Incunable -

THOMAS OF AQUIN (Saint). Catena aurea super quattuor Evangelistas. Nuremberg, Anton Koberger, August 8, 1475. Large folio (410 mm) of 430 ff. (the first 2 leaves are missing, plus a leaf of text in the fifth quire, these gaps formerly replaced by handwritten leaves); 17th century Germanic binding, stamped sow skin on bevelled wood, 5 large brass nails riveted to the boards, remains of clasps. Posterior endpapers. Worm holes on the first and last leaves. Marginal tear without missing f. 31. Missing on the first two pages. Small lack to the second ornamented lettering. Incunabula gothic printing with two columns of 57 lines per page of the Golden Chain of the Four Evangelists. St. Thomas Aquinas compiles the commentaries of the main Fathers of the Church on the Gospels. The volume comes from the presses of Anton Koberger, the famous publisher of the Nuremberg Chronicle, the second - and most prolific - printer in this city during the incunable period, who owned up to 24 presses at the same time. Numerous ornamented initials with 4 different colored inks, 3 large illuminated initials and initials highlighted in blue and red. Bookplate in black ink on the upper cover: Philippi Jaczwang, a[nn]o 1699. Hain-Copinger, 1331*.- Pellechet, 935.- Polain, 3693 (only one copy, Maredsous).- Goff. T-227 (5 copies only) - BMC, II, 413 - No copy in Japan, two in Paris (BNF), one in the Netherlands (Heerenberg). Provenance collection of the Gantner Museum, Osenat sale 2014.