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Early Printing & Manuscripts

16th-century highlighted in gold manuscript of Hafez's collected works: a pinnacle of Persian literature

HAFEZ (HAFIZ) [Khwaaja Shams-ud-Din Muhammad Hafez-e Shirazi]. [The Divân of Hafez].
[Persia], 983 AH [= 1575-76 CE]. 21.3 x 16 cm. Illuminated manuscript on paper, written in a fine nasta'liq script in black ink in 2 columns of 15 lines per page. The two columns of text are written in a panel measuring 14 x ca. 7.4 cm, most of the text is written in a simple frame built up from lines in black, turquoise, gold, and blue. The text begins with a beautiful blue and gold headpiece with small white, red, gold, and light blue flowers. Leaves 1v and 2r are beautifully highlighted in gold and decorated with intricate flower designs, vertically in between the text columns one finds small flowers in gold, white, red, brown, and light blue on a background of gold, horizontally between the text one finds gold highlights and banners of samll white, red, brown, and light blue flowers on a kobalt blue (and 1 one instance black) background, the two columns together are surrounded by frame with incredibly intricate gold and blue flowers and blue dots on a clear background, the larger margins on these leaves are beautifully decorated with an intricate flower-and-vine design in gold, outlined in black and the centers of the flowers are either red or blue. The text on leaves 2v and 3r is surrounded by the same frame of incredibly intricate gold and blue flowers and blue dots, with some additional colourful lines surrounding this frame. Leaf 8 is sprinkled with gold paint, the margins of leaf 18 are decorated with gold dots. All text (and decorations) is surrounded by a thin black double-line frame spanning 2 facing pages (ca. 21.8 x 30 cm). Later half black leather and multicolour painted and lacquered paper over paper boards. The painted sides show (from the outside in) a 0.4 cm blue frame around a 1.2 cm border of orange and green flowers with red details on a yellow background, this is followed by another 0.4 blue frame which surrounds the main decoration: large flowers in red, yellow, green, and blue on a vibrant orange background. [92] ll. Full description
€ 25,000
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One of the most beautifully illustrated editions of the Leuven Vulgate

[HENTEN, Johannes (editor) and Jost AMMAN (illustrator)]. Sacra biblia ad vetustissima exemplaria castigata.
Frankfurt am Main, Georg Rab for Sigmund Feyerabend, 1571. 2 parts in 1 volume. 8vo. With 198 woodcut illustrations in the text, a woodcut printer's device on the final page, the titles of both parts are set within an elaborate woodcut border. Contemporary richly blind-tooled pigskin over wooden boards, with the initials "WFL" and the year "1578" blind-tooled on the front board, and with two engraved metal clasps. [16], 423; 311 ll. Full description
€ 7,500
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Collection of four works on Roman history

HERODIAN. In hoc volumine haec continentur. Herodiani Historiae. Libri VIII. Sexti Aurelii Victoris a d. Caesare Augusto usque ad Theodosium excerpta. Eutropii Historiae. Libri X. Pauli Diaconi libri VIII. Ad Eutropii historiam additi.
(Colophon:) Florence, Filippo Giunta, 1517. 4 works in 1 volume. Small 8vo. With Giuntas woodcut device on the verso of the otherwise blank final leaf.
Including:
(2) AURELIUS VICTOR, Sextus. A D. Caesare Augusto usque ad Theodosium excerpta.
(3) EUTROPIUS. Historiae libri X.
(4) PAUL THE DEACON (PAULUS DIACONUS). Libri VIII. ad Eutropii historiam additi.
Later gold tooled quarter calf, with a red morocco title label on the spine lettered in gold, brown decorative paper sides, marbled edges. [4], 90; 127, [1 blank] ll. Full description
€ 4,000
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"Father of History" in elegant & famous first Greek edition by Aldus Manutius, from the Arenberg library

HERODOTUS. [Historiarum] libri novem. Quibus musarum indita sunt nomina.
(Colophon: Venice), Aldus Manutius, (colophon: September 1502). Folio (29.5 x 20 cm). With Aldus's anchor and dolphin device on the title page and the verso of the last leaf. Late 19th-century blind-tooled, polished tan calf, the central panel with the arms of the Dukes of Arenberg. [140] ll. Full description
€ 45,000
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Early edition of a bestseller of the incunable period, throwing light on the popular understanding of the Epistles and Gospels

[HEROLT, Johannes], edited by Guillermus PARISIENSIS. Postilla super Epistolas et Evangelia.
[Cologne, Ulrich Zell, 1483/87]. Small folio. Printed in 2 columns, each with 49 lines to the page. Set in a late example of a hybrid form type, with lombardic initials in red gouache. Rubricated on c4v-d2r. Mid- or late-18th-century gold-tooled French(?) red goatskin morocco, the spine with a dark green gold-tooled morocco label in the 2nd of 6 compartments, gold fillets on the board edges, gold-tooled turn-ins, gilt edges, French marbled endpapers. With the first page (the only preliminary page) in facsimile, but further complete. [130] ll. Full description
€ 13,500
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Italian translation of an important 15th-century Dutch mystical treatise

HERP, Hendrik. Specchio della perfettione humana. Opera devotissima e necessaria ad ogni fidel Christiano historiata.
Venice, Batholomeo detto l'Imperadore & Francesco Venetiano, 1546. 8vo. With a woodcut printer's device on the title-page of a Roman emperor, 3 full-page woodcut illustrations depicting the life of Christ, and some woodcut decorated initials. 17th-century(?) vellum, sewn on 5 supports, with the manuscript title on the spine. 122, [2] ll. Full description
€ 3,500
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Saint Jerome through Erasmus eyes: selected letters with commentary, printed in 1518

HIERONYMUS, Eusebius Sophronius (SAINT JEROME) and Desiderius ERASMUS (editor). Divi Hieronymi epistolaeres ab Erasmo Roterodamo recognitae, cuius & argumentis & scholiis oppidoque elegantibus sunt illustratae.
[Cologne, Johann Gymnic, 1518]. 4to. With the title set with in a frame built up from 4 (or possibly 6) woodcut illustrations including printer's initials and the date 1518, and 10 woodcut decorated initials. Modern faux-leather-patterned paper with a grey paper label on the spine with the authors name lettered in silver ("Erasmus v. Rotterdam"). [48] ll. Full description
€ 1,950
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An Antwerp union of the Iliad and Odyssey

HOMER, and Raffaele MAFFEI (translator). Odysseae Libri XXIIII. Raphaele Volaterrano interprete ...
(Colophon:) Antwerp, Joannes Grapheus, April 1528.
With:
(2) IDEM. Iliados, tum odysseae libri XLVIII. In singulos libros argumenta. Batrachomyomachia. Deorum hymni XXXII. Homeri vita.
(Colophon: Antwerp, Joannes Grapheus), 1528. 2 parts in 1 volume. 8vo (15.6 x 10.4 cm). Ad 1 with a full page woodcut device at the end of the volume, lightly hand-coloured. Ad 2 with the same device. Contemporary blind-tooled calf, sewn on 4 supports with the corresponding raised bands on the spine, and rebacked. 183; 259, [8]; [1], "184-214" [=31], [8] ll. Full description
€ 3,750
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1472 incunable encyclopaedia of the world,
containing references to Arabia, Syria, Palestine and the Saracens

HONORIUS AUGUSTODUNENSIS (HONORIUS OF AUTUN). [Incipit:] ... de ymagine mundi.
[Nuremberg, Anton Koberger, 1472(?)]. Folio (31 x 22 cm).Rubricated throughout and about half of the spaces left for initials filled in by hand in red ink. 19th-century red sheepskin. [46], [1 blank] ll. Full description
€ 45,000
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