Book History, Education, Learning & Printing

TORRENTINUS, Hermannus (Herman van der BEKE). Elucidarius poeticus co[n]tinens historias poeticas, fabulas, insulas regiones, urbes, fluvios, mo[n]tesq[ue] insigniores, atq[ue] huiusmodi alia, ...
Antwerp, Michiel Hillen van Hoogstraten, 1527. With the title in an elaborate woodcut border.
With: (2) [FIOCCHI, Andrea Dominico (Andras Dominicus FLOCCUS)] under the name of Lucius FENESTELLA. De magistratibus, sacerdotiisq[ue] Romanorum libellus, iamprimum nitori restitutus.
[Cologne, Hero Fuchs, 1527]. With the title in a finely cut 4-piece woodcut border. 2 editions in 1 volume. 8vo. 16th-century(?) limp vellum (formerly used for a slightly thinner book). The binding is an interesting example of a spine reinforced with a horizontal metal rod at the central sewing support to give more support and prevent the bookblock from becoming concaved or developing sharp kinks; probably bound in Flanders. [88]; [88] ll. Full description

TOSTATUS (TOSTADO DE MADRIGAL), Alfonso. Super Leviticum in sensu litterali nova et hactenus abscondita a se edita commentaria.
(Colophon: Venice, Petrus Liechtenstein, 1529). With title-page printed in red and black with a large woodcut containing the coats of arms of the Emperor Charles V (Charles I of Spain) and two bishops (the author and perhaps a relative), leaf 2 with a woodcut of the author writing at his desk, with his arms, and a woodcut initial with the other bishop's arms inside the letter, the arms in the initial and some lines of text printed in red. Printed in two columns.
With: (2) TOSTATUS, Alfonso. Opus super Deuteronomium.
(Colophon: Venice, Petrus Liechtenstein, 1528). With title-page printed in red and black, leaf 1 with a woodcut of the author writing at his desk, with his arms (not the same woodcut as in ad 1), and a woodcut initial with the other bishop's arms as in ad 1. Printed in two columns. 2 works in 1 volume. Folio. Contemporary blind- and gold-tooled tanned sheepskin over wooden boards; each board in a panel design with 2 (on the back board 3) different vine rolls, rules, and on the front board a central medaillon depicting Bathsheba kneeling before King David playing his harp, and a half dozen separate stamps, with author and title at the head, "Thostati Super Leviti et Deuteronomy" and the binding date MDXXXII (1532); blind-tooled spine, remnants of brass anchor plates on the back board (for straps?), catch plates on the front board lacking. 249, [1 blank]; [1], 120 ll. Full description

TRIGAULT, Nicolas. La vie du P. Gaspar Barzee Zelandois, de la Compagnie de Jesus. ... En la conqueste d'un Nouveau Monde à la foy Chrestienne, soubs les estandarts du bon Jesus, en l'Inde Orientale.
Douai, Noel Wardavoir, 1615. Small 8vo (14.5 x 9 cm). Contemporary limp vellum. [24], 444, [4] pp. Full description

ULLOA, Alfonso de. Historie, ende het leven van den aldermachtichsten ende victorieusten keyser Caerle de Vijfde van dien name. Inden welcken niet alleen beschreven en zijn de hooge ende seer vrome daden vanden selven Prince, maer oock de merckelijckste saken die over alle de werelt/ insonderheyt inde Oost ende West-Indyen geschiet zijn. Eerstmael in Italiaensche tale beschreven.
Amsterdam, Jacob Pietersz. Paets [printed by Isaac Jansz. Canin in Dordrecht?], 1610. Folio. With the engraved architectural frame on the title-page signed with a BD monogram (Baptista van Doetecum?) and 16 full-page and 2 smaller engraved portraits of contemporary lords and rulers by Nicolaes de Clerck (1569/70-1623). Contemporary vellum. [2], 221, [9] ll. Full description

ULPIANUS of Emesa and Valerius HARPOCRATION. Commentarioli in olynthiacas, philippicasque Demosthenis orationes. Enarrationes saneque necessariae in tredecim orationes Demosthenis. ...Dictionarium decem Rhetorum. [preceded by the titles in Greek].
(Colophon: Venice, heirs of Aldus Manutius, and his father-in-law Andrea Torresano dAsola [& sons], June) 1527. Folio (31 x 21 cm). With Aldus's famous woodcut dolphin device on the title-page and an older but very similar version on the verso of the otherwise blank last leaf. Set in Greek type (the Upianus in 1 column; the Harpokation in 2 columns) with incidental roman. Recased in 18th-century vellum over flexible boards. 119, [1] ll. Full description

VASIF EFENDI, Ahmed. Mahasin ül-âsâr ve hakayik ül-ahbar.
Bulaq, Bulak matbaasi, 1246 AH [= 1830 CE]. 2 volumes bound as 1. 4to. Contemporary calf with later paper label; later marbled paper on the spine. In Turkish, with the main text set in a naskh Arabic type, with a woodcut decoration and decorations built up from typographic ornaments at the opening of the main text (incorporating a woodcut heading in Arabic script). 14, 210, [1 blank], 7, 190 pp. Full description

VAUX, James Hardy. Memoirs of James Hardy Vaux, a swindler and thief, now transported to New South Wales for the second time, and for life. Written by himself. Second edition.
London, Whittaker, Treacher, & Arnot, 1830. 12mo. Publisher's green cloth. [2], XXIV, 288 pp. Full description

VEGIO, Maffeo. De liberorum educatione aurei libri sex noviter recogniti Francisci Philelphi. poete. Oratoris. philosophique prestantissimi. Succincto cum iudice [recté indice]: et brevibus marginariis annotationibus obscurarum sensa dictionum aperientibus. Nicolai Bonespei trecensis campani cura superadditis.
(Colophon: Paris, "apud Gourmontios" [= the brothers Robert, Gilles and Jean de Gourmont], 1508). Small 4to (19 x 13 cm). With numerous printed so-called Lombardic initials, but also with 2 spaces (with guide letters) left for manuscript initials (not filled in). Set in a roman type with the beginning of the title and one heading in a large rotunda gothic type with decorated capitals. Blind-tooled calf (19th century? in a "Medieval" style). CXXVIII, [6] ll. Full description

VERHAEREN, Émile. Les plaines.
Paris, Henri Piazza (colophon: printed by G. Kadar, Paris, 15 February 1934). 4to (23 x 16 cm). With an original watercolour drawing (10 x 10 cm), 35 colour collotype facsimiles of watercolour drawings (1 as frontispiece, the others in the text), some finished by hand, and 70 plates repeating the 35 illustrations: once in black and white and once in colour, all by Henri Cassiers. Contemporary (1934) gold-blocked brown morocco by George Canape and Georges Corriez in Paris, each board with an unidentified (prince's or duke's?) coat of arms in the centre in a frame of rose branches (the roses in red), spine with author and title in gold and rose branches in red and gold, gold fillets on board edges, turn-ins in gold with red roses, decorated cloth doublures and free endleaves (yellow background with multi-coloured flowers all woven), gilt edges. 174, [2] pp. plus 70 plates and 1 watercolour drawing. Full description

VESDIN (VEZDIN), Filip (PAULINUS A SANCTO BARTHOLOMAEO). Viaggio alle Indie Orientali umiliato alla Santita di N. S. Papa Pio Sesto pontefice massimo ...
Rome, Antonio Fulgoni, 1796. 4to. With 12 engraved illustration plates (6 with 2 illustrations each to make 18 in total), engraved roundel portraits of Pope Pius VI (on the title-page) and the author (above the opening of the main text) and some small woodcut illustrations of "Indian hieroglyphs". Set in roman and italic types with occasional words in Greek, Arabic, East Syriac, Devanagari and more extensive texts in Malayalam, plus a Malabar song with a double staff made with built-up round-head music notes. 19th-century maroon half sheepskin. XX, 404 pp. Full description