Early Printing & Manuscripts

GUICCIARDINI, Lodovico. Descrittione ... di tutti i Paesi Bassi, altrimenti detti Germania Inferiore.
Antwerp, Willem Silvius, 1567. Folio. With the title, the large coat of arms of Philip II, and his portrait set within a woodcut architectural frame with allegorical figures on separate pages, and 17 double-page plates, maps and views (15 woodcuts, 2 engravings).Further with 15 woodcut divisional title-pages for the illustrations and descriptions of the regions and cities set within a woodcut ornamental frame and numerous woodcut decorated initials (at least 4 series). Later vellum. [3], [1 blank], [16], "296"[= 339], [1 blank], [19], [1 blank] pp. Full description

GUICCIARDINI, Lodovico. Descrittione di tutti i Paesi Bassi, altrimenti detti Germania inferiore. Con tutte le carte di geographia del paese, & col ritratto al naturale di molte terre principali; rineduta di nuovo , & ampliata per tutto la terz a volta dal medesimo autore. Al gran're Cattolico don Filippo d'Austria. Con amplissimo indice di tutte le cose piu memorabili.
Antwerp, Christopher Plantin, 1588. Folio. With an engraved allegorical frontispiece of the Low Countries (Belgia), an engraved architectural title in its first state with printed text, an engraved plate with a border of the coat of arms of the 16 Provinces and that of Brabant together with the coat of arms of Philip II in the centre pasted in, an engraved plate with an allegorical depiction of the Arts and Sciences and an architectural border with the portrait of Philip II in the centre, a large woodcut coat of arms of Guicciardini, 64 double-page engraved maps and views, 6 full-page engraved maps and views, 4 single pages with on each 2 engraved maps, woodcut headpieces and initials.
Contemporary gold-tooled vellum, with an oval centrepiece on both boards within a decorative frame, gilt edges, remnants of ties. [24], 432, [18] pp. Full description

[GUILLAS, Denis]. Histoire de la bataille navalle faite par les Dieppois & Flamans: qui est l'une des plus furieuses & soudaines expeditions de mer, qui ayt esté entreprise de nostre temps sur les ennemis du Roy.
Paris, Estienne Denise, [1557?]. Small 8vo (15 x 10 cm). With 2 woodcut decorated initials and one cast fleuron (Vervliet, Vine leaf ornaments 173). Set in roman type with incidental italic. Finely executed late 19th-century(?) French red morocco by René Aussour, gold-tooled turn-ins, title, place of publication and date 1555 in gold in 2nd and 3rd of 6 spine compartments, gilt edges. [51], [1 blank] pp. Full description

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

HEEMSKERCK, Maarten van. [The seven planets].
[Antwerp], Hieronymus Cock, [ca. 1568]. With 7 engraved plates (ca. 22.5 x 26.5 cm). Each engraving is tipped onto a passepartout (ca. 50 x 38.8 cm). Full description

[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

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

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

[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

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