Early Printing & Manuscripts

BESSON, Jacques. Art et moyen parfaict de tirer huyle et eaux, de tous medicaments simples & oleogineux.
Paris, pour Galiot du Pré, 1573. 8vo. With a woodcut vignette on the title page, 16 woodcut illustrations in the text, and several decorated woodcut initials and woodcut headpieces. Early to mid-19th-century half marbled calf. "31" [= 32] ll. Full description

BÈZE, Théodore de. Psalmorum Davidis et aliorum prophetarum. Libri quinque. Argumentis et Latina paraphrasi illustrati, ac etiam vario carminum genere Latinè expressi.
Geneva, [Eustache Vignon or Henry II Estienne], 1579. 8vo. With a woodcut title border, numerous decorative woodcut initials, woodcut head- and tailpieces. Modern blind-tooled calf. [16], "715" [=709], [3] pp. Full description

[BIBLE - DUTCH]. Biblia. Dat is, de gantsche H. Schrift, grondelick ende trouwelick verduytschet.
Delft, Bruyn Harmansz. Schinckel (colophon: printed by Aelbrecht Heyndricksz.), 1590. 4 parts in 1 volume. 4to (23.5 x 17.5 cm). With a general title-page and three part-titles, each with the same woodcut device in a separate elaborately decorated cartouche, 3 engraved folding maps drawn by Petrus Plancius and executed by Baptista van Doetecum and ca. 20 woodcut illustrations in the text. Contemporary gold panel-stamped and gold-tooled calf over wooden boards, with spectacular finely engraved silver furnishings: 8 corner pieces, 2 clasps, 2 catch plates and 2 anchor plates, the catch and anchor plates with four female virtues; the corner pieces engraved with winged heads that appear to represent the four compass winds; and each clasp with an oval martyrdom scene flanked by birds, all 14 pieces of silverwork with floral and other decoration and with their edges cut to decorative shapes. Each board has the same central rectangular panel-stamp (98 x 61 mm), with an oval scene of Charity or Love/Caritas, with strapwork decoration around the oval (containing the maker's initials B and H) and inside the rectangle; gilt and elaborately gauffered edges. Rebacked in gold-tooled calf. [20], 236; 92; 84; 108, [54] ll. Full description

[BIBLE]. ESTIENNE, Robert (editor). Biblia breves in eadem annotationes, ex doctis ...
Including:
- Hebraica, Chaldaea, Graecáque & Latina nomina virorum ...
- Index rerum et sentiarum quae in Veteris & novi testamenti libris continentur.
Paris, Roberti Stephani [= Robert Estienne], 1532. 4 parts in 1 volume. Folio. With Estienne's large olive-tree device on the general title page and the divisional titles of parts 3 (interpretatio) and 4 (index) page, a woodcut decorative border around the word "Biblia" on the general title page, and 79 decorated metalcut (criblé) initials. Modern gold-tooled brown calf, with the title lettered in gold on the spine, red sprinkled edges. [10], 388; 94; 37; 57, [1], [1 blank] ll. Full description

[BIBLE - NEW TESTAMENT - LATIN]. Novum Jesu Christi Testamentum.
Antwerp, Christophe Plantin, 1564[-1565].
With: (2) [BIBLE - ALPHABETICAL LIST OF BIBLICAL NAMES AND PLACES]. Hebraea, Chaldaea, Graeca, et Latina nomina virorum, mulierum, populorum, idolorum, urbium, fluviorum, montiu[m], caeterorumq.; locorum quae in Bebliis sparsa leguntur ... cum Latina interpretatione: additis etiam Bibliorum locis in quibus ita scripta legu[n]tur: qua in re interpretationem quae in Bibliis Compluti excusis erat ....
Antwerp, Christophe Plantin, 1565. 2 works in 1 volume, the 1st in 2 parts. 16mo (11.2 x 7.2 cm). With Plantins woodcut compasses device on both title pages ("Labore et constantia"), with woodcut decorated initials throughout the first work (and 1 in the second). Hebrew and Greek types in 2nd work. Contemporary blind- and gold-tooled calf, each board with a doubler frame of blind double fillets with a small gold fleuron in the centre and a gold curl at each corner of the inner frame, gilt and elaborately gauffered edges, including floral decorations and six-pointed stars. 316, [68]; [111] [1 blank] ll. Full description

[BIBLE - PSALMBOOK]. PSALTERION. Prophetou kai Basileoos tou David [in Greek type] - Davidis Regis ac Prophetae Psalmorum Liber. Ad exemplar Complutense.
Antwerp, Christophe Plantin, 1584. 16mo (11,8 x 8 cm). With woodcut printer's device on the title page, the text is partially printed in Greek. Late 17th-century dark brown calf, with gold-stamped coat of arms of Pierre-Daniel Huet on both covers and gold-tooled dubbel-lined borders on covers and spine, (faded) red speckled edges. 267, [13] pp. Full description

BIENATO, Aurelio. In elegantiarum sex libros Laurentii Vallae disertissimi epithomata nuper recognita.
Venice, Giovanni Antonio Nicolini da Sabbio, for Melchiorre Sessa, 1539. Small 8vo. With Sessas charming woodcut device showing a cat with a mouse in its mouth, with motto "Dissimilium infida societas" below, repeated on the last page. Later half vellum, gold-tooled spine, boards covered with decorated paper. 63, [1] ll. Full description

[BINDO GUERRI of Siena] with a prologue by Antonius de RAMPIGOLLIS. Reportatorium Biblie aureum [= Biblia aurea].
[Augsburg], [printing office of the Abbey of Saints Ulrich and Afra], [in the period 1473 to early 1475]. Chancery (Foolscap) folio (28 x 22 cm). With the title in a note following the prologue, at the foot of the first page (and abbreviated at the end of the book), a 2-page alphabetical table of contents and the main text comprising 139 entries.
Burgundy goatskin morocco (ca. 1890?). With the armorial bookplate of Robert Proctor. [231], [1 blank] pp. Full description

BOCCACCIO, Giovanni. Laberinto damore ... con una epistola à Messer Pino de Rossi confortatoria del medesimo autore.
[Florence, heirs of Filippo Giunta the elder], 1525. 8vo. Contemporary sheepskin parchment with remains of a gold-tooled spine label, dark blue edges. 72 ll. Full description

BOCCACCIO, Giovanni. Le philocope ..., contena[n]t l'histoire de Fleury & Blanchefleur, divise en sept livres traduictz d'Italien en Francoys par Adrian Sevin ...
Paris, Jean André, bookseller to the University (colophon: printed by Denis Janot), 1542 (colophon: 24 February 1542). Folio (31.5 x 21.5 cm). With Jean André's woodcut device on the title-page and 15 woodcut illustrations plus 21 repeats in the text (mostly 5.5 x 8 cm, each in any of several 4-piece decorative borders, including 8 foot pieces, each with a different coat of arms; one illustration 13.5 x 8.5 cm with an 8-piece decorative border), 5 woodcut decorated initials (2 series) plus 1 repeat, and many spaces with guide-letters for manuscript initials (not filled in). French calf (ca. 1760?), richly gold-tooled spine, gilt edges. VI, CLXXIIII ll. Full description