Early Printing & Manuscripts / Religion & Devotion

[BERSE, Gaspar, Francis XAVIER et al.]. Epistolae Indicae et Iapanicae de multarum gentium ad Christi fidem, per Societatem Iesu conversione. Item de Tartarorum potentia, moribus, & totius penè Asiae religione. Tertia editio cum indice castigatior & auctior.
Including: Epistolae Iapanicae, de multorum in variis insulis gentilium ad Christi sidem conversione.
Leuven, Rutger Velpius, 1570. 2 parts in 1 volume. 8vo. Each part with woodcut publisher's device on last blank. Contemporary limp sheepskin parchment. [24], 361[=316], [20]; 401[=399], [25] pp. Full description

[BIBLE - DUTCH - VULGATE]. Biblia sacra. Dat is de geheele heylighe schrifture bedeylt int out ende nieu Testament: van nieus met groote neersticheyt oversien, ende naer den lesten Roomschen text verbetert door sommighe doctoren inder Heyligher Godtheyt inde vermaerde universiteyt van Loven.
Antwerp, (colophon: printed by Daniel Vervliet and Hendrik Swingen for) Jan I Moretus & Jan I van Keerberghen, 1599. 2 volumes bound as 1. Folio. With an engraved title-page (coloured by a contemporary hand with extensive use of gold) showing Moses on the left, David on the right, and the four evangelists below, and 90 woodcuts in the text of both the Old and the New Testament, all except one vividly coloured by a contemporary hand. Contemporary richly blind-tooled calf over wooden boards, sewn on 5 supports, with brass catchplates, remnants of leather strap fastenings, brass corner pieces on all corners and a brass centrepiece on each board, all with brass bosses. [4], 410; [106] ll. Full description

[BIBLE - NEW TESTAMENT - GREEK]. ESTIENNE, Robert, editor. Tῆò Káéíῆò ÄéáèÞêçò ἅπáíôá [Tes Kaines Diathekes Apanta] = Novum Jesu Christi D.N. Testamentum Ex Bibliotheca Regia.
Paris, Robert Estienne, King's printer, 1550. Folio (35 x 24 cm). With a Greek and Latin title-page including Estiennes woodcut basilisk device as Kings printer (and 1 repeat), his woodcut olive tree device on the otherwise blank last page (N6v), 3 single-piece decorated architectural frames with putti, etc. (plus 3 repeats) for the tables of the Eusebian canons for the Gospels, 9 woodcut headpieces and 21 decorated woodcut initial letters (plus numerous repeats). Set almost entirely in the three sizes of Claude Garamonts famous Greek printing types, known as the Grecs du Roi, and the first use of the largest size. The present copy has been richly decorated, probably around the time it was bound, not just by colouring Estiennes woodcut devices (the basilisk in gold), decorative frames, headpieces and initials, but also by adding extensive decorations in rococo style, the whole using a large number of mostly bright colours plus gold and silver. Gold-tooled black sheepskin, the gold-tooled spine with the title, publisher and date in the 2nd and 6th of 7 compartments in roman capitals, gold-tooled board edges and turn-ins, gilt and richly gauffered edges, Dutch combed and curled endpapers. [32], “272” [= 268], 202, [2] pp. Full description

[BIBLE - NEW TESTAMENT - LATIN]. Novum Jesu Christi Testamentum.
Antwerp, Christoffel Plantin, 1564[-1565].
With: (2) [INDEX]. Hebraea, Chaldaea, Graeca, et Latina nomina virorum, mulierum, populorum, idolorum, urbium, fluviorum, montiu[m], caeterorumq.; locorum quae in Bebliis sparsa leguntur ... cum Latina interpretatione: additis etiam Bibliorum locis in quibus ita scripta legu[n]tur: qua in re interpretationem quae in Bibliis Compluti excusis erat ....
Antwerp, Christoffel Plantin, 1565. With Hebrew and Greek types.
2 works in 1 volume, the 1st in 2 parts. 16mo (11.2 x 7.2 cm). Contemporary blind- and gold-tooled calf. 316, [68]; [111] [1 blank] ll. Full description

[BIBLE - PSALMBOOK]. PSALTERION. Prophetou kai Basileoos tou David [in Greek type] - Davidis Regis ac Prophetae Psalmorum Liber. Ad exemplar Complutense.
Antwerp, Christopher Plantin, 1584. 16mo (11,8 x 8 cm). With woodcut printer's device on the title-page, text is partially printed in Greek. Late seventeenth-century dark brown calf, with gold-stamped coat of arms of Pierre-Daniel Huet on both covers and gold-tooled dubbel-lined borders on covers and spine, (remnants of) red speckled edges. 267, [13] pp. Full description

[BINDO GUERRI of Siena] with a prologue by Antonius de RAMPIGOLLIS. Reportatorium Biblie aureum [= Biblia aurea].
[Augsburg], [printing office of the Abbey of Saints Ulrich and Afra], [in the period 1473 to early 1475]. Chancery (Foolscap) folio (28 x 22 cm). With the title in a note following the prologue, at the foot of the first page (and abbreviated at the end of the book), a 2-page alphabetical table of contents and the main text comprising 139 entries.
Burgundy goatskin morocco (ca. 1890?). With the armorial bookplate of Robert Proctor. [231], [1 blank] pp. Full description

BOCKENBERG, Pieter Cornelisz. Catalogus & brevis historia pontificum Ultraiectensium. Item catalogus & brevis historia antistitum Egmondanorum.
Leiden, Jan Jacobsz. Paets, 1586 (Colophon: 'Extant Goudae, apud Leonardum Theodori Librarium, ad pontem Hornensem'). Small 8vo. [16], 99, [12] [1 blank] pp. Full description

BOETHIUS. De consolatione philosophie duplici commentario videlicet Sancti Thome & Jodoci Badii Ascensii cum utriusque tabula. Item eiusdem de disciplina scholarium cum explanatione et quintilianum de officio discipulorum diligenter annotata.
Rouen, [printed by Pierre Olivier] for Jean Macé in Rennes, 1519. 2 parts in 1 volume. 4to With Macés large woodcut devices on the 2 title-pages and on the verso of the last leaf, the first title-page printed in red and black. Several fine woodcut initials. Modern vellum, red morocco spine-label. [312]; [64] pp. Full description

BONAVENTURA (pseudo); [attributed to Durand of CHAMPAGNE]. Sermo[n]es quattuor novissimorum perutiles et nec[ess]arij. unu[m]que[m]q[ue] in devot[i]o[n]is ardore[m] dei q[uam] timore[m] [in]ducentes.
[Colophon: Cologne, Cornelius von Zierickzee, ca. 1502]. Small 8vo (ca. 12.5 x 10 cm). With a small woodcut illustration surrounded by woodcut border decorations on the title-page and two full-page woodcut illustrations in the text. The text is set in Gothic type. Later half vellum with marbled paper sides, blue edges. [2 blank], VII, [120] ll. Full description

BONAVENTURA (pseudo) [= Conradus de SAXONIA]. Speculum beate Marie virginis: compilatum ab humili fratre Bonauentura.
Augsburg, Anton Sorg, 1476. Folio (26.5 x 21.2 cm). Set in a Gothic letter in 40 lines to the page, printed in 1 column. Rubricated throughout. With a large Maiblumen woodcut-initial and 16 smaller initials (of which 11 hand-coloured in red). Modern vellum, with a manuscript title on the spine. [48] ll. Full description