known from this period are found on copies of the second edition of this work (Schmalkalden, 1593): six are known in total, all clearly by the same workshop (these include Bodleian, 4o A 111 Th. BS, British Library BL c27e7, and the three illustrated in Bickell). This example appears to be the only copy of the first edition so bound.
A splendid copy of the rare third Madrid edition, the best printed by Cuesta, of the first part of Cervantes’s masterpiece. Widely believed to have been revised by the author, who was living “two steps away from the printing shop” (Rico, p. xcii), this text contains additions and alterations of fundamental importance for the modern critical editions. Provenance: i) Kirkman Daniel Hodgson (1814–1879), British banker, partner in the mercantile firm Baring Brothers and Co. (Barings Bank), then governor of the Bank of England and Member of Parliament, with his bookplate; ii) The Newberry Library, with book plate and deaccession label; iii) Karl Tilden Keller (1872–1955), American businessman, Harvard College graduate (AB 1894), and collector of rare books and objects relating to Don Quixote , with his bookplate; iv) offered by Keller as a gift to the Harvard College Library, with bookplate and deaccession stamp of the Library.
SIXTY FINE ITEMS
All items are fully described and photographed at peterharrington.co.uk
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