Religious books

Tue 30 Jul

15TH CENTURY ENGLISH: HAND WRITTEN VELLUM THAT FORMED PART OF AN ANTIPHONER, Fragment 38cm x 23cm Framed between glass. With accompanying letter from British Museum.

Wed 21 Aug

DU CHESNE (André). Histoire généalogique des Ducs de Bourgongne de la Maison de France. Adioustez les Seigneurs de Montagu, de Sombernon, & de Couches issus des mesmes Ducs. [...] [Followed by:] Histoire des comtes d'Albon, et Daufins de Viennois. [Followed by:] Histoire généalogique des comtes de Valentinois et de Diois, seigneurs de Saint-Valier, de Vadans & de la Ferté, de la Maison de Poitiers. Paris, Sébastien Cramoisy, 1628. 3 parts of [16] 168 179 pp. ; 69 [1] 107 pp. ; 127 [1 bl.] 115 [5] pp. bound in one volume in-4 ivory vellum, smooth spine with handwritten title, boards stamped with monastic fleur-de-lysées arms (period binding). General title in red and black. 5 engraved coats of arms in the text. Historical treatise on the House of Burgundy and its allied houses, divided into three parts, each of which is followed by proofs, for a total of six parts. André du Chesne (1584-1640, born in Touraine, was a geographer and historiographer to the King, author of historical works and genealogies of the great houses of the kingdom (Saffroy I, 10749). Handwritten bookplate "Ex bibl[ioteca] Fuliens[ium] Paris[iensis] S. Bernardi" (library of the royal monastery of Saint-Bernard des Feuillants in Paris), small black wet stamp of this monastery and handwritten mention "Ex dono autoris" on the title. Boards stamped with the monastery's fleur-de-lysées coat of arms. Early 19th c. handwritten bookplate on title page: "François-Charles-Antoine du Faure-Basillier acquis à Paris en 1805". A fine copy.

Wed 21 Aug

Bible. Afbeeldingen der voornaamste Historien, soo van het Oude als Nieuwe Testament. Amsterdam, Nicolas Visscher, [circa 1700]. 3 parts in one volume in-4, speckled calf, ornate ribbed spine, red morocco title-piece, fillets framing the boards, marbled edges (period binding). With a title-frontispiece, a vignette on the title, 3 interspersed titles and 277 mid-page engraved figures illustrating the Bible, with captions in Latin, French, English, German and Dutch. A good copy. Corners rubbed, first spine partly split.

Wed 21 Aug

Bible. The Holy Bible. New edition. Paris, Th. Desoer, 1819. Fort in-8 glazed calf, richly decorated smooth spine, title page in green marble, handsome garland of gilt vine leaves and fillets on covers, gilt edges (period binding). A very fine copy.

Wed 21 Aug

[MONTMORENCY (Famille de)]. Recueil de prières avant et après la Communion. For the use of Pauline-Hortence Albert Montmorency. Printed by Guionne-Elisabeth-Joseph Montmorency Albert, her Mother. sl, sn, An VIII (1800). In-12, 52 pp. Bound at the end: - Les trois heures d'agonie de N. S. Jésus Christ sur la Croix. Slnd. Title, iv-54-[1] pp. - Chant. Musique del signor Giordani. Title, 5 pp. - Neuvaine à Saint Joseph ou Méditations et Entretiens affectifs sur ses Grandeurs et ses Vertus. [...] Printed in Dampierre, by Madame Montmorency, Luynes, 1801. 120 pp. - Neuvaine en l'honneur de Sainte Thérèse de Jésus [...] Paris, Duminil-Lesueur, 1807. [1]-[4]-92 pp. Marbled basane, smooth spine decorated (period binding). Rubbed, heavy spotting on second board. Interesting collection containing 2 very rare pieces from the private presses of the Château de DAMPIERRE. Ex-libris JM.

Wed 21 Aug

Sainte Bible (La). traduite en françois sur la Vulgate [...] Liège, Jean François Bronckart, 1700. 3 volumes in-4, havana calf, ornate ribbed spine, havana marl. title and tomaison, roulette with alternating crowned dauphin and fleur-de-lys irons at head and tail, gilt edges (period binding). Small loss of leather in one box, several worn headpieces, several epidermal marks. Illustrations include an engraved frontispiece, a repeated title vignette, 41 bands and a folding map. Notebooks browned in places. Handwritten ex-dono on title to Grainville Hospital. A fine copy.

Thu 22 Aug

Bretagne. Heuriou brezonnec ha latin. Brest, Lefournier et Deperiers, 1833. In-12, speckled basane, smooth spine decorated (period binding). Book of hours in Latin and Breton, illustrated with an engraved frontispiece. A good copy. Minor wear to binding.

Thu 22 Aug

Normandy - Antiphonary. Antiphonarium constantiense [...] Coutances, Tanquerey, 1842. Very large folio volume (49 x 33 cm) of [2] ff. 736-CIV-[1] pp. square neumatic notation on four staves. Marbled basane on wooden aisles with brass corners, brown basane straps held by brass pieces on the boards (one fastener missing). One headband largely detached, one torn leather strip glued back at the top of the boards, a few scuffs and rubs.

Thu 22 Aug

Oceania. Te Biblia Mo'a ra, oia te faufaa Tahito e te faufaa apî ra. Oxford, Clarendon Press for the Bible Society in Great Britain, 1884. In-16, brown calf, ribbed spine decorated with cold fillets, cold decoration framing the boards, speckled edges (period binding). First paperback edition of this Tahitian translation of the Bible. Printed on two columns. A fine copy.

Fri 23 Aug

[Heures à l'usage de Rome]. Horae diurnae breviarii romani [...] Cologne, Corneille d'Egmond, 1646. Fort in-8, red morocco, ribbed spine richly decorated with gilded monograms at the corners of the boards, gilded arms in the center of the boards, roulette on the edges, gilded edges (period binding). Damage to tail cap, corners worn. Title vignette and 5 engraved figures out of text. Printed in black and red. 5 pp. of handwritten prayers in Latin in fine. A small printed prayer pasted on the verso of the last page. A fine copy bearing the coat of arms of Denis (or François) FEYDEAU seigneur de BROU (O.H.R. 160, irons n°1 and 3.)

Fri 23 Aug

Heures nouvelles. dédiées au Roy [...] Paris, Grangé, 1740. Small in-12 in dark brown shagreen, mute ribbed spine, boards decorated with a large silver embossed heart-shaped centerpiece surrounded by small silver-plated metal parts (small nails), dominoed endpapers (period binding). Engraved frontispiece. Some rubbing, some small pieces missing. A good copy of this rare binding.

Fri 23 Aug

[Portfolio]. Large ivory vellum blotter (second cover in beige cloth) decorated on the first cover with 5 lines of music in neumatic notation with initials and illuminated frame, in the style of an antiphonary in polychrome and gold, signed Renée Cachelou and dated November 12, 1929. Red string with red wax seal.

Fri 23 Aug

SENAULT (Louis). Heures nouvelles dédiées à Madame la Dauphine. Paris, chez l'autheur rue de bussy à la croix blanche au Faubourg St-Germain, [1680]. In-8, red morocco, ornate ribbed spine, green morocco title-piece, wide gilt lace trim, gilt edges (18th century binding). First edition of this delightful 17th-century Book of Hours, entirely engraved and decorated with burin by Louis Senault. The text is adorned with numerous ornate letters, garlands, initials, flowers, birds and various subjects. A first-edition copy with the Dauphine coat of arms adorning the volume's title, and the two female figures on p. 210 with their breasts uncovered - nudity that was deemed unseemly in a book of piety and censured in the work's many reprints. A very fine copy in a morocco binding.

Fri 23 Aug

[Slices with hidden paint]. The Holy Bible, or the Old and New Testaments. Translated into French from the Hebrew and Greek texts by the Pastors and Professors of the Church and Academy of Geneva. Genève, Paschoud, 1805. 3 volumes, large in-8, purplish long-grained morocco, spine ribbed with gilt and cold-stamped circles, gilt title and tomaison, gilt fillet and cold-stamped framing decoration, int. lace, gilt and painted edges, in a modern ecru toiel slipcase titled with a red morocco piece (period binding). Beautiful edition of the Geneva Bible in French, the edges of which were painted at the time by an English artist at the request of the first owner of these three volumes, Georges Haldimand (1781-1851), a London banker living in Geneva (handwritten bookplate dated 1812 on the flyleaf). The painted motifs on the gutters are only visible when the leaves are pinched to reveal the scenes. The edges are gilded so that the motifs are not visible when the book is closed. The art of painted edges (or fore-edge painting) appeared in Italy in the 16th century, but only developed in England in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, thanks to bookbinder William Edwards (1725-1808). The painted edges depict views of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris from the Seine, Notre-Dame Church in Saint-Lô and Notre-Dame Cathedral in Rouen. From the famous collection of Estelle Doheny (1875-1958), second wife of California oil magnate Edward Lawrence Doheny (1856-1935). "She began collecting books in the mid-1920s, demonstrating a marked taste for books with painted edges, to the point of assembling over the years one of the most important collections in this particular field of book art." (BnF).

Fri 23 Aug

Almanach. Almanach de Normandie [...] Rouen, Veuve Besongne, 1771. In-24 olive morocco, smooth spine decorated with mute, gilt fillet framing the boards with small gilt royal arms in the center (period binding). Book reinserted into the binding by simple stitching, with new endpapers. Nevertheless, a fine copy. Bookplate from the library of Château des Guerrots. Ex-libris JM. Sale bibl. de Farcy, Tours, 1903.

Fri 23 Aug

Almanach. Petites Heures de Cour. Paris, Le Fuel, [1827]. In-16 (86 x 58 mm) red long-grain morocco, smooth ornate spine, gilt title, gilt framing on boards, gilt edges (period binding). Covers and corners dulled, binding rubbed. Frontispiece, title and out-of-text engraved figures. Some foxing.

Fri 23 Aug

Koran. Coran. sl, sn, sd (20th c.). Imitation tortoiseshell binding, polychrome painted frieze on first board, clasp, red tr. A fine example.

Fri 23 Aug

Missel. Petites heures de l'enfance. Paris, Lefuel, sd (c. 1800). 28 x 18 mm. Maroquin burgundy, gilt roulette on spine, gilt garland framing the boards adorned with a small central gilt fleuron (period binding). Worn binding.

Fri 23 Aug

Pater. [Mainz, Gutenberg Museum and Brussels, Plantin, 1952. Set of 6 volumes in microscopic 5 x 5 mm format: - Le Pater, printed in seven languages (French, English, German, American, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish). Bound in black leather with a gilded cross on the front cover, housed in a silver-plated metal case and Plexiglas box. - The Pater, printed in seven languages (French, English, German, American, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish). Bound in black leather with a gilded cross on the cover, housed in a Plexiglas case. - Ave Maria, printed in Latin. Black leather binding with gilded chalice on front cover, housed in a Plexiglas case. - The Pater, printed in French. Bound in red leather with a gilded cross on the cover, housed in a Plexiglas box and a white plastic case. - The Pater, printed in Italian. Bound in silver-plated metal with embossed cross. - The Pater, printed in 7 languages, paperback. The set comes with : - a small publisher's portfolio with a pocket containing two lead printing dies for text blocks, 6 text and title prints, - a lead printing die for the Vaterunser (Pater in German), in a blue plastic cover from the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, - a microform on rodhoïd reproducing the 1245 pages of the Holy Bible (773,746 words), to be read only with a 100X microscope, of course! Very good condition. Rare, sought-after microscopic editions.

Fri 23 Aug

Petites heures. à l'usage universel, ornées de jolies figures, dédiées à S.A.R. Madame Duchesse d'Angoulême. Paris, Saintin, 1817. In-32 (80 x 53 mm) havana morocco, smooth spine decorated with gilt rocaille irons, gilt title, gilt roulette framing the covers, gilt initials P.D. on the upper cover (period binding). 4 engraved figures out of text. Several tears, including 1 with loss of text.

Fri 23 Aug

[RECTIFICATION] [Hours of Paris]. Vespres. sl, sn, sd [1743]. In-8 red morocco, ribbed spine decorated with gilded pomegranate decoration, gilded title, beautiful wide framing lace on the covers with draped irons in the spandrels, gilded arms in the center of the covers, gilded roulette on the covers (period binding). A very fine copy (text incomplete) bearing the arms of [[[[[Charles Antoine de LESTOCQ, seigneur de Louvencourt, and his wife Claire Catherine née Lestocq]]]]] (cf. Armorial des familles de Picardie). Rare provenance.

Sat 24 Aug

SHAKESPEARE (William). Œuvres. Tragedies (6 vol.) - Comedies (6 vol.). Paris, Les heures claires, 1971. 12 vol. in-4 in publisher's binding, red leather with gilt decoration, gilt head, in slipcases (R. Manne). Edition of 2950 copies; no. 503 of 2680 on chiffon de Rives vellum. Numerous off-text color illustrations: Macbeth - Antoine et Cléopâtre illustrated by DOUKING; Comme il vous plaira - Tout est bien qui finit bien illustrated by COMMERE; La comédie des erreurs - Peines d'Amour perdues illustrated by FONTANAROSA; La nuit des rois - Le songe d'une nuit d'été illustrated by CARZOU; Roméo et Juliette - Titus Andronicus illustrated by J. D. MALCLES ; La Mégère apprivoisée - Les deux gentilshommes de Vérone illustrated by CHAPELAIN-MIDY ; Othello illustrated by Leonor FINI ; Hamlet illustrated by CARZOU ; Coriolan - Timon d'Athènes illustrated by Yves BRAYER ; Jules César - Le roi Lear illustrated by Georges WAKHEVITCH ; Beaucoup de bruit pour rien - La Tempête illustrated by LELONG ; Le Marchand de Venise - Les joyeuses commères de Windsor illustrated by Yves BRAYER. Spines sunned and lightly rubbed, but otherwise complete in 12 volumes (which is rare).

Sat 24 Aug

SILVESTRE (Israël). Collection of views. Sl, sd (1654). In-8 oblong, red morocco, richly decorated ribbed spine, double gilt fillet framing the boards with fleurons in spandrels, gilt edges (period binding). Covers and nerves rubbed, corners badly damaged, boards soiled, some plates faded or wet. A very large number of views engraved by Israël Silvestre have been bound together, forming coherent or inconsistent series published between 1647 and 1655; they alternate between Paris (and its surroundings), Lyon (and its surroundings), a few other French provinces and Rome: I. Les Lieux les plus remarquables de Paris et des environs [...] 1654. 12 plates. II. Diverses veües de Lion [...] 1652, 12 plates including engraved title. III. Diverses veües faictes par Israël Silvestre. À Monseigneur le comte de Vivonne (...).1652. 13 plates, including title (vuesde Paris). IV. [Views of Lyon, Burgundy and Champagne]. S.l.n.d., 7 plates. V. [Views of Paris]. S.l.n.d., 5 plates. VI. [Views of Bourbonnais and Burgundy]. S.l.n.d., 4 plates. VII. [Vues de Paris et des environs]. sd, 8 plates. VIII. Livre de diverses paisages faicts sur le naturelle. sd, 42 plates including title (in place of 3). IX. Divers veuës du chasteau et des bastiments de Fontainebleau [...] sd, 9 plates. X. [Views given by Israël Silvestre and his uncle Israël Henriet]. sd [1655], 11 plates. XI. [Miscellaneous Views]. S.l.n.d., 9 plates. XII. Divers paysages sur le naturel de la duché de Bourgongne [...] S.l., 1650, 11 plates including title. XIII. Divers paisages faits sur le naturel [surtout la Bourgogne et Rome]. S.l., 1650, 23 plates including title. XIV. Livre de diverses veuës de France, Rome, et Florence. sd, 15 plates including title. XV. Diverse vedute di porti di mare. S.l., 1647, 5 plates. XVI. Divers veües de ports de mer d'Italie et autres lieus. sd., 11 plates. XVII. Diverses veües de France et d'Italie. s.d., 12 plates numbered 1-12. XVIII. Divers veuës d'Italie et autre lieu. sd., 6 plates (two subjects per plate). XIX. Divers veuës faites par Israël Silvestre et mises en lumière par Israël Henriet. S.l.n.d. [Paris], 5 plates (two subjects per plate). A TOTAL OF 219 PLATES. Also included at the very end of the volume is Jacques Callot's most famous suite, Les Grandes misères de la guerre, published two years before the artist's death after the 1632 suite (Les Petites misères de la guerre): Les Misères et les mal-heurs de la guerre. Represented by Iacques Callot noble Lorrain. Et mis en lumière par Israël son amy. Paris, 1633, 16 plates numbered 1-17, including title. Missing plates 4 [the marauding] and 18 [distribution of rewards] (clumsy paper repair to plate 5). Plan, Jacques Callot, chronological catalog, numbers 803-820.

Sun 25 Aug

CICÉRON (Marcus Tullius). Le Epistole famigliari di Cicerone, tradotte secondo i veri sensi dell'auttore, & con figure proprie della lingua volgare, ristampate di nuovo, & con molto studio ricorrette. Venice, Aldus, 1548. Small in-8, 305-[1] ff. red morocco, ornate ribbed spine, gilt title, gilt place and date, double framing of double cold fillet, small gilt fleurons in spandrels, gilt Aldine anchor in center of boards, interior lace, gilt edges (Capé). Beautiful aldine edition in italics. A very fine copy in a handsome signed binding with a prestigious provenance: bookplate "à la Bible d'or" of publisher Ambroise FIRMIN-DIDOT (1790-1876).

Sun 25 Aug

GEDIK (Simon) & ACIDALIUS (Valens). Disputatio perjucunda, qua Anonymus probare nititur Mulieres Homines non esse ; Cui Opposita est Simonis Gedicci Sacros. Theologiae Doctoris Defensio Sexus Muliebrus, Qua singular Anonymi argumenta distinctis Thesibus Proposita Viriliter Enervantur. Editio Novissima. The Hague, Isaac Burchoorn, 1638. In-12, 132 pp. Red morocco, smooth spine decorated with gilt vertical fillets, gilt title, double gilt fillet framing the boards, gilt edges (post. binding). Binding attributed to Derome by a handwritten note in pencil inside. The German man of letters Valens Acidalius (1567-1595) was credited with the "Disputatio nova contra mulieres, qua probatur eas homines non esse" (New argument against women, proving that they are not human beings), published anonymously in 1595, but he denied authorship. In fact, the aim of the work was to ridicule the arguments with which the "Anabaptists" (in fact, the Socinians) denied the divinity of Christ, by showing that similar arguments, also taken from the Bible, could be used to deny the humanity of women. This banter with the Holy Scriptures was repeatedly blacklisted by the Catholic Church. The Saxon Lutheran theologian Simon Gedik (1551-1631) refuted the work attributed to Acidalius point by point, using biblical texts to demonstrate that women are indeed human beings. Phew! A fine copy. (Brunet II, 759.)

[ART] MANDACH (Conrad de). Les Trésors de la Peinture Suisse, les Antiphonaires d'Estavayer-Le-Lac. Published by Skira in 1943. In-folio format, leaves in dust jacket. Illustrated with color plates. Good condition.

Tue 24 Sep

Attributed to the Associate of the Missal Master Arcimboldi Annunciation Historiated initial D, taken from a choir book. Tempera and liquid gold, on parchment. Italy, Lombardy (Brescia or Mantua (?)), circa 1492-1495. Miniature mounted on a cardboard support. 20.8 x 19 cm Set against a classical, humanist architectural backdrop of bluish landscape, with a majestic peacock perched on a low wall, this Annunciation shows the angel Gabriel rushing towards the Virgin kneeling before a prie-Dieu. The light, careful compositional perspective and pastel palette lend a softness and elegance to this illuminated historiated initial. Dating from the late Quattrocento, this monumental illumination is most certainly taken from a choir book (gradual or antiphonary). This beautiful miniature is similar to a group of historiated initials attributed to an anonymous master, a close associate of the painter of the Arcimboldi Missal (Milan, Bibl. Capitolare, MS. II.D.I.13). This artist, baptized "Associate of the Master of the Arcimboldi Missal", was studied by Suida (1947) and seems to have worked in Brescia or the surrounding area. He is influenced, even in his architecture and treatment of checkerboard paving, by Milanese artists of the previous generation, such as Cristoforo de Predis. We know of a small group of historiated initials, taken from the same choir book, which show similarities to our Annunciation in the treatment of the figures and the palette. There is a first group of nineteen known initials, for a time in the Rodophe Kann collection, which feature related figures and strokes (Paris, 1907; see the survey and locations in P. Kidd, Illuminated Leaves and Cuttings From the Collection of Rodolphe Kann, see link below). Although the present Annunciation is not one of the miniatures in the Kann collection, there are obvious stylistic comparisons, starting with the lettering, with pastel motifs and palette (notably the violet/mauve of the lettering with pearl motifs and green and pink acanthus foliage). Remains of a blue baguette can be seen on the left side of the Annunciation: a historiated initial featuring Saint John the Baptist (former Burke Collection, San Francisco, now Stanford University, M2223) has this same blue baguette extended. Some related initials are in the Musée Marmottan, Wildenstein Collection, M 6103-6105. An overview of known initials is provided by C. Quattrini in Dizionario biografico dei miniatori italiani secoli IX-XVI, ed. M. Bollati, Milan, 2004, pp. 619-620. See Suida, W., "Italian Miniatures Paintings from the Rodolphe Kann Collection?", in Art in America 35 (1947), pp. 26-27. Bergamo and Brescia, Tesori miniati, codici ed incunaboli dai fondi antichi di Bergamo e Brescia, exp. cat. 1995. P. Kidd https://mssprovenance.blogspot.com/2021/04/illuminated-leaves-and-cuttings-from.html This drawing is presented jointly with Madame Marianne Aveline, 40, rue Gay-Lussac 75005 Paris.