Manuscript Leaf, First Edition (41 results)

Condition: Sehr gut. Original softcover binding, 87 pages, numerous illustrations, very good condition. Wonderful publication of an highly interesting manuscript, which is actually a forgery, but is nonetheless an absolute marvel. Sprache: Englisch Gewicht in Gramm: 550.

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. MARTIN (Sir Theodore, 1816-1909). Autograph Manuscript Leaf Signed, quoting Heinrich Heine, dated June 1889. 1 p., 8vo, in ink on laid paper, the verso with old paper adhesions, crease and an old fold. Good.  From Heinrich Heine's Poems and Ballads in Martin's hand, written out and signed is this quotation: "The rose, the lily, the sun, and the dove, I loved them all with a passion of love. That is past; now one only is dear to me, My pretty, my witty, pure, peerless she; She herself, source of all that is worthy love, Is rose, and lily, and sun, and dove." From Heine, by Theodore Martin. June 1889. Sir Theodore's acclaimed English translation of Heine's Buch der Lieder (1854) introduced the German poet's lyrical romanticism to Victorian readers and influenced later Anglophone verse renderings. This autograph transcription?made thirty-five years later?shows Martin's lasting affection for Heine's poetry. Sir Theodore Martin was a Scottish poet, translator and man of letters, best known for his translations of Heine, Horace, and Catullus, and for his monumental Life of the Prince Consort. He was also the husband of the celebrated Shakespearean actress and author of On Some of Shakespeare's Female Characters, Lady Helen (Faucit) Martin. It is rare to find a manuscript leaf like this from him. . Signed by Author(s).

Zürich, Artibus Asiae Publishers at Museum Rietberg 2006. 255 S. m. zahlr. Abbildungen. OLn. m. OU. 30,4 x 23,8 cm. Sehr gutes Exemplar.

3/4 leather. Condition: Near Fine. First Edition. A very attractive example of this sumptuous collection of the "Complete Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson", bound in a lavish 3/4 dark-green morocco over marbled boards, with fine gilt-tooling at the compartments. Complete in 12 octavo volumes. The 1903-1904 "Autograph Centenary Edition", here honoring Emerson's 1803 birth. This set #67 of 600 copies issued of the "Autograph Centenary Edition", EACH SIGNED "HOUGHTON MIFFLIN & CO." AT THE LIMITATION AND EACH ALSO INCLUDING AN ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT LEAF, IN THIS CASE AN 1854 HANDWRITTEN LETTER --ADDRESSED FROM CONCORD-- IN VOLUME I IN RALPH WALDO EMERSON'S FLOWING HAND, TAKING UP BOTH SIDES OF THE BOUND-IN SINGLE SHEET. THE ALS GRACIOUSLY OFFERS THANKS FOR EMERSON'S "ELECTION AS AN HONORARY MEMBER OF 'THE EVERETT LITERARY ASSOCIATION'", WHILE ADMITTING "I AM MUCH TO BLAME FOR ALLOWING YOUR NOTE INFORMING ME OF MY ELECTION TO REMAIN UNACKNOWLEDGED HITHERTO". The set is bright and crisp and easily VG+ to Near Fine. Top-edges bright-gilt, deckled fore and bottom-edges. Very faint mustiness to several of the volumes, clean as could be internally, with no writing or markings of any kind. Illustrated in photogravure throughout, matching marbled endsheets and pastedowns as well. A lasting, significant collection of Emerson's full body of writings. Signed.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. 1st Edition. This is a first edition complete 10 volume set of THE WRITINGS OF JOHN MUIR by John Muir, edited by William Frederic Bade with additional biographical material in volumes 9 and 10 by Bade. Edition of 750 sets, this set being number 200 with that number being handwritten in each volume on the limitation page. The sets were published over a number of years starting in 1916 and concluding in 1924. Each volume measures 231mm tall x 155mm and has a b/w frontispiece with tissue guard. The set requires approximately 410mm (16.25 inches) of shelf space when the volumes are positioned upright. The following is copied from Kimes' bibliography of John Muir's books: v. 1. Nine photogravures with printed tissues, incl. front.; 8 halftone plates of author's sketches and map tipped in. v. 2. Eight photogravures with printed tissues, inc. front.; 16 halftone plates of author's sketches and map tipped in. v. 3. Eight photogravures with printed tissues, incl. front., and map tipped in. v. 4. Eight photogravures with printed tissues, incl. front., and map tipped in. v. 5. Six photogravures with printed tissues, incl. front., and map tipped in. v. 6. Seven photogravures with printed tissues, incl. front., and map tipped in. v. 7. Five photogravures with printed tissues, incl. front.; 10 halftone plates of author's sketches and map tipped in. v. 8. Six photogravures with printed tissues, incl. front., and map tipped in. v. 9. Seven photogravures with printed tissues, incl. front., and 1 plate of author's drawing tipped in. v. 10. Five photogravures with printed tissues, incl. front., and 1 plate of author's drawing tipped in. Price: $6.00 per v. In correspondence with the Houghton Mifflin Company, we learned that The Writings was a publication of the Private Library Department and that no records were available. The set was sold by subscription only. According to the publisher's announcement of the manuscript edition, the first six volumes were to be published in the fall of 1916, and the remaining four volumes would be published as soon as "the work of compilation and editing" could be accomplished. Since A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf, included in volume one, was not published until November, 1916, the six volumes could have been available in December, but it may not have been until early in 1917. Volumes seven and eight were published in 1918; volume nine did not appear until late in 1923, and volume ten in 1924. Correspondence indicates that the war was a deterring factor in the company's publication schedule. Customers were inquiring for the last two volumes as early as 1919 and 1920. A hand-written note (Dr. Bade) on a publisher's announcement indicates that the manuscript edition, issued in a variety of formats, was completely sold. CONDITION: Each volume is bound in original green buckram, with leather title patch on spine lettered in gilt, with front and bottom edges of text block uncut, and with each volume hand-numbered (all volumes have the same number which indicates that this is not a mixed set). The spines have faded to tan (usual for this binding) and the leather title patches have some usual wear with loss to the patches of volume 1, volume 2, and volume 3. No previous owner marks or writing on any pages, no foxing, solid bindings, complete.PHOTOS ARE OF ACTUAL ITEM BEING OFFERED. Signed by Author(s).

Original cloth. Condition: Very Good. First edition. FIRST EDITION OF A SEMINAL WORK OF AMERICAN LITERATURE WITH MANUSCRIPT LEAF FROM THOREAU'S MEMOIRS. First published in a run of two-thousand copies in Thoreau's native Massachusetts, Walden; Or, Life in the Woods (1854) synthesises the thematic core of the Transcendentalist movement: a simple life with immediate connection to the natural world. During the second quarter of the nineteenth century, Thoreau cloistered himself in a cabin built by himself within the acreage of Ralph Waldo Emerson's woodland in Concord, Massachusetts. From this isolated sojourn emerged Thoreau's most prolific work, which encapsulates his ideas on self-reliance and humankind's relationship with nature. "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer," writes Thoreau, continuing, "Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." (Walden, p. 348). At the turn of the century and following the author's death in 1862, Thoreau's collected works were published in twenty volumes by Houghton Mifflin. The project including a limited run of highly sought-after Manuscript Editions-which contained a leaf from Thoreau's manuscripts mounted and bound into the first volume of each set. The present copy is one such first volume, and its leaf constitutes an excerpt in Thoreau's hand from his posthumously-published 1866 memoir A Yankee in Canada. The work details his travels in Montreal and the present passage, from the chapter "The Walls of Quebec", describes his encounter with a Scots emigré in Quebec as they walk from a barrack along the famous walls of the city. A Yankee in Canada documented the only excursion Thoreau made outside of the United States, with this particular passage featuring a conversation with an individual he meets there, thus providing a thematic counterpoint to the hermitic life recorded in Walden-as attested by the timeless line "I want the flower and fruit of a man" (Walden, p. 83). Another insight offered by this unique holograph of A Yankee in Canada concerns how Thoreau modulates his celebrated style natural observation to a mode of recounting human interaction. "Thus being naturally drawn together", he pens while recalling how he meets the Scots-Canadian, whereas the authorised editions of the work read, "being thus mutually drawn together" (A Yankee in Canada, p. 75). The alteration is slight, and whether it is an authorial emendation or one from an editor is uncertain. But, of the two word, "naturally" better reflects Thoreau's sensibilities towards the certain idées fixes which inspired much of his literary engagement with the Transcendental movement: environmentalism and natural history. Yet, with "mutually" Thoreau perhaps affords a closer, more sympathetic bond to the stranger in contrast to the relationships he forages with the environment, recognising in a fellow human motivations better described as mutual than natural. THOREAU, HENRY DAVID. Walden; Or, Life in the Woods. Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1854. First edition. Octavo. [ii], 357, [7], 8 (advertisements dated June 1854); original sepia cloth with gilt spine and boards stamped in blind, custom presentation box. Cancelled bookplate of Universalist Sabbath School. Inscribed: "Beatrice Criss Cullum". Bottom page creased with misaligned type on p. 50; some foxing; tear in the margin of one leaf (p. 69/70), light wear to spine ends, stab-holes visible through cloth. Exceptionally well-preserved copy of a book difficult to find in collectible edition and with unrestored, original cloth. GrolierAmerican63. with THOREAU, HENRY DAVID. The Writings of Henry David Thoreau. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1906. Manuscript edition, no. 307 of 600. Tall octavo, xlvii, 435 pp.; first of twenty volumes (A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers). Frontispiece portrait of Thoreau in daguerreotype. Original sage pebble cloth with paper label. With a manuscript leaf from Thoreau's diaries mounted on a fold out sheet (24 x 19 mm). Transcription: And here for a short time I lost sight of the wall, but I recovered it again on emerging from the barrack yard. [deleted: And t] There I met with a Scotchman who appeared to have business with the wall like myself. Thus being naturally drawn together by a similarity of dates, we had a little conversation sub moenibus, that is, by an angle of the wall which sheltered us. He lived about 30 miles north-west of Quebec, had been 19 years in the country; said he was disappointed that he was not brought to America after all, but found himself still under British rule, and where his own language was not spoken. -that many Scotch, Irish, & English were disappointed in like manner, and either went to the States, or pushed up the river to Canada West, nearer to the States, and where their language was spoken. He talked of visiting the States sometime and as he seemed ignorant of geography, I warned [end of folio] References: Frost, Robert, "Letter to Wade Van Dore, June 24, 1922", in Richard Ruland (ed.),Twentieth-Century Interpretations of Walden (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1968), p. 8 Thoreau, Henry David, A Yankee in Canada (Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1866).

No Binding. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. This is what I believe to be a Buddhist or just ancient Palm leaf manuscript/bound; 2 leaves with the library or museum catalog number 41-1754 written in red ink; size: 19-3/8 x 2-1/2 in; the string is missing and I don't know the order of the leaves; It has in red written on it 41.1754; I don't know what the date is but on 2 leaves it says 1754 (but I don't if this is the actual date); chips to the edges, for the age I assume the leaves are in good condition. Please look at pixs carefully before purchasing it. Please remember I don't know anything about the item but of course ask questions if necessary.

First Edition. MANUSCRIPT OF AUTHORS OWN BOOK TITLES BEING one HOLOGRAPHIC LEAf on yellow lined paper, about fine, written on both verso and rectos, about 250 words, listing 82 book titles and categorizing each under its' proper series when applicable. A very nice souvenir / remembrance in the authors own hand.

vellum; framed. Condition: Very Good. first edition. ILLUMINATED ANTIPHONAL LEAF WITH EXCEPTIONALLY LARGE HISTORIATED INITIAL OF KING DAVID AS PSALMIST. The recto features a stunning, large (6 1/4 x 7 in.) initial "T" featuring a miniature of David the Psalmist, captured mid-song with instrument in hand as an angel unfurls the opening of the Psalm 110 (Dixit Dominus)a classic image of divine inspiration rendered with rich pigments and a thickly burnished gold initial "T". The "T" frames and divides the image, with King David and the angel occupying the right half. The Psalm's beginning ("DIXIT DOMINUS") is displayed on the angel's banner, emphasizing the divine inspiration for the Psalm. David is pictured with elegant flowing blue robes and, while he's playing a stringed instrument, there is another harp lying beneath his feet. The left side of the "T" (for the opening "Tecum principium") depicts a finely painted landscape, with a winding road, a bridge, and a town in the distance. The verso continues Psalm 110, but then transitions with a large red-and-organge painted "R" into a section of Psalm 111 (Redemptionem misit Dominus populo suo). Leaf size: 13x19.25 inches; archival framed to an overall size of 19x26 in.) Likely Italian, c.1550-1550. Vellum. Some mild toning and creasing to vellum. Some lines of cracking to color on miniature from the creasing. Small closed tear at top margin. Overall, the color (particularly the gilt) is exceptionally bright. A magnificent leaf.

custom folder. Condition: Very Good. First edition. ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT LEAF FROM A FRENCH BOOK OF HOURS, WITH MINIATURE OF THE VIRGIN AND CHILD IN A QUIET, TOUCHING SCENE WITH TEXT FROM "OBSECRO TE" A finely illuminated leaf on vellum from a French Book of Hours, featuring a delicate miniature of the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child set in an interior space. Mary, dressed in a blue robe with gold detailing, tenderly cradles the child on her lap, lovingly inclining her head toward him and wrapping him in her robe. The background shows open windows revealing a soft green landscape. The simple and sweet portrayal emphasizes the humble circumstances in which the Son of God was raised. The miniature is framed by a richly decorated three-quarter border of acanthus leaves, floral sprays, fruits, and leaves in green and gold on a hairline-scroll, a style consistent with high-quality Parisian or Rouen workshops. Above the text block appears a two-line initial O opening the prayer with a cross motif in blue and pink on a gold background. Recto contains 10 lines of text in a dark brown ink. The text below the miniature, in Latin, is the beginning of "Obsecro Te" beginning with the large 2-line initial O and reads as follows: Obsecro te, Domina Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, pietate plenissima, summi regis filia, Mater gloriosissima, Mater orphanorum, consolatio desolatorum, via errantium, salus et spes in te sperantium, Virgo ante partum, Virgo in partu, et Virgo post partum, fons misericordiae, fons salutis et Translation I beseech thee, Lady Holy Mary, Mother of God, most full of piety, daughter of the Most High King, Mother most glorious, Mother of orphans, consolation of the desolate, way of the straying, health and hope of those hoping in thee, virgin before giving birth, virgin during birth, and virgin after giving birth. I beseech thee font of mercy, font of grace and well-being Size of Leaf: 157 x 110 mm (approx 6.2 x 4.3 inches) Size of Miniature: 39x39 mm (approx 1.5 x 1.5 inches) Northern France, c. 1475. Miniature, text, and border clean and bright. A hint of soiling and natural crinkling of the vellum to margins of leaf. A well preserved leaf offering a tender rendition of the Madonna and Child. In custom presentation folder.

No Binding. Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. SPECTACULAR RICHLY ILLUMINATED AND FINELY DETAILED MINIATURE BY THE RENOWNED ENTRY MASTER FROM LYON, FRANCE. In Luke 2.8-2.9, an angel appears before a group of shepherds, a moment where "the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified." In this magnificently painted miniature, the artist captures the glory and the terror of the moment. Two of the three shepherds hold up their hands shielding them from the blinding light emanating from the angel, whereas one has even collapsed to the ground from terror. The powerful scene is complemented by a richly illuminated border with a bird, acanthus leaves and a floral motif. Verso(miniature side) contains a large initial D (4 lines) painted in blue with a flower on a red background. Recto contains 14 lines of text with an elaborate border on the right side of the leaf. The text beneath the miniature is from the Hours of the Virgin and reads: Deus in adiutorium meum intende Domine ad adiuvandum me festina Translation Incline unto my aid O God O Lord make haste to help me Recto contains 14 lines of text as follows: tua cunctam repelle nequitiam: iter, actus, et voluntates nostras, et omnium famulorum tuorum in salutis suae prosperitate dispone: benefactoribus nostris sempiterna bona retribue: et omnibus fidelibus defunctis requiem aeternam concede. Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum filium tuum: Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate spiritus sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum Translation: from thy Church repel all wickedness: and dispose our way, acts, and wills, and of all thy servants in the prosperity of thy salvation: and yield unto our benefactors perpetual good things: and grant eternal rest to all faithful departed. Through our Lord Jesus Christ thy son: Who liveth and reigneth, God, with thee, in the unity of the holy Ghost, world without end. The Entry Master (or Maître de l'Entrée de François Ier à Lyon) was an artist active in Lyon between approximately 1493 and 1517. He is named after a copy of the account of the royal entry of François I into Lyon in 1515 (Wolfenbüttel, Herzog August Bibliothek, Cod. Extr. 86.4; Burin, 2001, cat. 94). The scholar E. Burin has hypothetically identified him as Jean Pingault, a writer and illuminator responsible for the painted decorations commemorating the royal entry. The Entry Master is credited with numerous manuscripts, including a Lectionary and Benedictionary produced for the collegiate church of Saint-Nizier in Lyon (BM, MS 5136; Burin, 2001, cat. 74), as well as a charter relating to the priory of Saint-Albin, notable for its large illuminated page framed in a compartmentalised design (Paris, ENSBA, Masson 135). He also illustrated several books of hours, such as Lyon, BM, MS 577 (featuring an Annunciation to the Shepherds, fol. 56); Paris, BnF, latin 1404; and BnF, latin 9475. Manuscripts attributed to the Entry Master often share distinctive features, including compartmentalized borders, a characteristic rendering of grass and vegetation, and a recurring motif of a radiant cloud in the sky. These elements can be observed, for instance, in the Missal held at the Museum of the Order of Saint John in London (Burin, 2001, cat. 70). For further study, see Burin, E., Manuscript Illumination in Lyons, 14731530, Turnhout, 2001, especially the chapter "Entry Master," pp. 3133; and Hermant, M., "Production et commande de manuscrits enluminés à Lyon à la fin du Moyen Âge et à la Renaissance," in L. Virassamynaïken (ed.), Lyon Renaissance: arts et humanisme, Paris and Lyon, 2015, pp. 274279. Size of leaf: 213 x 140 mm (approx. 8.4 x 5.5 inches) Size of Miniature: 121 x 66 mm (approx. 4.8 x 2.6 inches) Lyon, France. 1500. In outstanding condition with a mounting square on the lower border (recto) that does not interfere with the text. Stunning miniature from a well known master illuminator.

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT LEAF FROM A LATE 15TH CENTURY FRENCH BOOK OF HOURS FEATURING A POIGNANT MINIATURE DEPICTING THE CRUCIFIXION. The miniature offered here [recto] captures the Crucifixion with notable emotional depth. Christ is shown on the Cross, flanked by the Virgin Mary in deep blue robes, her hands crossed in grief, and St. John the Evangelist who supports her. To the right stands a Roman soldier, possibly Longinus, rendered in vivid red. Behind Longinus stands a phalanx of soldiers in gray. Particularly striking is the artist's rendering of Christ's face, which powerfully conveys his pain and exhaustion. The delicate lines and shadows around the eyes and mouth give the figure a haunting realism, demonstrating the illuminator's careful attention to the humanity of Christ's suffering. The emotional intensity heightens the devotional function of the leaf, inviting the viewer into a moment of profound empathy and reverence. Surrounding the large miniature are margins richly embellished with sprays of acanthus leaves, red and blue flowers, and a finely detailed bird perched among the vines. In the right margin is a figure with a ladder. The text opens with a 4 line initial D, elegantly drawn in pink surrounding a delicate pink flower. Verso contains 15 lines of text with two 2-line initials decorated with embedded figures and a border of flowers and acanthus leaves. Numerous line fillers and illuminated initials decorate the text. The text is from the opening lines of Matins from the Hours of the Cross. The Latin text below begins Matins: Domine labia mea aperies. Et os meum annunciabit laudem tuam. Deus in adiutorium meum intende. Domine ad adiuvandum me festina. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto. Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum, Amen. Allelujah. English translation: Thou O Lord wilt open my lips. And my mouth shall declare thy praise. Incline unto my aid O God. O Lord make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. Even as it was in the beginning and now and ever and world without end, Amen Alleluia. Size: 178 x 119 mm (approx. 7.0 x 4.7 inches) Miniature: 123 x 60 mm (approx. 4.8 x 2.4 inches) France. Late 15th century. Some smudging to the right lower section of the miniature (area with the Roman solders). A particularly moving depiction of the Crucifixion.

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. A substantially complete leaf, c. 220 × 150 mm, ruled in drypoint for two columns of 37 lines, written in a fine protogothic bookhand in brown ink (the use of e; for ae and drypoint ruling, and to a lesser extent the uncrossed tironian et , symbol suggest a mid-century date, but the absence of the ampersand, the overall angularity, and the lateral compression of letter-forms suggest a date closer to the end of the century), decorated with ornamented initials in red, two or three lines high; recovered from use as a pastedown, with consequent damage especially to the recto, and the lowermost line damaged, but most of the text remaining legible Text Hugh of St-Victor, De sacramentis, 2.6.11 2.7.1: operibus eius atque omni<bus pompis eius [] unctionem accipere debuerunt . electum , including rubrics for 6.12 15 ( De patrinis , De rebaptizatione , Quare in sola aqua celebratur baptismus , and De forma baptismatis ) and 7.1: Incipit VII pars de confirmatione . Much of the text concerns baptism, which results in frequent occurrence of the letter z (baptizare, baptizatus, baptizata, etc.), which is usually palaeographically rather rare in Latin, and even absent from the rubrics, which instead use an s (baptismus, etc.).

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 290 x 205mm, ruled in leadpoint for 19 lines of text, written in large early Romanesque script (each line approximately 15mm high), each verse starting a new line with the initial letter of each verse in orange-red set to the left of the main text, the text comprising Psalm 77:31 45 ( [elec]tos Isial [! changed from Israhel] impedivit \u0085 cenomiam amp, et comedit ); recovered from reuse as a flyleaf in a binding, with consequent dirt and damage, the orange initials often darked through oxidation, but overall a specimen of large, handsome, legible Romanesque script.

First edition. One of 290 copies for sale, elegantly printed by Saul and Lillian Marks at the Plantin Press. Accompanied by an original leaf (in this case from the Psalms) from the 1611 Bible. Accompanied by an original leaf (in this case from St. Matthews) from the 1611 Bible. Facsimiles. Quarter linen and pictorial paper over boards. In dj. GTS bookplate only Accompanied by an original leaf (in this case from St. Matthews) from the 1611 Bible. Facsimiles First edition. One of 290 copies for sale, elegantly printed by Saul and Lillian Marks at the Plantin Press. Accompanied by an original leaf (in this case from the Psalms) from the 1611 Bible.

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 47cm x 32cm. Single very large leaf, with double column of 40 lines in a professional Germanic early gothic hand, with a rectangular aspect to letters and without biting curves, one interlinear addition, capitals touched with pen strokes, small initials in red (one with ornamental foliate flourish at end of descender), one large initial 'C' (opening 'cum Trajanus Romanorum.'the initial words of the Passion of St. Ignatius for 1st Feb.) in blank parchment white vine initial on pale green and ruby red grounds, two early repairs to holes in leaf, medieval folio no. 133 at head, pricking for lines visible in outer vertical edge, but probably trimmed on all other sides, reverse with initial darkened and a little scuffed, overall in very good condition. An impressively large leaf from what must have been an austere and beautiful example of the early German book arts.

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. c. 310 × 201 mm, ruled for two columns of 57 lines, written in a gothic 'university' hand, with rubrics in red, paraphs alternately red or blue, running titles "L[iber]" and "III" in alternate red and blue letters, one two-line red initial with blue flourishing, recovered from use in a bookbinding, with consequent cockling, creases, staining, small holes, etc. William of Auxerre (c. 11501231) was a French theologian and philosopher, and the first medieval writer to compose a systematic treatise on free will and natural law. His studies included Classical Greek philosophical works, and in 1231 was part of a papal-commissioned team engaged to censor the works of Aristotle. Others had seen these works as corruptive of Christian faith, but William proposed that rational analysis of the faith be allowed. Following this, Pope Gregory IX instructed him to reorganise the plan of theological studies in the University of Paris along such lines, but William died before such plans saw fruition. The present manuscript contains part of his compendium on the four books of Sentences by Peter Lombard, known as the Summa aurea or Summa super quattuor libros sententiarum. It was composed between 1215 and 1220 and treats such theological matters as God as one nature in three persons, creation, man, Christ and the virtues, sacramental worship, and the Last Judgement.

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. c. 210 × 145 mm, the biblical text written in a central column on alternate lines, preserving 12 lines, in a handsome Romanesque script, flanked on each side by columns of gloss in smaller, more informal, scripts, by more than one scribe, capitals stroked in red, recovered from use in a binding, with consequent cropping of two sides, stains, etc. The text comprises Matthew 7:10 16 which includes the comparison between false prophets and wolves in sheep s clothing, and the so-called Golden Rule: In everything do to others as you would have them do to you .

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Single complete leaf, with double column of 44 lines in a rounded and angular late gothic bookhand, capitals touched in yellow, red rubrics, running titles in tall calligraphic red script at head of each column, two large initials in dark green or blue, with foliate scrollwork picked out in their bodies, the larger enclosing liquid gold foliage with coloured flowers on burgundy ground, both on burnished and pounced gold grounds enclosed with coloured frames which sprout sprigs of acanthus leaves and gold bezants, a small '2' in lower outer corner of recto, one small original flaw to parchment (without losses to text), some small spots, else excellent condition, 380 x 270mm.; in cloth-covered binding. Decoration: The larger of the initials here with its scrollwork design, and infill of liquid-gold single-hairline foliage set within an internal gold border, is notably close to a leaf from an Austrian Bible, probably produced in Vienna in the second quarter to the middle of the fifteenth century (Lilly Library, Bloomington, Indiana, Ricketts MS 17: reproduced in C. de Hamel, Gilding the Lilly, 2010, no. 65).

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Leaf from a miniature Breviary, with finely decorated penwork initials, manuscript in Latin on vellum. Northern France or nearby Flanders, late C13th. Single column of 30 lines in two sizes of gothic script. 150mm x 95mm. Text is a reading for the Second Sunday in Advent. A very handsome and unusual script.

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Single leaf from the so-called Carondelet Breviary , an illuminated manuscript, in Latin, on vellum, commissioned in 1458 by Etienne Carondelet, a canon of the Church of Nore Dame in Dôle, from the scribe Jean d Aussert [France (probably Paris, just perhaps Dôle), 1458] Double column of 29 lines of late gothic bookhand, each 190 by 140mm., with folio number cccc . The parent manuscript was sold complete at Sothmann in Amsterdam, on 28 February 1985, and then broken up. Another leaf appeared at Sotheby s, 8 December 2015, lot 5e, and folio 206 from the volume is now in the Catharijneconvent Museum, Utrecht. ex Roger Martin of Grimsby, his MSS. 462 and 328. The naming of the parent codex the Carondelet Breviary in the Sotheby s catalogue is problematic as another much more important manuscript already had already been given that title by the same auction house two decades earlier (see Sotheby s Ritman sale, 6 July 2000, lot 29).

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. The leaf lacks just one line, c. 325 × 235 mm, the written space c. 270 × 177 mm, but lacking a line at the bottom, written in two columns of 58 (of 59) lines, in a regular Gothic script, the text comprising Baldo degli Ubaldi s Commentary on lex VI, De iure deliberandi ( posset. Sed que istarum rationem est potentior non est merum ius accrescendi (cf. the edition printed at Venice in 1586, VIII, available through Google Books: p. 106 col. a line 19 p. 107 col. a line 48).

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Fragmentary leaf, c. 333 × 200 mm, nearly complete, with especially wide upper and lower margins, but the four corners cropped; ruled in ink with the 1st, 3rd, and 5th lines from the top, and the 1st and 3rd from the bottom, ruled the full width of the page; written in two columns of 37 lines in gothic script in very black ink, one rubric in red, paraphs alternately red or blue; the text beginning in the middle of the short section Quare mundi corde sunt beati , 13 lines before a section with the rubric xii. Que faciunt ad commendationem mundice and ending just before the beginning of the beginning of the section De partibus munditie , beginning and ending: dicit. Glosa. id est Christum in maiestate Si radix est sancta et rami. Duodecim ; recovered from use as a book-cover, with consequent creases, stains, small holes, etc., and one side darkened, but still almost entirely easily legible. William/Guillaume Perault (Latinised as Guilelmus Peraldus), first wrote a treatise on vices and the deadly sins, and later a complementary book about virtues, the Summa de virtutibus; they typically circulated together as a single volume and were enormously popular, with hundreds of manuscripts (and many incunable editions) surviving. The section on the beatitudes is divided into 12 parts, of which part 10 is De munditia cordis (Purity of the heart).

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Two wide strips, each with approximately a column of text from the full height of a single leaf (and thus reuniting to reform that leaf) each column with 28 lines in a late gothic bookhand made with a wide nibbed pen and using w in spelling evangelist and similar, these containing parts of Bede s Homily I.2, red rubrics, (one rubric Bed suggesting his works were not the only ones in the parent manuscript) initials in red leafy fronds enclosed within soft green or turquoise-blue outlines, recovered from a binding and hence with scuffs, holes and concomitant damage, overall fair and presentable, together 206mm x 164mm.

No Binding. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. Approximately 285mm x 198mm. Single leaf, with 32 lines in a small and rounded English gothic hand much influenced by secretarial forms, paragraph marks set off in outer margin, script within ruled guide lines, leaf in very good, fresh condition. Provenance 1. The large and impressive parent manuscript of these leaves was owned by the Grosvenor family, Dukes of Westminster; their sale Sotheby's, 11 July 1966, lot 229 (when it had 267 leaves but was already missing a gathering and about 13 other leaves). 2. Francis Edwards, bookseller, who acquired it in the Sotheby's sale, before removing three damaged leaves that had had their initials cut out (these now in a private UK collection), and advertising the rest of the codex in a number of his subsequent catalogues. 3. At some time later more leaves were removed from the main codex, or it was completely dispersed, perhaps in North America. One from the collection of Bernard Rosenthal (1920-2017) of San Francisco, appeared as Quaritch cat. 1348, Bookhands of the Middle Ages VIII (2007), no. 96, and other leaves now reside in Marquette University in Milwaukee as donations of Dr. and Mrs John Pick, as well as the University of South Carolina, their early MS. 125.4. 53 Text This text, alongside the Bible and the works of Peter Lombard, was one of the fundamental textbooks used in the thirteenth-century universities. The author was a canon of Rheims cathedral, and most probably died in 1209. It is a distillation of the historical passages of the Bible in verse, with a commentary and allegorical discussion. The leaf now in the University of South Carolina importantly reveals that the text here is the first redaction by Aegidius of Paris, composed c. 1200 (see P.E. Beichner, Aurora: Petri Rigae Biblia Versificata, 1965). Petrus Riga was a medieval Latin poet and author who lived in the 12th century. He is best known for his poem "Aurora," which is a Christian allegory about the creation of the world and the history of humanity. The poem is written in hexameter verse and consists of over 4,000 lines. "Aurora" draws heavily from biblical stories and teachings, as well as classical mythology, and it was widely popular during the medieval period. Petrus Riga's work represents an important contribution to medieval literature, and "Aurora" remains a significant example of Christian allegory and poetic storytelling from the time period.

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. A single parchment leaf, 485 × 360 mm, with seven lines of text in rounded gothic script and music in square notation on four-line red staves, the text comprising: the end of the Judith antiphon Domine deus rex omnipotens libera , the beginning of the Esther response Domine rex omnipotens indictione tua , followed by the verse Exaudi orationem nostram and the response Conforta me rex sanctorum , with A LARGE HISTORIATED INITIAL D depicting King Ahasuerus, enthroned and with his feet on a green cushion, extending his rod to touch the head of Esther, who kneels before him; the upper margin with a post-medieval folio number XXX in red, the two responses marked in the adjacent margins 1 and 2 (and II ); with insignificant creases in the lower margin, overall in fine condition. Text In the Divine Office, there were daily biblical readings according to the liturgical season (Advent to Epiphany, Epiphany to Lent, and so on). After Corpus Christi (about two months after Easter) there were a variable number of summer weeks until the next Advent (because the dates of both Easter and Advent vary), and the daily readings were taken from the Old Testament books of Kings, Wisdom, Job, Tobit, Judith, Esther, Maccabees, and Ezekiel. The readings from Judith were used from the first Sunday after 20 September, and if this occurred early enough in the month, the Judith readings would be followed by those from Esther, as represented by the present leaf. Illumination The origin of this leaf is hard to determine. The predominantly blue and orange palette looks Bolognese at first sight, but this does not fit with the figure style, so it may be from elsewhere in Emilia-Romagna. The form of the white ornament on the blue background is typical of Umbria, however, so an origin further south is another possibility. The figures give a sense of three-dimensional volume (see, for example, the way in which the roundness of Ahasuerus s thigh and buttock is suggested by the way in which he sits on his own cloak, and the sweeping darker green lines that give volume to his foot-cushion). The subject of the initial is found in Esther, chapter 5 verse 2. Chapters 1 4 relate that the Persian king Ahasuerus banished his wife Vashti for disobedience, and selected Esther (who kept her Jewishness secret) as her replacement. Mordechai, Esther's cousin, learned of a plot by Haman, one of Ahasuerus s men, to kill all the Jews in the empire. Mordecai therefore asks Esther to use her position to intercede with the king. She reveals to him that she is Jewish, and successfully petitions him to save the Jews. The crucial moment is when she presents herself to him, And when he saw Esther the queen standing, and she pleased his eyes, and he held out toward her the golden sceptre, which he held in his hand, and she drew near .

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Parchment, a substantially complete leaf, c.350×250mm, the blank corners and a few words of text cropped but with wide margins, pricked in both side margins and ruled in plummet for two columns of 30 lines, written above top line in a very fine formal bookhand. The four outer creases show that the parent volume was given very wide turn-ins (it would have involved unnecessary extra effort to trim the leaf down to a smaller size); the two horizontal creases across the middle, flanked by pairs of sewing-holes, represent the spine of the host volume, with no title, but with a paper label inscribed 154 at the foot. As so often, the outer face is far darker than the inner, but the inner face shows how some liquid staining was guided along the channels created by the folds. The pricking in the inner margin (as well as the outer) suggests that the book was ruled leaf-by-leaf, not bifolium-by-bifolium: this practice involved extra labour and was only common in the few decades before and after 1200 (N. R. Ker, Medieval Manuscripts in British Libraries, I: London (Oxford, 1969), p. ix: Pricking is mentioned only if it occurs in the inner margin as well as the outer margin of each leaf, as is common of manuscripts of the late twelfth century and the early thirteenth century. This double pricking implies that the bifolium was folded before it was ruled ). SCRIPT Written in a very regular and handsome high-grade expert English bookhand. Characteristic features are the very regular flat or lozenge-shaped feet to the minims, the majuscule form of r at the end of words (e.g. Proditur ), and sometimes within (e.g. moris ), the a that is somewhat trailing-headed, the fusing of double p , but not po , od , etc., round r follows o , the ampersand appears but not tironian et , g is very upright with a small lower bowl, t has a serif rising from the left of its top-stroke, both upright and sloping d are used, and round s occurs often, but not always, at the end of words. The overall appearance is of the early 13th-century, but the lack of Gothic features such as fusing of letters, and the absence of tironian et , suggests an earlier date. TEXT Part of Lessons III VI of the Matins readings for the feast of St Ambrose (7 December): recto: [.]derunt imprec[.] super se uenturum etiam ipsos filosophos conuerterunt. Beatus uero Ambrosius ubi quod intenderat ad sacerdotium peterentur. Letabatur etiam probet prefectus iterum fugam parauit verso: atque in possessionem cuiusdam Leontii summa gratia & leticia cunctorum. Lectio VI. Per idem tempus erat quidam uir de heresi Arianorum caput eius operuit atque [paulatim] . DECORATION The three readings each begin with a four-line initial, alternately red with blue penwork ornament or vice versa, with small touches of green; that on the verso used as the inner face of the book-cover and thus better preserved, its descender extending alongside five lines of text and an equal distance down into the lower margin. PROVENANCE From a box of uncatalogued fragments at the library of the Benedictine abbey at Ampleforth, Yorkshire; deaccessioned in 2010. It is likely to have been removed from the binding of one of the Abbey s printed books, bound in the 16th century.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Leaf from a commentary on Matthew 2:11-18, in Latin, from a large decorated manuscript on parchment[England, c. 1200] Single leaf, with double column of 45 lines in a handsome English gothic bookhand (textualis libraria), capitals touched in red and sometimes with leafy vine-stem terminals, one small red initial, marginalia including diagrams for the words "fuga" and "Moratus", recovered from a binding and with staining to margins on recto, some tears to edges of leaves and small holes, overall in fair and presentable condition, 345 by 245mm.; in cloth-covered binding and with report by Prof. Marvin Colker Provenance: 1. The presence of punctus flexus punctuation indicates an origin in a Cistercian community, somewhere in England at the end of the twelfth century and the opening of the thirteenth.2. Sotheby's, 12 November 1987, lot 12. 3. Bernard Rosenthal (1920-2017), San Francisco, California, I/266 (1987). 4. Quaritch cat. 1088, Bookhands of the Middle Ages III, 1988, no. 65. 5. Schøyen Collection, London and Oslo, their MS 107, acquired June 1988. Text:This text is a compilation of other commentaries, including those of Anselm of Laon (1050-1117) and the Historia Scholastica of Peter Comestor (1100-78; signalled with the marginal note in red "Hyst. ca. xi"), the latter citing Chrysostom on the assertion that a new star had appeared for an entire year before the birth of Jesus. Here the scribe has annotated this statement with a marginal addition: "Hec sententia minus est usitata", indicating that this idea is not usually held. Published: H.R. Woudhuysen, 'Manuscripts at Auction: January 1988 to December 1988', in English Manuscript Studies 1100-1700, vol. 2, eds. P. Beal and J. Griffiths, Blackwell, Oxford, 1990, pp. 311, 315-317. J. Griffiths, 'Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection Copied or Owned in the British Isles before 1700', in English Manuscript Studies 1100-1700, vol. 5, eds. P. Beal and J. Griffiths, British Library, London, 1995, pp. 36-42.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Leaf from Augustine, Enarrationes in Psalmos, for Psalm 41:6-8, in Latin, from large manuscript on parchment[England, mid-twelfth century] Complete single leaf, with double column of 39 lines in a formal and angular proto-gothic bookhand, with pronounced wedges to ascenders and a residual ct-ligature, pale red rubrics, English pencil notes on text in lower margin of recto, recovered from a binding and so darkened on verso, and small scuffs, folds and holes, overall good and presentable condition with wide and clean margins, and on heavy parchment, 390 by 260mm.; in cloth-covered binding Provenance: 1. Alan G. Thomas (1911-1992), London bookseller.2. Leeds' Public Library; de-accessioned and sold by auction at Phillips, 28 February 1990, lot 54. 3. Schøyen Collection, London and Oslo, their MS 659, acquired from Sam Fogg, London, in June 1990. Text and script: The Enarrationes in Psalmos is the longest of Augustine's major works; measuring twice the length of his more well-known De Civitate Dei. It was composed between 392 and 418 as a long series of sermons and perhaps copied down initially by secretaries as Augustine actively preached.The script here is a fine example of an English proto-gothic bookhand from the period of the shift between the final phase of the Romanesque and the beginning of the early Gothic.

nb. Condition: Very Good. first edition. EXTRAORDINARY ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT LEAF FEATURING A MINIATURE OF THE ENTOMBMENT BY A FOLLOWER OF JEAN BOURDICHON AND JEAN POYER. C.1500. A stunning leaf from a Book of Hours by an illuminator working in Tours, France, c.1500, in the style of master illuminators Jean Poyer (fl. 1483-1503) and Jean Bourdichon (c.1459-1521) of the celebrated "School of Tours". The Entombment, shown in a periscopic view, features figures rendered with a remarkable level of detail and superb artistic quality. The scene is shown at night, with a dark background providing a striking contrast highlighting the colorful fabrics and gold highlights of the subjects. The magnificent border features instruments of the Passion -cross, crown of thorns, dice, etc. - painted in gold on a rich burgundy background. The text is that of the opening compline of the Long Hours of the Cross (Hours of the Passion). Introduced with a highly decorated "C", it begins with "Converte nos deus salutaris noster." on the recto, continuing with 21 lines of text on the verso. Tours, France. 174 x 110mm. Housed in glass case and slipcase. In outstanding condition with only a small smudge to right side of recto border ands remnant of mount to verso margin. A LEAF OF EXTREMELY HIGH QUALITY, WITH COLORS REMARKABLY BRIGHT.