•  Brunet, V, 115; De Backer-Sommervogel, VII, 532; Englisch, Der erotischen literatur, 145; Palau 294482. Contemporary alum-tawed pigskin, tooled in blind, spine with inked title; binding darkened and scuffed, with clasps now lacking and with leather torn over head and foot of spine (lacking at foot, with underlying vellum showing). Title-page with inked ownership inscriptions dated 1715, later institutional stamp in lower margin, and faint shadows of pencilled notations; front pastedown and one text page also with institutional stamps. Small spots of worming to lower margins of a number of leaves. Pages age-toned, with some instances of marginalia and underlining in early inked hands and occasionally in pencil (a handful of leaves in part III extensively annotated within text); a few spots of foxing, and one leaf with paper flaws partially obscuring a few letters. A big, solid volume.

In contrast to Savonarola's formal treatises, “you have here, Reader, [Girolamo's] genuine mirror . . . in which you may observe his countenance and your own” (cataloguer's translation, f. a3v) — a letter to his father on deciding to join the Order, one to the Countess della Mandorla upon her entering a convent, another to the Sisters of Santa Lena, a handful to his brethren at San Marco, and one to a Bolognese woman on communion.

The editor/translator Jacques Quétif (1618–98), a Dominican priest working chez Louis Billaine in Paris, produced a variety of Latin translations from original Tuscan texts. He brought forth this collection of letters hitherto unedited in France as an augmentation to his two-volume Vita . . . Savonarolae (1674), introducing each one with a few contextualizing lines and sometimes giving additional remarks about his Latin translations “ex Ethrusca.” All but the first three epistolae (in Latin only) appear in both languages, with the original (Tuscan) Italian on the verso and Latin (printed in italic) on the recto of each opening.

The privilege, dated 18 December 1673, grants rights to Billaine (d. 1681) and Sebastien Mabre-Cramoisy (1642–87), then director of the Royal Imprimerie.

Scattered woodcut ornaments embellish some pages. A list of errata appears early (a4) and two tables of contents, in Latin and Italian (pp. 275–80), appear at the close.

•  B. Montagnes OP, “Éditions et éditeurs de Savonarole dans la France d'Ancien Régime,” in Archivium fratrum praedicatorum, LXXV, pp. 159-178. On Savonarola's life and works, see: Villari, The History of Girolamo Savonarola (1863), and H. Lucas, Fra Girolamo Savonarola: A Biographical Study, p. xviii.   Contemporary calf, rebacked early on with spine very nicely gilt extra; corners of boards worn through. Title-page restored by leaf-casting and a small tear at the outer margin repaired, f. g3 with tear at outer margin breaking into text without loss, and limited crescent of very light waterstaining to upper margin of some leaves, the interior otherwise clean and very good. All edges speckled red.  (27057)

The text here is divided into sections for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet, followed by a guide to Hebrew abbreviations; an index of classical authors; and a comprehensive Latin index to the defined words, which are described in the text in Hebrew and Latin. The whole is printed in Hebrew, roman, and italic type, double-column, with intricate head- and tailpieces, ornaments, and initials in floriated, historiated, and factotum frames.

Provenance:  Early ownership inscription of Gervüin Pûtre ( or Pêctre?), front pastedown.

•  VD17 1:051625M; Vancil, Cordell Collection, 216; Zaunmüller 345 & Graesse, VI, 305 (Hanover issue). On Semitic-language dictionaries, see S. Segert, “The Use of Comparative Semitic Material in Hebrew Lexicography,” in Semitic Studies in Honor of Wolf Leslau, vol. II, ed. A.S. Kaye.   Contemporary speckled calf, spine gilt extra with raised bands, gilt morocco and manuscript paper labels, red speckled edges; joints cracking, free endpapers gone with early and late leaves creased and attachment of first ones affected, corners bumped and leather scuffed with some loss (sewing exposed at spine top).. Ex-library with old seminary pressure-stamp to title-leaf, this mostly detached and with print along that edge touched on both sides. Variously, waterstaining and browning; very mild worming, eye-catching on perhaps six leaves only; small marginal tears; a few ink and other splotches.  (30286)

Schlichtingius left his opus in the care of his sons and two friends, John Preussis and Stanislaüs Lubieniecius: In the preface to this volume, the latter discusses his life and work including his exile from Warsaw in 1647 and imprisonment in 1660. Three copious indices to scriptural sources and references within the text close the collection. Woodcut devices grace the sectional titles; refined tailpieces and large initials against a floriated background decorate the volume throughout. There is scattered Greek type.

Provenance:  Early inscription “Middeldorpf” on front flyleaf; bookplate and stamp of Rochester Theological Seminary (later the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School). Deaccessioned 2005.

Evidence of readership: Sparse contemporary ink annotations; underlining throughout, heavy in quires A–C, K, M, Eee, et alibi.

First edition: Published as the seventh and eighth volumes in a series of nine, comprising the Bibliotheca fratrum polonorum (1665–68, and a supplement in 1692).

•  Knijff & Visser, Bibliographia sociniana, 2003 (for Bib. fratrum polonorum, see 2001–2011); STCN Bock I: 770, 823; Wallace, Antitrinitarian Biography, 209.   Contemporary northern-European style vellum over boards ruled in blind, panels with blind-stamped central cartouches, blue speckled edges and evidence of ties; old spotting and soiling with joints (outside) partially open but binding sound. Ex-library as above: Bookplate on front pastedown, stamp to title-page (only), old library sticker to spine. Some dust-soiling and foxing, small tears, and small holes, plus a few natural paper flaws; contemporary inkstains on three or four leaves (one causing a hole at R4). A strong, interesting copy.  (29296)

A collection of relevant letters and documents in Latin and Dutch (“Tablinum dat is: Brieven ende documenten, dienende tot de Friesche historie”) is appended at the back. The volume is attractively printed in double columns (primarily black-letter), with an engraved title-page, 16 engraved portraits of Classical, medieval, and Renaissance figures, and a striking, full-page engraved coat of arms as well as decorative capitals and head- and tailpieces.

Moderately uncommon in libraries, with OCLC and NUC Pre-1956 locating only ten U.S. holdings (one of which has been deaccessioned), this is quite uncommon on the market.

Provenance:  Bookplate of “I.M.” (Isaac Meulman) on front pastedown, with his device and motto, “Grijpt als 't rijpt.” Meulman, a 19th-century merchant collector in Amsterdam, gathered an extraordinary library of Dutch history and theology, much of which was purchased at his sale by the Evangelisch Luthersch Seminarium of his home city.

•  Pirenne, Bibliographie de l'histoire de Belgique, 1232.   19th-century quarter vellum and speckled paper–covered sides, spine with very neatly inked title, author, and date information; joints starting from head, sides rubbed/scuffed with corners bumped, spine with inked call number and light discolored patch from now-absent label at foot. Half-title with small inked numeral in lower margin; lower edges of closed book institutionally rubber-stamped. One leaf with short tear from outer margin, touching shouldernote without loss of text; four leaves with lower outer corners torn away, not affecting text. Some instances of light offsetting; scattered faint spotting confined almost entirely to upper and outer margins. Front pastedown with bookplate as above, speckled with old staining. A strong copy with a pleasing provenance.  (24980)

A Roman edition also appeared in 1694, the year of the work’s first appearance; the present edition is more uncommon: We trace only one U.S. library copy of it.

•  DeBacker-Sommervogel, VII, 1079. Boards covered in music-printed paper from an 18th-century antiphonal, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label. Title-page and one other stamped by a now-defunct institution. Light spotting throughout, more pronounced to first and last few leaves; some corners dog-eared.

Searches of WorldCat and NUC Pre-1956 locate only four copies in U.S. libraries.

•  Medina, Mexico, 1680.   Contemporary stiff vellum, with “MANUAL” in old lettering on spine; binding stained and darkened, lacking ties, and a little sprung. Title-page soiled with square dark area of staining in lower outer corner extending into the text of the title. Waterstaining to early and late sections, and odd spottings variously; paper yet strong. Withal, a good+ copy of a scarce and important early Mexican medical-related item.  (29862)

Provenance:  On the recto of the second front fly-leaf is a presentation inscription: "For my honnord & best frind, Master John Bulteel." The most likely John Bulteel is the one who was created M.A. at Oxford in 1661, and later served as secretary to Edward, Earl of Clarendon.

•  Wing S2589; ESTC R6168; Clancy, English Catholic Books, 1641–1700, 897. On Sergeant, see: The Dictionary of National Biography, LI, 251–53. On Bramhall, see: DNB, VI, 203–206. On Hammond, see: DNB, XXIV, 242–46. Contemporary mottled calf, with remnants of modest double gilt rules on covers; rubbed and joints open but sewing holding. Browning from turn-ins on fly-leaves.

Indited in secretary hand with witnesses' signatures in both italic and secretary, the deed is followed by two blank pages on the interior (as usual); the witnesses were John Morroy (Morrey?) and John Best (Lest?), who both had fine signatures. Not unexpectedly, the widow signed with her mark. A docket on the last leaf's verso reads, “Xher [Christopher] Libthorpe To George Rothe” and another, in a second hand, adds, “and a Deed from Pickering to Post for a lot,” with a computation below on the same page.

The watermark appears to be a heart-shaped shield crowned by a fleur de lis, or trefoil; however we find no match in Briquet or Gravell.

•  Parry, E.C., “A Widow's Might,” Old York Road Historical Society Bulletin, Vol. XXVII, 1966. For the early history of Philadelphia, its incidents and denizens, see: Watson, Annals of Philadelphia (1850).   Previously folded in multiple places, and now along bifolium crease only; four small holes in the upper corner where previously stapled or pinned. “Lacing,” a result of the iron gall ink's exposure to moisture, is in evidence here but does not affect the legibility or stability of the deed, which is neatly repaired in two places at the outer edge of the first recto near the remnants of the red wax seal. An attractive relic of colonial American, Pennsylvania/Philadelphia, commercial, and women's history.  (29823)

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Provenance:  Signature on title-page of Howard Osgood, a prominent late 19th- and early 20th-century Hebrew scholar and noted collector.

•  Goldsmiths'-Kress 2558; Wing (2nd ed.) S3801B.   Contemporary speckled calf, spine gilt extra with gilt-stamped leather title-label, board edges stamped with gilt roll; corners and spine extremities worn, front joint cracked and back joint starting, sewing holding. Front pastedown with small French bookseller's ticket and early inked numeral. Title-page with small early inked owner's name and with institutional pressure stamp, reverse with pencilled numerals. Pages clean. (19511)

•  ESTC S103687; STC (rev.), 22734. ESTC S106857; STC (rev.) 22676. ESTC S104574; STC (rev.) 22747. ESTC S125529; STC (rev.) 22783. On Smith, see: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.   Later half black sheep in imitation of morocco with red marbled paper–covered boards; moderately rubbed. Ex-library: spine with faded traces of call number and label, front pastedown with institutional bookplate, rubber-stamp on bottom edges of closed book. Pp. 593–757 partially and very neatly paginated in red pen as in continuation of the first portion of the volume; some inked letter corrections as above. Pages age-toned, with intermittent moderate to dark spotting; final portion of volume with a few leaves waterstained. Shouldernotes occasionally shaved and page edges with occasional short tears. First two leaves with outer edges ragged; several with lower margins or outer corners repaired, in one case with loss of about ten words. On the whole, a volume that shows its age but is not giving in to it.  (24098)

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•  Palau 87353 (for Granada printing). Removed from a nonce volume. Title-page with shadow of pencilled numeral and faintly inked earlier numeral in upper margin. Pages creased but clean, with tiny hole along fold of last leaf.

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•  Not in Palau. Removed from a nonce volume. Title-page with shadow of pencilled numeral and faintly inked earlier numeral in upper margin. Pages creased but clean.

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An epitome of the “antiquarian” both in form and content, this is a marvelous compendium of royal history and lore.

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ESTC and OCLC locate only six U.S. institutional holdings of this item.

•  ESTC R203631; Wing (rev. ed.) S5005. On Spittlehouse, see: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online.   Later plain paper wrappers, spine reinforced with cloth tape. Title-page, first text page, and two other pages institutionally pressure-stamped; first text page with inked annotation in inner margin and numeral in lower margin. Light offsetting and spotting; first and last pages dust-soiled.  (25970)

•  ESTC T131282. On the Royal Society, see: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., XXIII, 791–93. On Sprat, see: The Dictionary of National Biography, LIII, 419–24. Recent quarter red morocco over marbled paper. Beading on spine bands and gilt quatrefoils in compartments; gilt-lettered title, author, and date. A foliate gilt roll at edge of leather on covers. Leaves sometime exposed to moisture and cockled, with shallow chipping and light to moderate soiling. Perforation-stamp on title-page, and rubber-stamps, including one on title-page, of a now-defunct library. All edges speckled red.

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Statius was called by Godolphin the “most eminent of the poets of his day”; the Encyclopaedia Britannica adds that he “was clearly the poet of society in his day as well as the poet of the court” (811). The Oxford Classical Dictionary notes that he was a favorite of Chaucer's, and he is, of course, an important character in Dante's Purgatorio — Dante regarding him as a Christian. His is the risen soul purged of sin for whom the earth quakes and the spirits shout, in Canto XXI, and he accompanies Virgil and Dante on the rest of their journey as their valued companion.

•  Brunet, V, 512; Dibdin, II, 424; Graesse 480; Willems 1166.   Contemporary vellum, spine with hand-inked title; vellum spotted, corners bumped, the effect of the spotting not so disturbing in hand as on screen. Front pastedown with private collector's rubber-stamp; front free endpaper with old repair. Back free endpaper with armorial pressure-stamp; pastedowns with small pencilled annotations, back pastedown with early inked numerals. A few scattered small spots, pages otherwise clean.  (27360)

•  Written by several notaries so hands are varied. Stitching starting to loosen. A very few leaves with small loss of text to a hungry rodent.  (27598)

The text here is in Latin with extensive quotations and citations in Greek, printed shouldernotes, and a 32-page “Supplementum linguae Graecae.” The “Specimen Lexici Hesychiani” is also appended, followed by separate indices for Greek and Latin.

•  VD17 12:121802D.   Contemporary half red sheep in imitation of morocco with marbled paper–covered sides, rubbed; spine with gilt-stamped author/title and gilt-dotted raised bands, faintly sunned with square of ink now obscuring a shelving number. Front pastedown with institutional bookplates, title-page and first text page pressure-stamped, all edges (closed) rubber-stamped, back pastedown rubber-stamped. A few instances of spotting, pages otherwise almost entirely clean. A good sound copy of this book.  (25837)