{"title":"Germany","description":"\u003cp\u003eGerman history, literature, philosophy, and culture.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"walther-johann","title":"WALTHER, Johann","description":"\u003cp\u003eCrisp copy of a German poem written to commemorate the death of Martin Luther in 1546, when the volume was first printed in five impressions (no priority has been established). Johann Walther (or Walter) (1496 1570), the  father of Lutheran church music , was composer and then director of the chapel choir of Frederick III, Duke of Saxony. In 1524, he published  Geistliches Gesangbuechleinin , a hymnal for Lutheran choirs, with a foreword by Martin Luther himself; the  Deutsche Messe  followed in 1527. For two decades, Walther worked incessantly with Luther to adapt Catholic church music to the needs of Lutheran liturgy, for instance, by introducing hymns into the mass and encouraging people to sing them at home and make them part of their everyday lives. The  Epitaphium  is Walther s tribute to a religious personality who had also become a close friend. The poem depicts Luther as a heroic figure whom Death cannot overpower and the Devil s bite cannot hurt, a soul who has escaped from the hellish torments reserved to Papists to revive in the teachings of God s word and the light of Christ. The fine woodcuts after Lucas Cranach the Younger immortalise Luther and Frederick III, one of the earliest defenders of Lutheranism and founder of the University of Wittenberg, where Luther taught. \u003cbr\u003e\n \u003cbr\u003e\n  The striking binding is made of two non-sequential leaves from the same manuscript in superb condition. It is probably a C15 German lectionary, with excerpts from the Acts of the Saints and Martyrs, associated with their calendar dates of worship. The front cover features passages from the acts of St Mathias (February 24) and the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste (March 10), while on the back are extracts from the lives of St Peter and Paul (including Acts 1:21-26 and 12:2-8), interspersed with orations.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WALTHER, Johann","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57816138580303,"sku":"L2748","price":4950.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/frontcover_2d4127df-f89c-4889-9c1d-2abc3a65732f.png?v=1781795192"},{"product_id":"maruli_-marko","title":"MARULIƒÜ, Marko","description":"\u003cp\u003eFirst edition of this very uncommon, complete German translation of Marko Maruli  s  De institutione bene vivendi per exempla sanctorum  (1498). One of the  fathers  of Croatian literature, Maruli (1450-1524) was an aristocrat from Split who probably studied law at Padua, and, except for occasional travelling to Venice and Rome, spent most of his life in Dalmatia. He was a prolific, polyglot author and translator his production spanning sonnets in Italian and a partial translation of Dante s  Inferno  into akavian. Whilst he shared the contemporary humanist interest in classical antiquity, Maruli  s religious and moral ideals were deeply rooted in the medieval exegetic and hagiographic tradition, as epitomised by his most successful and much translated  De institutione . Divided into six books, it teaches the tenets of the good Christian life through accounts of those of exemplary holy figures, using as sources the works of theologians like Jerome, Saint Gregory, and Eusebius.  De inventione  suggests that humankind can defy the flaws imposed by the original sin and be rescued by Christ through faith and profoundly Christian conduct. The  Sechs Bücher  rectified the incomplete German translation of  De institutione  published in Cologne in 1563. In the preface, Herman Baumgartern explains how he was urged by the Bishop of Augsburg to re-translate Maruli  s work into German so that Catholic priests, nuns and monks might read it during meals or in solitude to meditate on the exemplary life of Christ, the Virgin Mary, the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, and worthy religious, to comfort laymen and parishioners at a moment in which the German Church was under threat. Among the subjects for meditation is a section on suffering and how the lives of the martyrs can teach us how to endure pain, resist the devil and face death. A long table of contents lists all the holy figures mentioned in the book and each of their exemplary actions, so that readers may look up specific  loci  for meditation. Maruli  s work attracted the interest of Jesuits like Francis Xavier for its structural similarities to Ignatius of Loyola s contemplation exercises, including meditations on the life of Christ.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MARULIƒÜ, Marko","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57816140611919,"sku":"L2768","price":3750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/L2768.jpg?v=1781795183"},{"product_id":"albrecht-lorenz","title":"ALBRECHT, Lorenz","description":"\u003cp\u003eA remarkably clean copy of this German astrological almanac a rare survival of C16 ephemera. A former Lutheran preacher, Lorenz Albrecht (1540-1606) was the author of German and Latin religious works and re-converted to the Catholic faith in 1567.  Evangelisch Prognosticon  testifies to his disillusionment with the Protestant Reformation  the Gospel of Luther  and his intent to oppose this heresy through the popular genre of the almanac, imitating Johannes Nas s  Practica Practicarum . As usual in astrological almanacs, it discusses planets, constellations, zodiacal signs and the seasons and their influx on humans with references to ancient authorities like Pliny and Manilius; but the tone is grim and planets are seen as harbingers of vices. The ominous statement by which the seat of the devil is at the centre of the earth and heresy is at the centre of the universe shows how Albrecht s almanac presented the influence of the cosmos as something that Catholics should resist through will and spiritual exercise so as not to succumb to the Protestant heresy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ALBRECHT, Lorenz","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57816155816271,"sku":"L2915","price":2250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/titlepage-1_3248c45c-1777-4f47-b490-5a18443dd348.png?v=1781794913"},{"product_id":"drexel-jeremias-1","title":"DREXEL, Jeremias","description":"\u003cp\u003eRare edition of a curious booklet illustrating the dreadful tortures for sinners in hell, first published in Munich in the same year. Raised a Lutheran, Jeremias Drexel (1581-1638) converted very early to Catholicism and joined the Society of Jesus. He was a prolific and successful writer of devotional books, widely read and translated. Besides teaching rhetoric in Dillingen, he served as a preacher for 23 years at the court of Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, and his wife, Elizabeth of Lorraine. This work is said to have been presented to them, though the dedication addresses the apostolic nuncio in Germany, bishop Pier Luigi Carafa (1581-1655), whose arms appear at foot of title.  \u003cbr\u003e\n Eight torments are described, commented on, and vividly illustrated with fine engravings, i.e. darkness, lamenting, hunger and thirst, stench, fire, excruciating remorse, ill company and desperation. The engraving related to lamenting shows an improbable music sheet with notes and lyrics ( Vae vae vae, ah ah ah ah, heu eheu aeternitas ) of the chant of sorrow sung by the damned.  \u003cbr\u003e\n This copy comes from the library of two eminent British collectors, William Beckford (1760-1844) and the 10th Duke of Hamilton (1767-1852). It was bought at the famous  Hamilton Palace sale  at Sotheby s on 11 July 1882, lot 2625, as the additional leaf makes clear. The printed note is by the winner of the bid, Bernard Quaritch himself (1819-1889). Doubtless bound for Beckford, such a sumptuous binding is quite remarkable on a small format edition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DREXEL, Jeremias","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57820123660623,"sku":"L1878","price":4250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/wholebook_1dd74e09-db28-460c-8ea9-19be8037a933.png?v=1781794855"},{"product_id":"giegher-mattia","title":"GIEGHER, Mattia","description":"\u003cp\u003eSecond edition of this very rare and beautifully illustrated collection of three culinary treatises on table service and food carving by Giegher, including the very first work on the art of folding table linen. Complete copies, remarkably including Giegher s portrait (often missing) are extremely rare.  \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n Li tre trattati  was a popular book: this second (posthumous) edition contains a new letter to the reader by the printer Frambotto, warning of a plagiarised version. Giegher s plates have been reproduced and copied in many later cookbooks. \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n The Bavarian Mattia Giegher (born Mathias J‚àö¬ßger, c. 1589-1632) was a native of Moosburg who moved to Padua at the age of 22. Here, he worked as a  trinciante  (meat carver) and  scalco  (banquet manager), organising banquets and waiting tables for the prestigious German community of jurists at the University of Padua. At the time, aristocratic banquets were of enormous cultural importance, organised by courts and as a way of displaying wealth and power, consolidating friendships and forming political alliances.  Li tre trattati , first published in 1629, is a fascinating manual by Giegher containing all the information required for preparing and serving food to high-class clients. It comprises the expanded versions of two earlier treatises    Lo scalco  (1623) and  Il trinciante  (1621)   with the addition of a new and innovative work on napkin folding (never printed separately). At the time, fine dining was becoming more formal and elaborate in presentation: this work is an extraordinary witness of the unusual and extravagant dining practices of the rich and famous. \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n In his  Trattato delle piegature  (Treatise on folding), Gieger for the first time describes in detail the art of napkin folding, using images for teaching and creative purposes. In addition to explaining how to fold napkins for wiping hands and mouth, he shows how to create complex artistic sculptures, called folded centrepieces. Renaissance table linens were expected to surprise and entertain: the plates in this treatise depict centrepieces shaped as birds, lions, fish, a crab, a tortoise, a dog, heraldic and mythological creatures, even a ship with four sails. These sculptures were not merely decorative, but objects with a symbolic meaning to be discussed by the participants. Interestingly, rather than providing models of certain shapes to be reproduced, Giegher teaches how to master the basic folding techniques (fan, curved and herringbone) so that the aspirant folder could invent his own designs. \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\nThe second treatise is dedicated to the profession of the  scalco , sometimes translated as  head steward  or  banquet manager . The scalco was responsible for the organisation of every aspect of the banquet and for its success, from hiring the chefs and selecting what dishes to serve, to setting the tables. In this treatise, Giegher summarises the knowledge and skills that a scalco needs to possess: the first part explores the seasonality of foods indicating the best months of the year for eating certain meats, vegetables, fruits and mushrooms. Then, the author proposes long menus for meals that are perfect for different seasons or occasions: for example, the menu of a  breakfast of different fruits for noblewomen , interestingly including a  pizza , in this case being a particular type of cake. At the end, five plates show the proper placement of dishes on a table, and which foods they should contain. \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\nFinally,  Il trinciante  (The meat carver) is a treatise on food carving and on the profession of the carver,  whose office is most honoured . After listing the moral qualities of the perfect trinciante, Giegher delineates the correct posture and movements for carving (in order to avoid making mistakes and being laughed at), and then describes all sorts of poultry, fish, red meats, as well as fruit, cakes and pies   showing in numerous plates where and how to cut them: for example, carving a turkey requires 21 separate steps. Two charming plates illustrate decorative fruit peeling. As customary in treatises about professions, Giegher discusses his tools and how to clean and sharp them: two large fold-out plates depict an impressive array of knives, slicers and two-pronged forks (used to hold the meat steady).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"GIEGHER, Mattia","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57859650224463,"sku":"L3570","price":12500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/L3570-3.jpg?v=1781793724"},{"product_id":"rondelet-guillaume-2","title":"RONDELET, Guillaume.","description":"\u003cp\u003e.Rare first edition of this medical work on urine by Rondelet. An esteemed and successful physician, Guillaume Rondelet (1507-1566) was Regius professor of Medicine at the University of Montpellier, where he also served at chancellor towards the end of his life. He wrote various treatises on therapeutics and pharmacology, which are considered original contributions as he rarely cites other authors. Rondelet is also well-known as a naturalist for his  De piscis marinibus , a leading treatise on marine animals and fish. \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n . Tractatus de urinis  is a concise but detailed treatise focusing on the examination of urine for diagnostic purposes. In the first chapter, Rondelet argues that the study of urine is  certainly useful and necessary to understand illnesses, but also health, as well as to make diagnoses . After explaining the etymology of the word, Rondelet describes what urine is (a product of digestion, primarily produced in the stomach) and what kinds of illnesses can be detected through uroscopy: e.g. diseases of the liver and fevers, but not diseases affecting the heart. Many chapters are concerned with the different types of urine (e.g.  tenuis ,  crassa ,  alba ), their colours and appearance (e.g.  clear  or  cloudy ), the presence of sediments (e.g.  arena  = sand, or calculi) and other substances (e.g. blood), and how they can be linked to different diseases. At the end is a curious addition, titled  The story of Didymus Obrecht , in which Obrecht himself, a physician of Strasbourg, confirms that one day he expelled worms through urine. An interesting note by the editor reveals that Rondelet did not want to publish this treatise as he could not revise it, and asks the reader to be indulgent towards this edition. \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n .The manuscript autograph is probably that of Pierre Gauthier (1746-1820), French bookseller and publisher active at Bourg-en-Bresse about 1772 and later at Lyon (see Jean-Marc Barf éty,  Libraires hauts-alpins dans la France des Lumi√®res , 2019).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"RONDELET, Guillaume.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57859653665103,"sku":"L3968","price":2350.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/L3968-3-1.jpg?v=1781793717"},{"product_id":"josephus-flavius-4","title":"JOSEPHUS, Flavius.","description":"\u003cp\u003e.A good copy of Flavius Josephus  collected works, edited and revised by the eminent German scholar Sigismundus Gelenius (1497-1554). This edition is a French reproduction of the original, published the previous year by Froben in Basle, featuring a charming new woodcut title page. Other Parisian printers (Jean Petit, Ambroise Girault and Jacques Kerver) republished it in 1535: Froben could not take action against them as his privilege was only valid within the Holy Roman Empire   he did, however, immediately sue two printers of Cologne who pirated this work in 1534.  \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n .Josephus Flavius (c. 37-100) was a Romano-Jewish writer and military leader, author of a number of historical, apologetical and autobiographical works which together comprise a major part of Hellenistic Jewish literature. This edition comprises his major works. The Latin text (mostly attributed to Rufinus of Aquileia) was heavily revised   on the basis of two Greek manuscripts   by Gelenius, who introduced many new readings translating Greek expression into humanistic Latin.  \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n . Antiquitates Judaicae  (The Antiquities of the Jews) recounts the history of the Jews from creation up until the revolt of AD 66-70 and contains contemporary references to Jesus, James (the  brother  of Jesus), John the Baptist, Pontius Pilate, Herod the Great, Agrippa I and Agrippa II, as well as the Sadducees, the Pharisees and the Zealots.  Bellum Judaicum  (History of the Jewish War) gives a detailed account of the revolt of AD 66-70 and includes Josephus  famous description of the siege of Jerusalem.  The Jewish War not only is the principal source for the Jewish revolt but is especially valuable for its description of Roman military tactics and strategy  (Britannica).  Contra Apionem  (Against Apion) is a defence of Judaism against the Greek Alexandrine grammarian Apion, in which Josephus demonstrates the antiquity of Jewish religion and the authenticity of the Jewish Bible. The last treatise, traditionally ascribed to Josephus but now acknowledged to be spurious,  De imperio rationis sive de Machabaeis , is an account of the martyrdom of the seven Maccabees and their mothers.  \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n . .French impressions of Froben s edition are rare, we were able to locate only two copies bearing Mac√® s imprints in libraries (Ohio State University Library, Biblioteca Nacional de Chile).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"JOSEPHUS, Flavius.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57859653828943,"sku":"L3827","price":1750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/L3827-3.jpg?v=1781793716"},{"product_id":"minderer-raymund","title":"MINDERER, Raymund.","description":"\u003cp\u003e.First edition of this fascinating work by the German physician Raymund Minderer (1570-1621), addressing the most common misconceptions, superstitions and false notions concerning medicine and its practice in the 16.th. century. In the dedication, Minderer states that Medicine, the most noble and important of all the arts, has been  confused, weakened, ruined and destroyed by (men s) negligence, insolence and impudence throughout the centuries ; for this reason, Medicine cries and sighs. The work is divided into 26 chapters, each beginning with  Medicine cries because , presenting and explaining Medicine s complaints: for example,  medicine cries because in the past it was exercised by great kings, priests and philosophers, and nowadays by farmers ,  medicine, which is simple and right, complains because it has been turned from the way of truth by superstition  or  Medicine, which is beneficial and salutary, is considered guilty of murder because of the crimes and errors of  Pseudo-chemists    this last section, following Paracelsus, argues in favour of a correct use of chemistry in medicine. In an interesting chapter, Minderer indicates music as a means of healing in the treatment of mental diseases, such as melancholia. Throughout the work, the author also outlines the differences between Paracelsianism and Galenism. \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n .  \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n .After obtaining his doctorate at Ingolstadt, Minderer served as a military doctor for a few years and then settled in Augsburg, where he was appointed city doctor. He also worked as a consultant for Emperor Matthias in Vienna and Elector Maximillian I. Remarkably, Minderer introduced the use of sulfuric acid in the treatment of fevers, and discovered ammonium acetate, which is still known today as  Liquor (or Spiritus) Mindereri . A prolific writer, he is the author of works on military surgery (Medicina militaris, 1620), the plague (De pestilential liber, 1608) and pharmacology (De Calcantho, 1618).  \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n .  \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n .The finely engraved frontispiece i  by the celebrated German engraver Lucas Kilian (1579-1637), famous for his portrait of Albrecht D√ºrer, one of the best-known representations of the famous painter to posterity.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MINDERER, Raymund.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57859655336271,"sku":"L3955","price":1950.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/DSC_9176.jpg?v=1781793712"},{"product_id":"agricola-johannes","title":"AGRICOLA, Johannes.","description":"\u003cp\u003e.Carefully used copies, charmingly bound and extensively annotated, of the first and second part of this important early collection of German proverbs    one of the major literary documents of the Reformation  (Gilman, p.78). The first part   here in one of 5 first editions published in 1529 (priority not established)   comprises 300 proverbs; the second work, first published here, has another 450. In these two works, Johannes Agricola (1494-1566), a German Protestant Reformer acquainted with Luther, combined the medieval tradition of vernacular proverbs with Erasmus s humanist Latin  Adagia . At the same time, he  polemized  the content and gave it a different form   using the genre of the moralizing exemplum - so as to transmit Reformed ideas (Gilman, p.78). Indeed, each numbered proverb, accompanied by a Latin or Greek version, is followed by a short explanation in German, presented as a traditional harmless commentary with moral intent, but actually imbued with Reformation and nationalistic polemics, including biographical details of the early Reformers and observations on contemporary German economics and politics.  \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n .The extensive annotations in this copy provide stellar evidence of ways in which contemporary Reformed readers engaged with Agricola. E.g., the annotator glossed  This is what false tongues and teachers have done  with  Thomas M√ºntzer , an early Reformer who eventually rejected Luther s ideas. He highlighted a passage on Luther s difficult position in 1518, glossing it with a reference to his work (1520) on the  Captivitas Baylonica  of the Roman Church. Other episodes from Luther s career are glossed with a date and  M L . He was interested in Agricola s account of the fortunes and activities of the merchant Jakob Fugger,  who pushed trade so hard like nobody in living memory , and who obtained with a bribe a monopoly over Portuguese spices (glossed with  Monopolia p[ro]hibita  by our annotator). Clearly interested in trade, he glossed with  Emporia Germanica  a passage on commercial centres, i.e., Antwerp, Frankfurt and Leipzig. He also marked references to sources, e.g., Erasmus and Huss, and added verse in German from his own personal knowledge. The slightly later annotators were more interested in the proverbs per se.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"AGRICOLA, Johannes.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57859656253775,"sku":"L3949","price":5950.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/L3949-6.jpg?v=1781793711"},{"product_id":"catholic-church-4","title":"[CATHOLIC CHURCH].","description":"\u003cp\u003eA good, unsophisticated copy ‚Äì in an attractive, strictly contemporary binding and with early ms. annotations ‚Äì of this most successful Catholic martyrology. This was the last edition printed before the Reformation. Used intensively for the writing of sermons, it is infrequently found in such well-preserved, genuine state. This copy specifies a contemporary price of 3 florins for the book, probably already bound, as the price is written on the ffep, and a later price of 17 florins, dated 1740, which provides interesting evidence for the history of book prices.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFirst published in Basle in 1474, this anonymous compilation, like the ‚ÄòLegenda aurea‚Äô, brought together the lives of the Apostles as well as saints, martyrs, confessors and virgins from late antiquity and (fewer) from the early middle ages. Each section includes short accounts on the life, death and miracles of each exemplary figure, with a selection from saints‚Äô days in the Breviarium Romanum (Kalendae, Idus, Nonae). The choice provides clues as to the original authorship and intended readership: e.g., Wenceslas (10th century), mostly venerated in Bohemia and England, embodied political resistance against the Holy Roman Empire and was especially dear to C15 and C16 Hussites; Winibald (8th century) was a German monk and missionary of English origin, whose relics were donated to Henry VII of England in 1492.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe early C16 Germanic annotator of this copy, a cleric and preacher, copied down an abridged version of the ‚Äòlectio‚Äô for Christmas Eve as well as the Vulgate text of Isaiah 2-7, with a marginal note reminding him to highlight the legend of St Bernard. The Isaiah excerpt was intended for a ‚Äòlectio capitularis‚Äô ‚Äì a sermon delivered at a ‚ÄòCapitul-Kirche‚Äô, a collegiate church, generally a cathedral. In this case, the annotator specified that the place of the sermon was a church dedicated to St Paul. The late C17 annotator, the unidentified Joannes Petrus H√∂rner, was probably an apostolic legate; he noted an episode from the life of St John Chrysostom. The C18 annotator, Joannes Jacobus Franciscus, Count of Eltz-Kempenich, was a theology student at Strasbourg in 1764 and canon at Mainz and Trier, like his famous relative Philipp Karl von Eltz-Kempenich (d.1743), Archbishop-Elector of Mainz. He glossed two passages with references to Charlemagne and Pipin.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"[CATHOLIC CHURCH].","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57859656352079,"sku":"L3633","price":2850.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/L3633-6.jpg?v=1781793710"},{"product_id":"missal-5","title":"MISSAL","description":"\u003cp\u003eA fine German liturgical volume with an impressively detailed provenance, perhaps containing a miniature of an actual service in the Sebalduskirche in Nuremberg and showing Emperor Maximilian I in attendance\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eProvenance:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWritten and illuminated for use in the Chapel of St. Sebald, in an unspecified German church of the same dedication, perhaps the celebrated Sebalduskirche in Nuremberg (he was the patron saint of the city), during the office there of Johannes Viegel: parallel Latin and German inscriptions at head and foot of paper pastedown, both dated 1478. This same year added at end of text as well in Arabic numerals. In the sixteenth century, prayers for the priests and founders of the church were added to previously blank space at the very end of the volume.\u003cbr\u003e\nSmudged early nineteenth-century armorial ink stamp to first endleaf (most probably English).\u003cbr\u003e\nGeorge Dunn (1865-1912), Woolley Hall, near Maidenhead: his bookplate at foot of pastedown and pencil initials and notes on facing page recording he acquired it in January 1903; sold in his sale, Sotheby’s, 11 February 1913, lot 577.\u003cbr\u003e\nErnst Philip Goldschmidt (1887-1954), Viennese-born London bookdealer; this from his formidable private collection of fine early bindings: his gilt-tooled leather bookplate in centre of pastedown with “Ex libris E. PH. G.”. On him see the obituary by R.O. Dougan in The Library, 5th series, 9:2 (1954), pp. 75-84.\u003cbr\u003e\nText:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe volume comprises: a contents list, directing the readers to the various masses; the Missal itself with the Sanctoral and Temporal interspersed; the Canon of the Mass (fol. xl), followed by prayers to SS. Nicholas, Sebald and other readings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDecoration:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA few decades following the production of this fine volume, at least four devotional images were added. A printed and hand-coloured miniature of the Annunciation to the Shepherds was added, partly over an inscription, in otherwise blank space at the end of the contents list. At the same time, another printed and hand-coloured miniature of near identical proportions, with the Annunciation to the Virgin, was added to blank space at the foot of recto fol. xxvi. Here text shining through the cutting, visible in the tiled floor before the Virgin and angel, allows us to see that these cuttings were both from a sixteenth-century printed devotional volume in Latin. Traces of paper and glue on the reverse show that a third image of equal dimensions and most likely from the same series once was pasted here facing the Canon of the Mass, but since removed. Such additions of devotional print material to manuscripts, particularly those used in prayers or the Mass, is common (see among many other works discussing this: K. Rudy, Image, Knife and Gluepot: Early Assemblage in Manuscript and Print, 2019).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, what is far less common is that the final vellum endleaf here, immediately following the end of the text, was used, most probably in the first half of the sixteenth-century, for a large miniature of the Mass. In this a bishop, crowned and holding a crosier, in the middle foreground, is flanked by choristers who sing, as well as a priest who carries a gold cross while a boy carries a candle. Above them a crowned emperor is seated, looking directly out at the viewer and holding a long golden sceptre, his throne placed next to a richly decorated altar. Unfortunately, the leaf that this richly painted image was painted on seems to have suffered from damp interacting with the paint and adhered to blank space of the last leaf of the main codex, obscuring it and resulting in the image’s survival in parts both on the leaf on which it was painted and as offset on the facing leaf. The presence of a king here is startling, and it is to be wondered if this miniature represents an actual event, at which the painter (and this volume) were present. If the identification of the original home of this book as the Sebalduskirche in Nuremberg can be upheld, it is worth noting that institution was particularly close to the court of Emperor Maximilian I (reigned 1508-1519), and the provost of the Sebalduskirche, Melchior Pfinzing, acted as imperial secretary to Maximilian. This may well be a painting, from life, of an actual event attended by Emperor Maximilian I.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MISSAL","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57859656974671,"sku":"L1930","price":28500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/missal.jpg?v=1781793711"},{"product_id":"verken-johann-hulsius-levinus-ed-arthus-gotthardt-trans","title":"VERKEN, Johann; HULSIUS, Levinus, ed.; ARTHUS, Gotthardt, trans.","description":"\u003cp\u003e.A good copy of the first enlarged edition (first issue) of this illustrated account in German of a voyage to the East Indies, under the command of Pieter Willemsz Verhuffen, made by the Dutch and Zealanders in 1607-12. This edition comprises the second section of Part XI   first published in 1612, with a narrative reaching to 1609 only   of Levinus Hulsius s (d.1606) famous collection of voyages. These   the greatest voyages by European navigators   were published separately, in 26 parts, from 1598 to 1660, by Hulsius and his successors (e.g., Erasmus Kempffer, as here) in Nuremberg and Frankfurt. Despite the numerous similarities, Hulsius s accounts are  more useful, more curious and much rarer than the famed Collection of De Bry  (Asher, p.9).  \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n .This eleventh voyage is based on memoirs by Johann Verkens of Leipzig    the first elaborate accounts of a German voyager to the Malaysian Archipelago, the first by a German VOC employee to be published  (Mahdi, p.87)   translated into German by Gotthardt Arthus, who had provided a near-identical translation for Part IX of De Bry s  Voyages . It provides daily accounts of the voyagers  meetings and battles in the Malaysian Archipelago, and occasionally Mauritius, especially with the Portuguese and the English. The handsome plates portray the siege of the town of Lebetacke, on the Banda Islands; a meeting between the Portuguese and Dutch, with European attacks against the native people; the siege of the city of Schlangen; and a marriage procession in Java. Half the work is devoted to German-Malay (pp.69-159) and German-Madagascan (pp.159-67) phrasebooks, absent in De Bry s German translation. Divided into two columns, it provides Arthus  German translation of Frederick de Houtman s Dutch-Malay conversations, using simple common phrases rendered phonetically, of sundry conversations between hypothetical German and native speakers, concerning everyday subjects such as the arrival of a ship, the purchase of food, buying and selling generally, etc. Interestingly,  many Malayisms seem not to originate from direct discourse with indigenous speakers. Some were apparently features of the speech of the local (so-called  Indische ) Dutch community. Shared by German colleagues in daily discourse, the words found their way into the German language. Consequently, besides exhibiting some predictable German-specific phonological modifications, some Malayisms   also exhibited particularities of assimilation into Dutch  (Mahdi, p.124).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"VERKEN, Johann; HULSIUS, Levinus, ed.; ARTHUS, Gotthardt, trans.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57859657957711,"sku":"L3378","price":2250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/L3378-2.jpg?v=1781793707"},{"product_id":"alchemy-1","title":"[ALCHEMY]","description":"\u003cp\u003e‚ÄòWer rechten Alchomey‚Äô, an exceptionally rare alchemical text in Low German with twenty-eight illustrations of early scientific equipment, together with two related works including a version of the Buch ysaac semys sun von Babilon, manuscript on paper.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eProvenance:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWritten and decorated, perhaps by the author (see below), for use in practical alchemical experiments, in northern Germany (note use of ‚Äòvl‚Äô spellings for the more common High German ‚Äòfl‚Äô) in the middle of the fifteenth century. To this the original hand, and other later hands over the next century or so, added notes of chants and other alchemical snippets to the first leaf and blank verso of last and to the border of fol. 47r, including the phrase ‚ÄúParturiunt Montes, nascetur Ridiculus mus‚Äù (a line from a fable of the first-century Latin author Phaedrus, alluding to a farcical story in which a mountain appeared to go into labour with loud groans, and a mouse emerged from its foot as an apparent miracle birth).\u003cbr\u003e\nAlmost certainly owned by Emanuel Mai (1812-97), bookseller of Berlin: see his catalogue for 1854, vol. I, no. 276 (there recorded with ‚Äú48 Blatter mit roth und schwartz gemalten Figuren‚Äù with a record of the same second text as here, correctly giving that text‚Äôs Low German spellings (note that in a slight garbling of detail, Mai lists the second text as beginning on ‚Äúpag. 47‚Äù but it is in fact on fol. 46v ‚Äì opposite the leaf numbered ‚Äò47‚Äô).\u003cbr\u003e\nRecently re-emerging in a private collection in in the US.\u003cbr\u003e\nText and the alchemical illustrations of the codex:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen we think of alchemical manuscripts, especially those with any illustrations, the rarity of early examples means that the vast majority of those that come to mind are of the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Yet fifteenth-century Germany was a hotbed of medieval alchemy, and produced many new texts and specialists involved in early chemical experimentation. Alchemy was a fundamentally practical subject, never a formal part of the university syllabus, and was most probably learnt as a form of craft apprenticeship, and so while its practitioners often used texts in Latin, their studies existed first and foremost in vernacular languages with masters and students conversing in those over their experiments as they worked. Thus a great part of the value of the present manuscript is in its representing the cutting edge of those studies, as an apparently authentic voice of the dawn of practical alchemy. Moreover, it stands extremely early in the German tradition of such works ‚Äì no alchemical work in German was catalogued by Herwig Buntz before the Buch der Heiligen Dreifaltigkeit, written between 1415 and 1419 (see his unpublished thesis: Deutsche alchimistiche Traktate des 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts, submitted to the University of Munich in 1968, and the same author‚Äôs article on that work in Zeitschrift f√ºr deutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur, 101, 1972, pp. 150-160).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe present codex comprises: (i) the text of Wer rechten Alchomey (fols. 1r-35v), with the first original leaf here once with only the title of this work, followed by the main text beginning on the next leaf ‚Äì and the remaining space on the first original leaf filled up by the main hand with later alchemical notes referring to the source as a work of a ‚Äòbeloved Christopher‚Äô (‚ÄúLieber christoff‚Äù); (ii) a text digesting the work of Isaac Judeus\/Isaac ibn Sulaiman al-Israili (an occultist and doctor, who served as court physician to the last Aghlabite prince, Ziyadat Allah, and the Fatimite caliph, ‚ÄòUbaid Allah al-Mahdi, and who died in 932\/42 in Egypt: here fols. 36v-46r), this text opening ‚ÄúDas ist die puch das ysaac semis sun von Babilon ‚Ķ‚Äù; and (iii) a short and unidentified alchemical work, opening ‚ÄúLieber vett‚Äô ich pitt dich mit vleys du wild daz puech nymant ‚Ķ‚Äù (fol. 46v-48r).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAll parts of this book are of exceptional rarity, and two of the three texts may well be unique. The first text here can be traced by us in only two other witnesses: (1) an unillustrated fifteenth- or sixteenth-century manuscript, now Vienna, √ñsterreichen Nationalbibliothek MS. 3025. (Med. 222), and with a differing ending to that here, and thus perhaps with its text in a truncated form to this witness (see Tabulae codicum manu scriptorum praeter Graecos et orientales in Bibliotheca Palatina Vindobonensi, I, 1864, p. 181, no. 3025); and (2) another unillustrated copy of the text offered by Emanuel Mai as no. 275 in the same 1854 catalogue as the present manuscript ‚Äì  perhaps sharing an origin and provenance with the present manuscript, but evidently unseen in the last one hundred and seventy years. The tiny number of copies and their apparently restricted distribution suggests that none of these stands at any great remove from the anonymous author of the text, and the probable longer version of the text here and the inclusion of an integrated cycle of illustrations, make the present copy the most complete. It may well be the author‚Äôs own copy, from which the other two were made. No other copy of this text appears to have ever been offered for sale before, and a future comparison of this witness with that in Vienna and the short readings preserved by Mai for the lost manuscript promises substantial scholarly rewards for anyone interested in this text or the German alchemical mileau that produced it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe second text here is a close variant of a work recorded in a single sixteenth-century manuscript (Munich, Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek, MS. Clm 25114), and in this form may well be unique. Likewise, the third text cannot be traced elsewhere by us and may well be unique. This would accord well with the suggestion that this is the author‚Äôs own copy, containing the best version of his Wer rechten Alchomey and perhaps the only surviving copies of the last two texts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe texts here principally concern the transmutation of certain metals, elements and chemical compounds (most commonly here gold and silver, with copper and sulphur also frequently mentioned, as well as ‚Äúsalarmoniac‚Äù [Salammoniac, or ammonium chloride crystals], borax, ‚Äòwhite arsenic‚Äô and mercury, among others). In addition to this, the Wer rechten Alchomey contains an array of drawings of practical equipment for handling and changing the form of these elements, including kilns, heating pans, distillation equipment and vessels.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAlchemical texts of this great age are of exceptional rarity on the market, and those with any form of diagrams or illustrations far more so,  the last to come to the market the heavily fire-damaged Galletti Alchemical compendium, with twenty-two such diagrams accompanying the Summa perfectionis magisterii attributed to Geber,  written in Germany or the Netherlands c. 1489, and sold immediately after Bloomsbury Auctions‚Äô sale of 7 December 2020 (where it was lot 44).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"[ALCHEMY]","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57859661103439,"sku":"L4014","price":150000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/L4014-3.jpg?v=1781793699"},{"product_id":"durer-albrecht-2","title":"DÜRER, Albrecht.","description":"\u003cp\u003e.Good copy in contemporary binding of the first complete edition of Albrecht D√ºrer s collected works in German - handsomely illustrated with c.400 woodcuts produced using D√ºrer s original blocks from the 1525-28 eds.  In the illustration of principles [of Renaissance art] lies the great historical importance of D√ºrer s theoretical writings  . They were the foundation of accepted aesthetic dogma until the C19  (PMM 53, 1525 ed. of  Underweysung der Messung ). D√ºrer (1471-1528) was a German painter, printmaker and draughtsman. After travelling in Germany and Italy, he returned to his native Nuremberg, and had Maximilian I as his patron from 1512. His fame spread throughout Europe thanks to his book illustrations, prints and cartographic works. He also wrote several theoretical works in German.  D√ºrer, like Luther, had to create a German language of his own. Like Luther, he took a more or less standardized chancery style as a basis and infused life into it, not by a futile attempt at humanistic oratory but, on the contrary, by listening to the man in the street  . In the end [he] not only managed to describe complicated geometrical constructions more briefly, more clearly and more exhaustively than any professional mathematician of his time, but also expressed historical facts and philosophical ideas in a prose style no less \"classic\" than Luther s translation of the Bible  (Panofsky, p.245). . \u003cbr\u003e\n. \u003cbr\u003e\n..At the core of D√ºrer s theoretical works lies the Renaissance art principle that the representation of an object should be faithful and proportionate to its appearance in reality. The first work -  Underweysung der Messung  (first ed., 1525) - is a treatise on measurement, and perspective using the compass and ruler.  It is the first literary document in which a strictly representational problem received a strictly scientific treatment at the hands of a Northerner  (Panofsky, p.253). It is a manual for draughtsmen on the drawing of linear geometry and polygons, with famous sections on the geometric rendition of the Latin, after the Italian model (and anticipating G. Tory), and Gothic alphabets, the latter following a new modular system whereby letters are divided into small equal squares.  If of anything, this cumulative method is reminiscent of Arabic, and not of Italian, calligraphy  (Panofsky, p.258). Another section is devoted to architecture, and woodcut n.34 shows gores and sections of globe maps. A couple of final woodcuts illustrate how to calculate where the shade of an object will be in relation to the sun, as well as two scenes of artists at work using a lens attached to the easel and a weighed lead wire to render the perspective. . \u003cbr\u003e\n. \u003cbr\u003e\n.. ..The second -  Vier B√ºcher von Menschlicher Proportion  (first ed., 1528) - is entirely devoted to the drawing of human figures according to their natural proportions. The charming woodcuts provide specific measurements for full-page human figures   male, female, older, younger, thinner, larger   from the front, side and back, and in various positions, with a woodcut specifically devoted to the proportions between the fingers and several woodcuts of the head (even as seen from above). D√ºrer also offers observations on ideal beauty and aesthetics, just after the third part, and  it is in this \"aesthetic excursus,\" as it is commonly referred to, that we find the final statement of what may be called Durer's philosophy of art  (Panofsky, p.273). The third and last treatise is devoted to the building of castles and fortifications (first ed., 1527), with numerous double-page, folding woodcut plates of plans and elevations.  Strictly speaking the first treatise dealing exclusively with this subject  (Kruft, p.110). In addition to providing advice on strengthening existing fortifications, D√ºrer also  outlines a utopian city , seen as a  fortified citadel , built   as in a  job-creation scheme  - by unemployed poor people, so as to stop them begging, as had happened with the Egyptian pyramids (Kruft, p.110-11).. \u003cbr\u003e\n. \u003cbr\u003e\n..This fascinating copy was in the library of the Counts of Waldburg, possibly Maximilian Willibald of Waldburg-Wolfegg (1604 67), military commander and the governor of Upper Palatinate. He was polyglot, a keen owner of medical, scientifical and alchemical books, as well as, from 1650, of books on graphics, thousands of which he acquired from the Fugger family s collections. From 1938, it was in the library of the Herman G√∂ring School for Artists (Meisterschule f√ºr Malerei) in Kronenburg, inaugurated and patronised by G√∂ring as a place to establish the artistic style and pictorial propaganda of the regime, and to train its future exponents. Unsurprisingly, it was closed down in 1945. Its library included a few fine medieval mss. The school s logo reproduced G√∂ring s own device..\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DÜRER, Albrecht.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868694159695,"sku":"L4365a","price":10750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/2B8BEA33-B15E-4937-A524-BDE934B42718.webp?v=1781793463"},{"product_id":"luck-johann-jacob-1","title":"LUCK, Johann Jacob.","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn excellent copy of the first edition of this beautifully illustrated work on numismatics, with the arms of Nicolas Joseph Foucault (1643-1721), one of his age's most celebrated antiquarians. \u003cbr\u003e\n. \u003cbr\u003e\n.Johann Jacob Luck (1574-1653) was a native of Strasbourg who, after completing his legal studies, served as historiographer and genealogist for the Rappoltstein noble family between 1608 and 1623. A passionate numismatist, he owned a collection of several thousand medals and coins. The present treatise is groundbreaking in its use of coins, medals and emblems to illustrate historical events. Beginning in 1500 with Louis XII of France and ending in 1599 with Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, Luck's historical treatise uses the portraits and scenes depicted on the coins and medals that it reproduces (in chronological order) as starting-points for biographical discussions of the century's most important rulers and for historical treatments of its most memorable battles and political events. This fascinating work constitutes a history of sixteenth-century Europe told through coins. \"In Luck s text, coins are the driving evidentiary force for a history of Europe in the years 1500 to 1600, serving not as mere material footnotes but as a narrative itinerary for epochal events.\" (Stielau) \u003cbr\u003e\n. \u003cbr\u003e\n.While many of the coins reproduced in this work were in Luck's collection, others are reproduced from the earlier work .Symbola divina et humana pontificium, imperatorum, regum. by Jacob Typot (1540-1601). The present copy is in the first state (USTC 2137262) without the added poems in praise of the author, and with the preface in its original setting. \u003cbr\u003e\n. \u003cbr\u003e\n.Nicolas-Joseph Foucault (1643-1721) was a royal administrator in the reign of Louis XIV and a renowned antiquarian and bibliophile. He was educated at a Jesuit college and graduated in canon and civil law at Orl éans in 1665. From 1674 to 1706, he held administrative posts successively in Montauban, Pau, Poitiers and Caen; most notably he was appointed master of requests (Ma‚àö√Ütre des requ‚àö‚Ñ¢tes) by the king in 1674 and held this position for twenty years. Throughout this time, Foucault displayed an interest in art and archeology and assembled a fine collection of rare books and manuscripts, antique figures, medals and coins, most of which had been discovered in France. \"Sa collection de manuscrits   comprenait, entre autres, cent vingt-trois livres d heures, dont celles de Ren é d Anjou, des bibles, des cartulaires et un riche ensemble de pi√®ces sur l histoire, le droit public et l administration de la France, r éunies en 180 volumes in-folio. Ses s éries numismatiques n  étaient pas moins c él√®bres. Lorsqu il d écida de s en s éparer, en 1708, sa collection comptait autour de quinze mille monnaies, toutes antiques, soit autant, par exemple, que celle de Christine de Su√®de.\" (Avisseau-Broustet) In his old age, however, Foucault was forced to sell off his collections and his library was in part dispersed before his death (it appeared on the market from 1715 onwards).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"LUCK, Johann Jacob.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868706120015,"sku":"L4436","price":9500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/IMG_5359.jpg?v=1781793433"},{"product_id":"brunfels-otto-1","title":"BRUNFELS, Otto.","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis copy was part of the private library of Cardinal Michele Ghisleri (1504-72), who used the arms of the Ghisleri-Carafa between 1557 and 1566. In 1566, he was elected by the Conclave as Pius V, and famously excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I in 1570. His heroic efforts in Europe against the Turks were rewarded by the victory of Lepanto. The institutional stamp was that of the Convent of Santa Croce e Tutti i Santi established in 1566 by Pius V in Bosco Marengo, Piedmont, his hometown, which was closed in the C19. The opening page bears a ms ex-libris from that convent, and the arms include the shield of the Ghisleri and the Dominicans. Brunfels  name is censored throughout the volume; he was put on the Index of 1559. In the C19, this copy belonged to the bibliophile, patriot and minister Count Giacomo Manzoni (1816-89), whose library was sold in 1893. \u003cbr\u003e\n. \u003cbr\u003e\n.Very good copies of the first and second parts (a third was published in 1539), both in the second edition, of  this celebrated herbal which marks an epoch in the history of botanic illustration  (Becher).  It was the first herbal illustrated with drawings which are throughout both beautiful and true to nature. The plants are represented as they are and in the greatest possible artistic perfection by one of the best German illustrators [...] Johann Weiditz. [...] The title indicates the most distinctive feature of the book, namely that the artist went direct to nature, instead of regarding the plant world through the eyes of previous draughtsmen  (Becher). \u003cbr\u003e\n. \u003cbr\u003e\n.Otto Brunfels (1488-1534) was a Reformed humanist and physician, trained at Basel. Whilst he also wrote in theology, linguistics and pedagogy, his herbals made him one of the  fathers of botany  for their accuracy and great attention to naturalistic representation. First published in 1530, with two subsequent parts printed in 1532 and posthumously,  Herbarum vivae eicones  illustrates, in the first vol., several dozen plants, each accompanied by their Latin, German and sometimes Greek names, and by quotations from ancient sources (e.g., Dioscorides, Aetius, Pliny, Razes, Avicenna) and later (e.g., Hermolaus Barbaro, Fuchs), as well as a description of the plant, its medical properties (e.g., limits menstruation, stops the shingles), with short recipes for the preparation of their roots, seed or juice, and its potential harmful effects. Plants include the narcissus, orchid, bugloss, verbena, germander, violet, sassafras, lily, scrophularia, and so on. On p.15, there are mentions of Guaiacum and Ulrich von Hutten (for his 1519 work on syphilis and Guaiacum) (Alden). Vol.2 includes fewer woodcuts but many more descriptions, including origanum persicum, herba syriaca, sanguinaria and helleborus. A final appendix provides German names for all the plants mentioned in the book, for easier consultation. Brunfels  herbals are  a treasury of select quotations. [...] He shows a preference for wild growths before those that have undergone domestication  (Green, Landmarks, pp.169ff). A very handsome copy, of illustrious provenance, of this important herbal. A similarly censured copy appears to be at the Bibliotheca Comunale Manfrediana.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BRUNFELS, Otto.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868707627343,"sku":"L4371","price":12500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/L4371-4.jpg?v=1781793426"},{"product_id":"petreius-petrus-1","title":"PETREIUS, Petrus.","description":"\u003cp\u003eGood first edition in German of a most influential C17 account of the duchy of Muscovy and the Russian provinces, with additional dedications and appendix. Petrus Petreius (Pers Persson) (1570-1620) was a Swedish diplomat and intelligencer from Uppsala, who worked for several years in Russia in the early C17 century. Petreius first published his account in Swedish, as ‘Regni Muschowitici Sciographia’ (Stockholm, 1615), marking a new attitude towards the perception of Russians in Sweden. The six parts are devoted to the cities and provinces, history (from Rurik to 1612), political ceremonies, warfare, customs, and religious\u003cbr\u003e\nrites of Russia and its people. Most of the second part is concerned with the period spanning the reign of Boris Godunov and the start of the Romanov rule. Petreius relied heavily, especially for the section on the False Dimitris, on the yet unpublished Latin eyewitness account by Konrad Bussow. He interspersed it with personal observations based on direct experience, like the sight of the corpses of Fyodor II Borisovich and his mother bearing the imprint of the ropes which strangled them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e‘Historien und Bericht’ is of fundamental importance for early modern European first-hand knowledge of Russian culture. Petreius adapted for the German language words relating to Russian society, making them more accessible to his new readers by avoiding, unlike in the Swedish original, Russian borrowings. In his account, the complex meaning of the term ‘Bojar’ is simplified to the title of ‘nobleman’ (‘Adel’ or ‘Herr’), and ‘keysare’, the same term used to address the German Holy Roman Emperors, appears as a translation of ‘czar’\u003cbr\u003e\nin the reported speeches of Russian people. The ‘Historien und Bericht’ was among the sources used by I.M. Karamzin for his famous ‘History of the Russian State’ (‘История Государства Российского’) of 1843.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"PETREIUS, Petrus.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868710740303,"sku":"L4411","price":3950.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/petreius-historien-2.jpg?v=1781793406"},{"product_id":"helbach-wendelin-von","title":"HELBACH, Wendelin von","description":"\u003cp\u003eFirst edition of this scarce compendium of medical remedies, in German, for conditions head to foot, with sections on plague and treatments based on the work of famous physician. Little is known of Wendelin Helbach (1518-88), from M√ºhlberg. Beside writing theological and Neo-Latin poetic works, he edited the present work, attributed in the title to an identified  probably princely author . It begins with an examination of remedies against conditions of the head, gradually proceeding towards the feet, with each section providing a list of ingredients and instructions for preparation: e.g., ailments of the eye and neck, dizziness, skull fractures, mental illnesses, nose-bleeding, lethal bleeding, stomach ulcers, fever, kidney stones, and sleeping disorders. For most conditions, several alternative remedies are provided, in the form of pills, powders, etc., but especially therapeutic waters. For the plague  lutum armenum  is advised, ultimately coming from Avicenna and known for its healing qualities against putrefaction. One of the plague remedies, advertised in the title, was written by the famous physician Lonicer. Interestingly, Latin is almost never used, thus making  Hortulus  a fine compendium of early German medical vocabulary, providing the names of hundreds of conditions as well as technical and botanical pharmaceutical terms. \u003cbr\u003e\n A scarce work.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HELBACH, Wendelin von","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868710773071,"sku":"L4406","price":2950.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/helbach-1.jpg?v=1781793405"},{"product_id":"curio-johannes-with-hessus-helius-eobanus","title":"CURIO, Johannes [with] HESSUS, Helius Eobanus","description":"\u003cp\u003eAttractive, unsophisticated copy of these charmingly illustrated medical works on the  regimen sanitatis  or how to live a healthy life. The first is an illustrated edition of the famous C13  Regimen sanitatis Salernitanum , edited by the German physician Johannes Curio (d.1561). Curio published several editions (first 1538), which are considered the most complete and interesting as, for the first time, he included other texts. In the present edition, the Latin text is provided with a German translation by Curio and complemented by the important commentary by the Spanish physician and reformer Arnaldo de Villa Nova (1240-1311). The  Regimen  was a collection of instructions on how to preserve good health, including 'rules of hygiene and diet, simple therapeutics, and other instruction intended more for the laity than for the medical profession. It was committed to memory by thousands of physicians and, after the invention of printing, was published in nearly three hundred editions, in Latin as well as in several vernacular languages  (Heirs of Hippocrates). Several sections are illustrated with charming, popular woodcuts showing, for instance, a man taking a nap on a chair, followed by descriptive verse in Latin, in this case, explaining how afternoon naps should be short or non-existent, as they can cause catarrh, laziness, fever and headache. It also discusses general eating and drinking habits (including wine and water drinking), various types of food and herbs (charmingly illustrated), and physical exercise. The second work is a poetic re-writing of the  regimen sanitatis  by the German humanist and physician Helius Eobanus Hessus (1498-1540), with a commentary by the physician Johannes Placotomus (d.1576), based on his own lecture notes. The poem is presented in short sections, followed by scholia and Placotomus  annotations, at times accompanied by a charming woodcut. It discusses the key topics of the  regimen sanitatis , from the qualities and properties of food, herbs, and drink, to common illnesses, the humours, and sleep. The versification of medical works for didactic purposes had its origins in the medieval period, when this technique was employed for easier memorisation. A genuine copy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CURIO, Johannes [with] HESSUS, Helius Eobanus","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868711428431,"sku":"L3751","price":4500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/curio-1.jpg?v=1781793401"},{"product_id":"kilian-wolfgang","title":"KILIAN, Wolfgang.","description":"\u003cp\u003e.First edition of this richly illustrated work of Habsburg genealogy by the Augsburg engraver Wolfgang Kilian (1581-1662), with a distinguished English provenance. Kilian s finely engraved heraldic shields are accompanied by full-page and folding genealogies of the Habsburg emperors, the largest attributing their origin to the legendary Frankish king Pharamund. The map depicts Habsburg territories in Switzerland and Alsatia. The engraved portraits of the Habsburg emperors, archdukes and dukes each contain a small emblem, which is accompanied by Latin verses continued below the engraving in letterpress. Narcissus Luttrell was an English political historian and diarist, and a noted and prolific book collector. Luttrell is best-known for his habit of buying everything that was published as it came out, including a vast array of pamphlets concerning fictitious Popish Plot of the late 1670s.  After more than three decades of acquisitions (beginning in his student days), he calculated in 1706 that he had laid out over ¬¨¬£1500 on such purchases; unfortunately, his wish that his library pass intact to some  public  institution such as Gray s Inn was not wholly heeded by his descendants. So while a substantial number of the printed works from his library were eventually acquired by the British Library, many (often bearing his colophon) have found resting places elsewhere  (ODNB). There does not seem to be any connection between Glascock, an Irish collector and the book s previous owner (who appears to have had quite an extensive library), and Luttrell; presumably it was purchased on the second-hand market. .\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"KILIAN, Wolfgang.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868713492815,"sku":"L4752","price":2250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/Screenshot-2025-09-10-at-12.13.24-PM.png?v=1781793384"},{"product_id":"strasbourg","title":"STRASBOURG","description":"\u003cp\u003eExtremely rare decree issued by the Council of Strasbourg at the end of the Thirty Years‚Äô War. The first part concerns accusations against Jews using deceitful trading practices at the weekend market taking place outside Strasbourg‚Äôs Metzger Thor or ‚ÄòButcher‚Äôs Gate,‚Äô at which cattle were traded, and at a cloth market also held on roads outside the city. The Jewish merchants are accused of buying goods up cheaply from each other and then selling them at an exorbitant markup.\u003c\/p\u003e  \n\n\u003cp\u003eThe second part of the decree prohibits Jewish traders from operating within the precincts of the city or outside, except when horse-trading (Pferdhandels), though this is restricted to the city‚Äôs Rossmarkt. Anyone who contravenes the regulations, especially by trading in livestock, will forfeit their goods and be refused the right to trade with the guild (presumably Jews are implicitly excluded by the act); five schillings will be awarded to those who notify the authorities of illegal dealing. However, Jews are not prohibited from entering the city with goods, so long as they are properly declared.\u003c\/p\u003e  \n\n\u003cp\u003eEarlier persecutions of Jews in Strasbourg included the notorious Strasbourg massacre of 1349, in which the Jewish population was publicly burnt to death. Jews were officially expelled from Strasbourg in the same year and were not readmitted until the late eighteenth century, though they continued to participate in city life; many simply moved into rural areas. In 1570 Strasbourg‚Äôs magistrates banned Jewish commerce in the city and its territories, a law which elicited a response from the Alsatian Jews who appealed directly to Maximilian II. Clearly commerce between Jews and Christians continued, however, since further decrees were issued in 1616, 1628, 1639 and (this one) in 1648 (Debra Kaplan, Beyond Expulsion: Jews, Christians, and Reformation Strasbourg (Stanford University Press, 2011), pp. 90-92).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"STRASBOURG","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868716147023,"sku":"L4739","price":2950.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]},{"product_id":"reserved-21","title":"MARGARITHA, Anton.","description":"\u003cp\u003eRare second edition, with colophon dated 7 April, of this guide to Jewish life, culture and religious ceremonies by the C16th Jewish convert Anton Margaritha, the son of a rabbi in Augsburg, first published the same year on 16 March. The fascinating woodcuts, which are the earliest printed visual depictions of Jewish ceremonies, many of them showing Jewish women in traditional dress, were copied (traced and reversed) from a work of 1508 by another German convert, Johann Pfefferkorn (1469-1523), though the title-page woodcut was designed separately, attributed to J√∂rg Breu the Elder (c.1475-1537). \u003cbr\u003e\n  Much of the book consists of the German translation of the Jewish liturgy and prayers, with details of the observances of the Sabbath, Passover, Yom Kippur, circumcision, etc. It also contains Margaritha s criticism of rabbinic authority and the practice of usury, and shows the Jewish faith to be based on ritual and superstition. The book influenced Martin Luther, who read, praised and recommended it.  One of the fundamental factors determining Protestant policy towards the Jews during the 1530s   it confirmed [Luther s] belief that, like the  papists,  the Jews were completely focused on gaining salvation by virtue of specific religious acts in themselves   [which] was idolatry  (Thomas Kaufmann, Luther s Jews (Oxford: 2017), p. 79). It was after this that Luther moved from a position of toleration to one of hostility, penning a series of venomous denunciations of Judaism. Margaritha s attack on Judaism caused significant controversy in Augsburg and he was banned from the city. His work  was to remain one of the most important sources of information about Jewish religious ceremonies and practices into the eighteenth century  (Kaufmann), as well as a source of everyday Jewish life and customs.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MARGARITHA, Anton.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868719718735,"sku":"L4755","price":7500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/L4755-margarita-3.jpg?v=1781793359"},{"product_id":"denzel-daniel","title":"DENZEL, Daniel.","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn intriguing and attractive collection of drawings, mostly copied from late C16th and early C17th German prints and artists  books, but apparently containing original designs. The Denzels were town painters in Ulm, according to Othmar Metzger ( Die Ulmer Stadtmaler (1495-1631)  in Ulm und Oberschwaben, 35 (1958), pp. 181-200). Painters in the Early Modern period were, like most craftsmen, required to join city guilds, which could lead to appointments as the official city painter (stadtmaler). The oath sworn by the Ulm city painter has survived, including prices for basic commissions. This did not always lead to preferential treatment: in Ulm the town painter would be overlooked for commissions if other artists were deemed to be more capable, while some were removed for presenting inflated invoices and other excessive charges (Danica Brenner, S√ºddeutsche stadtmaler im 16. und 17. jahrhundert  in The Artist Between Court and City, 1300-1600 (Petersburg: 2017), pp. 202-206). . \u003cbr\u003e\nDaniel Denzel was the younger brother of Hans who died in 1625; after the dismissal of the town painter called Schaler around 1628, Daniel assumed the position until his death in 1631. Very few works by the Denzels are known and none have been attributed to Daniel, possibly because of his very brief tenure. In 1616 Denzel s brothers Johann and Melchior published a book advertising their invention of a new measuring instrument, the schr‚àö¬ßgmass, which was a kind of carpenter s square, and which may be the triangular instrument depicted facing the design of David and Goliath in this volume. This latter is by far the most accomplished and finished drawing in the book. We have been unable to identify the source this image and it is possible that it may be an original design, possibly even intended for a mural in the Ulm Schw√∂rhaus, which was erected between 1612-18.\u003c\/p\u003e \n\n\u003cp\u003eThe remaining designs are copied from books and include geometric sketches, portraits and studies of facial portraits, architectural designs, animal studies and landscapes evidently copied from engravings, including a late-C16th depiction of the Ottoman siege of Nicosia by Balthasar Jenichen (d.1599). They are of variable quality and it is possible that some are in a different hand, possibly that of a student. The geometrical studies, proportional studies of faces and horses, portraits of bearded men, and winged cherub are copied from an instructional drawing book by the German artist Sebald Beham (1500-50), Warhafftige Beschreibung aller f√ºrnemen K√ºnsten, of which we have found an edition containing all these designs published in Frankfurt in 1605. The images of the zweihander and soldier with halberd are copied from Lucas Kilian s Newes Soldaten B√ºchlein, printed in Augsburg in 1609. The depiction of Faith is from Jost Amman s series of the virtues, published in his Kusnstb√ºchlin in Frankfurt in 1599. These are obviously studies in draughtsmanship and proportion, either drawn within pencil grids or appended with scales to which notes regarding measurements have been added in German. The landscape scenes, like the map of Nicosia, are more ambitious copies, one from a view by Paulus Bril (1554-1626), from his series of views of the Coast of Campania, published 1590, the other unidentified.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DENZEL, Daniel.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868720996687,"sku":"L4500","price":6750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/drawing1Denzel.png?v=1781793350"},{"product_id":"cracovia-mattheus-de-attr-aquinas-saint-thomas","title":"[CRACOVIA, Mattheus de,] attr. AQUINAS, Saint Thomas.","description":"\u003cp\u003e.Extremely rare Cologne edition of this manual of confession by the medieval Polish theologian Matthew of Krak_w (d.1410), formerly attributed to the Saint Thomas Aquinas, possibly produced for the Dominican community in Cologne. The city was a major Dominican centre north of the Alps, Thomas Aquinas having taught there at the order s famous studium... . \u003cbr\u003e\n. \u003cbr\u003e\n..The work ostensibly functions as a guide to the theology of confession, which Cracovia says must be made purely, truthfully and completely. This is predominantly, however, a scholastic thesis on the nature of sin, its origin, the level of intention involved, and its tempus et loci: a sin is worse if committed in a church than at home, for example, just as it is worse to sin on a holy day than a normal one, and, naturally, it is worse to commit any kind of sin twice, as opposed to once only. Much of the discussion is to do with the level of sensuality involved in different kinds of sin, i.e. whether spiritual or corporeal, with which part of the body is the sin committed, etc. Cracovia dedicates several sections to  pollution  (i.e. ejaculation), discussing its causes and whether one can take communion afterwards. One section is specially devoted to instances of  self-pollution  while awake, without any movement of the flesh and without any feeling of pleasure. Cracovia refers to medical opinion to argue that such involuntary effluence of  humours  cannot be considered polluting, as noted by a contemporary reader. Other sins discussed include impure thoughts, dishonesty, malicious speech, complacency of habits, etc. . \u003cbr\u003e\n. \u003cbr\u003e\n..The delightful woodcut, which appears twice here, depicts St. Anne with the Virgin and Child. It was used in publications by other printers in Cologne such as Heinrich Quentell and the Retro Minores, a print shop identified by its location behind the city s Minorite Convent. .\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"[CRACOVIA, Mattheus de,] attr. AQUINAS, Saint Thomas.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868721914191,"sku":"L4104","price":4250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/L4104-titlepage.png?v=1781793343"},{"product_id":"glauber-johann-rudolf","title":"GLAUBER, Johann Rudolf.","description":"\u003cp\u003eRare first French edition of this rich compendium of alchemical processes and their medical uses by the German alchemist Johann Rudolf Glauber s (1604-70), illustrated with his inventions of furnaces for distillation, mineral baths and the separation and refining of metals, first published 1646-49 in Latin.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe book describes five different models of furnaces designed by Glauber, followed by a volume of annotations to the fifth part. The first volume includes a description of glass vessels and the process by which they can be used with the first furnace for the distillation of essential oils and liquors. Glauber then outlines the many botanical and mineral oils, etc., that one can distil, along with their medical benefits: a spirit made from paper or linen, for example, can be used to treat gangrene. Other sections include the production of  flowers  or crystals from precious metals and minerals, the use of mercury to treat scabies and venereal diseases - elsewhere Glauber warns of the terrible dangers of  abusing  mercury - and the use of spirit of salt in cuisine when cooking chicken, pigeon or veal, etc. The second furnace is used for producing acids, nitres and sulphurs, as well as distilling pearls, crab's eyes , i.e. hard stones found in crayfish, etc. The third book gives an account of wooden cabinets with furnaces that can be used for bathing in mineral waters or brewing beer, etc., the illustrations showing a bearded man enclosed in the casement with only his head emerging from a small hole in the top.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe fourth volume is the one most clearly dedicated to alchemical sciences, beginning with an interesting and personal account of Glauber s efforts developing his furnaces, including a breakdown in his mental and physical health, caused in part by the toxic substances used in his researches. Glauber also iterates his commitment to the medical applications of alchemy and describes this as the philosophy behind his inventions. He describes methods of separating metals, refining metals, making glass for mirrors and making metallic glasses. The fourth and fifth books also give extensive instructions for making Glauber s furnaces, including which clay to use, as well as for the production and proper maintenance of crucibles and the glass vessels used for distillation, with several illustrations. The final part consists of annotations on the appendix to the fifth book, which is a list of  secrets  or recipes for various concoctions and chemical processes, for example for making a sugar that resembles West Indian sugar; in each case, Glauber expands on a secret for the benefit of the  incredulous or ignorant.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"GLAUBER, Johann Rudolf.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868723519823,"sku":"L4457","price":4500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/collections\/C0541862-Map_of_Germany__17th_century.jpg?v=1781371373","url":"https:\/\/www.sokol.co.uk\/collections\/germany.oembed","provider":"Sokol Books Ltd","version":"1.0","type":"link"}