Search Results: Authors starting with M from Liber Antiquus

Florence: Giunta, 1515. FIRST GIUNTA EDITION, Edited by Niccolò Angeli (b. 1448). Hardcover. Fine. A very nice copy in 18th c. vellum with a single blind-ruled fillet and a citron morocco label, gilt; edges of text-block stained red. The text is in very good condition with scattered light foxing, heavier to a few leaves. A few minor stains, wax seal remnant on final leaf. Text in italic, with numerous passages in Greek. Illustrated with six geographical and astronomical diagrams, including maps of the world and the solar system, the world divided into five climate zones, with a section in the lower hemisphere labelled "nobis incognita", believed to be America. Final leaf with Giunta device (the Giunta lily supported by two putti holding cornucopias). Early ownership inscription on title. Written in the late fourth or early fifth century, during the twilight years of Roman paganism, Macrobius' "Saturnalia" and "Commentary on the Dream of Scipio" are two of the last works produced in antiquity that… Read More

Cologne: Opera et impensa Ioannis Soteris [Johann Soter], August, 1527. Hardcover. Fine. Bound in attractive contemporary blind-stamped calfskin over thin wooden boards, with floral tools and rolls of urns. Text possibly re-cased. Somewhat later end-papers. Internally fine. Title page a little dusty, light marginal damp-stain in gathering t, small tear in inner margin of final leaf. The text is printed in italic, with passages in Greek. Illustrated with eight woodcut diagrams, including maps of the Ptolemaic world (p. 110) and the solar system (p. 73); and the world divided into five climate zones. There are several large and fine woodcut initials. Soter's woodcut device appears on the title page. This edition is a reprint of the one edited by the German humanist Arnoldus Vesaliensis (1484-1534) published in Cologne in 1526 by Eucharius Cervicornus. Arnold of Wesel, linguist, poet, and philosopher, taught at Cologne University. A canon of Cologne Cathedral, Arnold was present at the Diet of… Read More

Rome: Valerio and Luigi Dorico, 1544. FIRST ILLUSTRATED EDITION, the first folio edition, and the third edition overall. Complete with the folding engraved map of Rome by Palatino (Frutaz 12). The often-lacking colophon leaf with the full-paged Pegasus printer's device (Ascarelli fig. 24) is also present. This is the first issue, the only issue to print the text of the privilege from Pope Paul III. Hardcover. Fine. This is an exceptionally large copy, with none of the usual trimming to the oversized woodcuts that illustrate the volume. It is one of the two largest copies that I have handled. Bound in contemporary limp vellum, laced through with the original rawhide sewing supports intact. The binding is entirely unsophisticated and shows signs of wear, particularly to the front board, which has suffered some loss to the vellum, exposing the paper lining the binding. The title page is soiled and has a faded ink spatter plus two old German institutional stamps in the blank margin. There is a discreet… Read More

Rome: Valerio and Luigi Dorico, 1544. FIRST ILLUSTRATED EDITION, the first folio edition, and the third edition overall. Hardcover. Fine. Complete with the folding engraved map of Rome by Palatino (Frutaz 12). The often-lacking colophon leaf with the full-paged Pegasus printer's device (Ascarelli fig. 24) is also present. This copy has features that will be of interest to the bibliographer. It has all of the points of the first issue, including the privilege from Pope Paul III, as well as the reset leaves and supplement with Marliani's response to the criticisms of Pietro Ligorio. The presence of the reset leaves indicate that this copy was bound around 1553, after Ligorio published his attacks against Marliani for his orientation of the map. (See Mortimer 284) This is a very large copy with none of the usual trimming to the oversized woodcuts that illustrate the volume. Bound in contemporary limp vellum with insignificant faults. The map is in especially fine condition with a few minor stains… Read More

London: Printed by I.B. for Nicholas Vavasour, and are to be sold at his Shop in the Inner Temple, neere the Church, 1633. FIRST EXTANT EDITION. Hardcover. Fine. Bound in modern full dark brown morocco circa 1984, in a custom box. A fine copy, lightly washed, unpressed, the paper preserving its rattle. All edges gilt. Provenance: Ximenes (sold 1993), with receipt and scan of a note from Steve Weissman regarding the sale. "Although written about 1589 and entered in the Stationers' Registers in 1594, no earlier edition than the present is known. The fact that the 1594 entry (Arber II 650) entitles the play, 'The famous tragedie' seems to indicate some relation with the present for which Vavasour made an original entry in 1632. However, the text here printed has been edited and revised by Heywood at a date which does not admit of this being a reprint of a 1594 edition while the use of the world 'famous' in the title of this edition may be from the tradition of the play-bills, as was the case in Cooke's… Read More

London: St. James's Palace, 7th June, 1556. Hardcover. Fine. Blind-stamped paper seal and address panel on verso "To our right trustie wellbeloved Counsillor Lord Paget de Beaudesert...", docketed on verso: "for thabsentes... Quene marie to my Lorde for process xvi" A remarkable letter, signed by Mary Tudor as Queen, instructing Lord Paget as Keeper of the Privy Seal to send messages to ten Tudor exiles: Sir Thomas Wroth, an unidentified individual whose name has been obliterated, Sir William Stafford, Sir Henry Neville, William Fiennes "Fyenenes", Roger Whetnall, John Hales, Anthony Meres, Jane Wilkinson, and Edward Isaac. The exiles are to commanded to return "wth all celeritie to repaire into this our Realme of England; But also to make "yor p[er]sonall apparance the laste of October next coming before us and our privie counsaill attendant on our p[er]sone... And then to answer to all such matters as shall at yor coming... nat failing hereof uppon the faith and allegiance ye owe and beare unto… Read More

Rome: Jacopo Mazzocchi, 1521. FIRST AND SOLE EDITION. Hardcover. Fine. Bound in 19th c. vellum (lightly soiled, endpapers renewed, text block resewn.) A very good copy with some minor interventions performed subsequent to the 19th c. rebinding: title soiled, first two leaves with repairs to the blank inner margin (far from the text), two lvs. with small adhesion scars costing a few letters, some stains in the gutter of the opening gatherings lightly washed but still visible, light damp-stain to outer corner of those same gatherings; scattered marginal damp-stains, lower corner of leaf P4 discreetly restored, no loss to the text. Leaf T5 and those in gathering [con] lightly toned, leaf [rum]2 spotted, leaf CLII with natural paper flaw costing a few letters, minor worming in lower margin of some gatherings, occ. spotting in final gatherings, lower blank corner of final leaf clipped, a few other minor blemishes. A foundational book on Roman epigraphy, Mazzocchi's "Epigrammata" is the first substantial… Read More

Berlin: Bey Ambros. Haude und Johann Carl Spener, 1755. FIRST GERMAN EDITION, previously published in French (see below). Hardcover. Fine. With 3 folding plates engraved by Nikolaus Friedrich Sauerbrey of the Prussian Academy of Sciences: Plate 1 illustrates the veins on the right side of the face, head, and neck, accompanied by over 310 annotations (inscribed: '[...] sculp. Mem: de l'Acad Tom vii'); Plates 2 and 3 show both sides of the human heart, including the superior vena cava, aorta and pulmonary artery (both images inscribed: 'Fig. I. Ad pag 182. Sperling ad Nat delin. Memoires de l'Acad. Tom VI, Sauerbrey Sculps'). Woodcut initials, head and tailpieces. Pasteboards, title label to spine; mild chipping to outer joints, minor restorations to binding, corners bumped. All edges sprinkled in red. A particularly fresh, clean and crisp copy in its contemporary binding. This work was first published in two parts, both in French (translated from Meckel's Latin original) in the journal of the Akademie… Read More

Tübingen: Ulrich Morhart the Elder, June, 1523. Hardcover. Fine. Three works bound in contemporary alum-tawed pigskin over wooden boards, ruled and stamped in blind, both clasps intact, with light stains and smudges. The text is in excellent, crisp condition, the last three leaves with a slim worm trail affecting a couple of words on each leaf. Contemporary manuscript index on front free endpaper. A beautifully preserved sammelband, featuring an early edition of Melanchthon's lectures on the Gospel of Matthew, and first editions of works by the Flemish theologian Andreas Hyperius (Gheeraerdts) and Justus Menius. I. Melanchthon's Annotations on Matthew: ONE OF NUMEROUS EDITIONS IN THE YEAR OF THE FIRST (Wittenberg). "On 19 September 1519 Phillip Melanchthon (who had arrived at Wittenberg the prior year) was promoted to Bachelor of Bible on the basis of successfully defending theses ten days ear¬lier. He was thus licensed to lecture on the content of the Latin text of Scripture, although he also… Read More

Wittenberg: Josef Klug, 1539. FIRST EDITION, VARIANT, with a correction for a passage on leaf G5v printed above the colophon. Hardcover. Fine. Bound in modern boards, overlaid with a printed leaf. A very good copy with deckled edges in gatherings A, B, and E. Elaborate woodcut initials, attractive architectural title page border, early minor annotations, very light occ. browning to edges, D3 with a clean tear, minor damp to margins of final 2 gatherings. "Philip Melanchthon's 'On the Authority of the Church and the Writings of the Ancient Fathers' (hereafter 'De ecclesiae autoritate') occupies a prominent place in the canon of his theological writings. Few texts of the Reformation period state so clearly the principles according to which the Fathers and the councils of the church may be considered authentic sources for Christian doctrine. However, to set the work within the canon of Melanchthon's theological work is not necessarily to say that other genres are not present in it... "In addition to… Read More

Leipzig: [Heirs of Valentin Bapst] in Officina Haeredum Valentini Papae elaborata atque edita, 1559. MELANCHTHON'S FINAL REVISION, published in the last year of his life, of the founding doctrinal text of the Lutheran faith. Hardcover. Fine. Bound in contemporary blind-stamped pigskin over wooden boards (one clasp preserved, light wear and soiling). The text is in excellent condition, with just 2 lvs. (d7-8) lightly spotted, and a small natural paper flaw to the blank upper margin of leaf p6 (just touching the page number). There are a few contemporary annotations in gathering f. Provenance: André Hachette (cat. 1953, no. 85).- Charles von der Elst.- Pierre Berès (catalogue Livres rares. Six siècles de reliures, 2004, no. 46). A superb contemporary blind-stamped pigskin binding, dated 1564 and signed M.O.C., by Thomas Krüger of Wittenberg, with full-length portrait panel stamps of Martin Luther (157 x 89 mm.) and Philip Melanchthon (156 x 90 mm.) based on portraits by Lucas Cranach the Younger… Read More

Rome: Antonio Lafreri, 1547. SECOND STATE (of 2), with that addition of Lafreri's address. Unidentified watermark barely visible. Hardcover. Fine. Signed at the lower right with the names of the engraver, "NB. LOTARINGVS F", and the publisher, "ANT. LAFRERI/SEQVANVS EXCVD. ROMAE/1547". At the foot of the image, the source is identified as Michelangelo's fresco in the Sistine Chapel, "HIEREMIAS/MICH. ANG. PINXIT IN VATICANO". A fine impression, rich in tone, with mild surface soiling, the sheet trimmed to the edges of the image. With distinguished provenance: on the verso of the sheet are the collector's stamps (Lugt 3616 and Lugt 617) of the Roman collector Luciana Simonetti (1917-2003); and the painter, print and drawing dealer, and publisher Antonio Cesare de Poggi (1744-1836). Michelangelo's frescoes on the Sistine Chapel ceiling caused a sensation even before they were finished; artists crowded the chapel, making drawings of the frescoes. Yet, before the mid-1540s, very few prints were made… Read More

[Without place but possibly Genoa]: July, 1749. Hardcover. Fine. Bound in contemporary full calf, double ruled boards, gilt decorations and title to spine. With an allegorical title illustration in black ink with the title written in brown ink within the shield. The text is written in brown ink. Illustrated with 17 full-page drawings in black ink. Text-block edges red. A fine, unpublished artillery manuscript describing strategies, battle formations, siege tactics, construction of fortified parapets, chemical recipes for making explosive projectiles and incendiary devices, precision targeting, etc. The manuscript was produced in the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont, more specifically, in the Duchy of Savoy, which included Genoa and had its capital at Turin. Because of its strategic military content, the manuscript was probably made and circulated in very few copies and distributed only within the highest ranks of the Piemontese military. The manuscript is known in two other copies, both produced for… Read More

London: Printed by S. Simmons next door to the Golden Lion in Aldersgate-street, 1678. THIRD EDITION of "Paradise Lost" bound with the SECOND EDITIONS of "Paradise Regain'd" and "Samson Agonistes"(see below). Hardcover. Fine. With the added engraved portrait of Milton by Dolle after Faithorne. Bound in contemporary paneled calf with ornaments in blind (discreet restoration to head and tail of spine and front hinge). The text is in fine condition, with just a few small blemishes and a few minor marginal dampstains; last leaf of second part with small tear at head. This edition of "Paradise Lost" includes commendatory poems by S.B. in Latin and by Andrew Marvell in English. Provenance: 17th c. signature of Elizabeth Hawkins at head of first title page. [with:] Paradise regain'd. A poem. In IV. books. To which is added Samson Agonistes. The author John Milton. London: Printed for John Starkey at the Mitre in Fleet-street near Temple-Bar, 1680 Octavo: 132, [4] p. Collation: (with the initial license… Read More

Basel: Episcopium F.[ratres], 1563. FIRST COLLECTED EDITION. Hardcover. Fine. With the woodcut illustration of the island of Utopia. A fine copy in 16th c. English calf (re-cased, small repairs, later gold lettering on spine, endpapers renewed. One of the original pastedowns- the leaf from an early English almanac -is visible on the inner rear board.) An excellent copy, the vast majority of the text very fresh, with just some very minor faults: inner margin of title page repaired (far from the text), light stain along top blank edge of first 4 lvs, slight marginal fraying to first 3 lvs., small stain on leaf p8, very light dampstain to the final three gatherings, very small marginal tears to final 3 lvs. The woodcut illustration of the Island of Utopia is on leaf d3. Printer's device on final leaf, verso. Bookplate: "William Salkeld, Esq.", possibly the Serjeant-at-law and law reporter of that name (1671-1715). First edition of the collected Latin works of Sir Thomas More, including the "Utopia"… Read More

Florence: Nella stamperia Imperiale, 1759. FIRST EDITION. Hardcover. Fine. An exceptional copy bound in contemporary carta rustica. A few leaves creased, boards very lightly soiled. The text is adorned with attractive woodcut initials and headpieces. Printed on thick, crisp paper with broad margins; a number leave with the lower edges untrimmed. A crisp, bright copy in original three-quarter calf and speckled paper over boards, spine with floral ornaments. The text is adorned with attractive woodcut initials and headpieces. First edition of the first guide to one of the world's most important museums. This guide to the Medici collections of the Uffizi Gallery was written by the museum's first custodian, who had been appointed after the gallery's conversion to a public institution under the terms established by the last of the Medici, the Palatine Electrix Anna Maria Ludovica, in 1737. The custodian, Giuseppe Bianchi, is a notorious figure. He was later found to have robbed the Uffizi of works of… Read More

Florence: Per Gaetano Cambiagi, 1792. Hardcover. Fine. Bound with: Massi, Pasquale, da Cesena Indicazione Antiquaria del Pontificio Museo Pio-Clementino in Vaticano, stesa da Pasquale Mass Cesenate Custode del Museo Stesso/ Catalogue Indicatif des Antiquitès Composant Le Musèe Pie-Clèmentin au Vatican par Paschal Massi de Cesèns Garde du dit Musèe. Roma: Presso Lazzarini, 1792 Two Octavo Volumes in one: 15.5 x 10 cm. I. (Cambiagi): 279 p. Octavo: A-Q8, R12. II (Massi): [4] 216 pp. Collation: [ ]2, a-m8, n12 (- blank [ ]1) FIRST EDITIONS OF BOTH WORKS. Bound in early 19th c. quarter sheep and boards, with vellum corners. Gilt title label to spine "Galleries di Florence et Rome". Some wear to boards and corners, hinges lightly rubbed. The text is in fine condition, edges of the text-block stained an even yellow. I. Guide to the Uffizi: An important guide to Florence's Uffizi galleries, documenting the radical re-organization of the Medicean collections under the Dukes of Lorraine, and in… Read More

Padua: Per Paolo Frambotto. Con Licenza de'Superiori, 1656. FIRST EDITION. Hardcover. Fine. An excellent, crisp copy bound in 17th c. speckled calf, spine richly tooled in gold, with very discreet repairs to the end-caps and only light wear. A crisp copy with minor blemishes: Small stain to upper corner of first two lvs., a smaller one to upper margin of lvs. A1-3, leaf V3 with printer's fingerprints in margin, sm. stain at head of 1st index leaf, a few marginal paper flaws, edges sprinkled red and green. 1. Bookplate of the statesman, bibliophile, and collector Nicolas-Joseph Foucault (1643-1721), first Marquis de Magny, who commissioned archaeological excavations at the Ancient Baths of Alauna in Valognes. 2. Bookplate of the Earls of Macclesfield. The Museo Moscardo: A fine copy of this catalogue of the celebrated collection of natural history specimens, archaeological remains, and ethnographic objects, assembled by the Veronese Count Lodovico Moscardo. Moscardo's museum catalogue, like those… Read More