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In very intriguing binding with the monogram 'HD' surrounded with four 'Closed S's on both sides
[VIRGIL & OVID].[Elegantes Variorum Virgilio-Ovidio-centones de opificio mundi, Christo Deo, Deique Matre, SS Francisco et Car. Borromaeo ...].    Munich, A. Bergia for Raphael Sadeler, 1617). Sm. 8vo. Contemporary black morocco, spine ribbed, with alternately a small gilt fleur-de-lis ornament and a gilt 'closed S' in the 6 compartments, and the gilt monogram 'HD' surrounded by four 'closed S'-s (possibly of Henri IV and Gabrielle d'Estrées?) in centre on both sides, marbled endpapers. 98 pp. Very rare elegant and intriguing binding with the gilt monogram 'HD' surrounded with four 'closed S's. The book historian Hobson, specialized in the history of bookbinding has devoted an extensive article on the 'closed S' (see below) appearing on book bindings from ca. 1580 till 1640 and surrounding a monogram. Explicitly rejecting the suggestion made before that the monogram would be of King Henry IV (1553-1610), and Gabrielle d'Estrées (ca. 1571-1599), a famous French courtesan and favourite of the French King, Hobson considers various possibilities regarding the meaning of the 'closed S'. It could be an emblem of fidelity; or an emblem of the loyalty to the Bourbon family; it could also mean 'Sigillum' (seal). Among the book bindings listed in his article there are two other bindings with the monogram 'HD': nr. 320 (ca. 1600) and 322 (1602), making the attribution to Henry IV and Gabrielle d'Estrées improbable. The binding contains Centones: patchwork texts made up of parts of other texts which were composed since at least the 100s CE, at first from parts of Homer, later from Virgil and Ovid. They seem to have started as short school exercises and were later used as occasional pieces - frequently humorous, sometimes off-colour, also to prove the poet's wide reading. They were very popular in the Renaissance and were continued to be made till far into the eighteenth century. Deprived of its engraved title and plates, the text nevertheless is complete, as listed on recto of the first leaf: - p. 3: Second title. - p. 4: Laudatory poem "In centones Virgilianos'. - pp. 5-7: Letter to Dom. Sigismundus by Raphael Sadeler, dated Munich, 1 September 1617. - 1 (pp. 8-46): Proba Falconia, Centones. Scholars now attribute the Cento virgilianus to Valeria Faltonia (Falconia) Betitia Proba, a Roman woman living in the 4th century. She was married to Clodius Adelphius, a prefect of Rome. Cento virgilianus is made up of 694 lines of Virgil put together to form a biblical narrative: from the creation of the world to the ascension of Jesus into heaven after his resurrection from the dead. It is unoriginal in that, except for the opening, none of the words are Proba's own; it is original in the choices that she makes and the view of Christianity she shows. For many of her readers and hearers, the biblical story was unfamiliar; it was Virgil's words, especially those of the Aeneid, that were a basic part of the Roman educational system, memorized by children and recited by adults. Proba offers Christ as the new epic hero who can join (perhaps replace) those of classical literature. The work continued to be popular throughout the medieval period and into the early modern period (it appeared in print in 1472, perhaps the first work by a woman to do so). - 2 (pp. 49-65): Franciscus Pola, De Diva deipara Lauretana Ovidio-cento, ex lib. Metamorph.. The Centiones of Virgil and Ovid by the jurist and professor of Law Franciscus Pola (1568-1616) could not be found in print elswhere. - 3 (pp. 66-75): Bernardus Bruschus, De divo Carolo Pont. Virgilio-cento. Not printed before? - 4 (pp. 76-98): Carolus Scribani SJ (1561-1625), Ludus in seculi amorem inimicum amori divino. Charles Scribani was a professor of Philosophy in Antwerp (1598-1612) and Brussels (1619-1625) and the Provincial of the Jesuits in Flanders (1613-1619). The work was earlier printed by the heirs of Mart. Nutiius & Joh. Meursius in Antwerp in 1615 (Backer-Sommervogel VII, col. 985). Fine copy with complete text and in an extremely intriguing binding.- ( (Eight leaves with title and plates lacking).
VD17 23:327242C; STC German, 17th century, V 432; binding: G.D. Hobson, 'Le problème de l'S fermé', in: Hobson, Les reliures à la fanfare (Amsterdam 1970), pp. 85-119.
Related Subjects: 17th Century Bindings Classical Antiquity French Neo-Latin Philosophy Provenance Royalty Theology Add to Shopping cart |
€ 2.950,00
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All items are offered subject to prior sale. Prices are nett and in (€) EURO. VAT/BTW, postage, and insurance are not included.
Free shipping for orders over € 2,500. EU customers: if applicable, please quote your VAT number when placing orders.
Preferred mode of payment: by credit card through our secure online payment service, which is facilitated by Ogone. If you wish to make other arrangements, please contact us. Terms of sale
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