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January 2, 2012

ONE OF THE 17th CENTURIES MOST POETIC AND ELOQUENT GUIDES TO COURTLY BEHAVIOR

The Book:

[A.D.B.] The court of the most illustrious and most magnificent James, the first; king of Great-Britaine, France, and Ireland: & c.
London, Printed by E. Griffin, 1619.”The epistle dedicatory” signed: A.D.B Presents “certaine rules and precepts of a courtly and politicall life.” cf. “The epistle to the reader.” Small 4to., [14], 168 p. 19 cm. Light browning to t.p., but overall a handsome and attractive copy; mid-20th century 3/4 red morocco and raised bands with the small ownership stamp (likely his private collection) of the well known bookseller Horace G. Commin of Bournemouth. This copy purchased for $400 + $28 tax in 1981 from Hamill Barker. Extremely Rare FIRST EDITION; no copy of the 1619 First Edition appears in the auction records since 1946 when Sotheby’s sold a copy as part of the “CATALOGUE OF THE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND VALUABLE LIBRARY The Property of the Rt. Honble. Lord Cunliffe”; possibly this copy before rebinding. STC references only the 1620 2nd ed.; 1022. See also : Davis Bergeron’s King James and Letters of Homoerotic Desire pg. 111. [SOLD]

Bibliographically rare and historically important, this tract or “very rare article” according to Brydges’ Censura Literaria of 1807 is an “excellent little treatise, although addressed to the courtiers of James the First, is well worthy the perusal of those belonging to George III. It is. inscribed to “George Marquisse Buckingham, Vicount Villiers, &.c. &c.” the well known favourite of James I. And the dedication is signed with the initials A. D. B.” The mysterious initialed author describes the King’s final male favorite, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, as “most resplendently glister and shine, like a most pretious Jewell richly garnished in the purest gold” ( pg. 2 ) The principal object of the author appears to have been to warn the courtier “to bee most wary and heedfull that out of himselfe hee draw a rule to rectifie and govern his owne life, that hee be content to taste the sower with the sweete, and in court to expect as well burthen-some blame and injurie as beautiful fame and dignity.” This is followed by admonitions to “get wisdome as his best guide…let him not by any meanes omit or neglect the studio of law, languages, and eloquence and let him especially, bend his best endevours to attaint unto the prompt, perfect, and most commendable knowledge of histories, and antiquities, to which, indeed I cannot sufficiently move and admonish him: for, this knowledge is the testis of the times, the light of truth, the life of memorie, the mistresse of life, and the messenger of antiquitie”

January 2, 2012

1589: EXCEEDING RARE FIRST EDITION of the earliest known treatise on fortification in English

1589: EXCEEDING RARE FIRST EDITION of the earliest known treatise on fortification and military engineering  in English.

A spy under the famous Elizabethan spymaster Francis Walsingham
A key scientific source for Marlowe’s Famous Tamburlaine- a milestone of Elizabethan drama

No complete copies with the 2 rare fold out plates present in 50+ years of auction records

The Book:

Fortification–Ive, Paul (d. 1604) The practise of fortification: wherein is shewed the manner of fortifying in all sorts of scituations, with the considerations to be used in delining, and making of royal frontiers, skonces, and renforcing of ould walled townes. Imprinted at London, By T. Orwin, for T. Man, and T. Cooke, 1589. BOUND WITH… [Fortification–Ive, Paul (d. 1604) ; Fourquevaux, Raimond de Beccarie de Pavie, baron de, 1509-1574.]  Instructions for the warres. Amply, learnedly, and politiquely, discoursing the method of militarie discipline. Originally written in French by that rare and worthy generall, Monsieur William de Bellay, Lord of Langey, Knight of the order of Fraunce, and the Kings lieutenant in Thurin. Translated by Paule Iue, Gent. At London : Printed [by Thomas Orwin], for Thomas Man, and Tobie Cooke, 1589. (Notes: Not in fact by Du Bellay, but by Raimond de Beccarie de Pavie, baron de Fourquevaux.)    Small 4to., 19 cm x 13.5 cm.   [4], 40 p., [2] folded woodcut plates,  [20], 312:  Signatures: 2A-2D⁴ 2F⁴ 2G² //  A-B⁴ b² C (wanting C1-2) -X⁸ Y⁴ .  Note: 2 pages of text lacking in the second work; C1-2.  Early calf, partly restored.  The extremely rare fold out plates are present as depicted.  These plates are perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book and the most technically accomplished by the inconsistent standards of Elizabethan printing.   Internally, occasional minor dampstaining, generally good.   No complete copies with the 2 rare fold out plates present in 50+ years of auction records; only the Macclesfield sale had a sammelband copy of the 2nd ed  L: Felix Kingston for Toby Cooke, 1597  (See; Sotheby’s, Oct 30, 2007, lot 3492, $8,320)  Provenance: Lord Fitzwilliam, Baron of Milton in the County of Northampton. This family claim descent from William the Conqueror. [SOLD]
This extremely rare Elizabethan treatise combines the practical engineering knowledge gained in the campaigns in the Low Countries with the modern fortification techniques pioneered by the great Italians, most notably Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Macchiavelli.   Ive likely worked as a spy for the famous Elizabethan spymaster Francis Walsingham, the Principal Secretary to Elizabeth I of England from 1573 until 1590. As an interesting aside, it is recorded that when Ive died in Ireland in 1604 he requested that his body be buried at Castle Park “so deep that the wolves and dogs do not scrape it up again.”

The Practise of Fortification also has great literary importance; Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine, which was a milestone in Elizabethan drama and one of the first popular successes of the London stage, contains passages, some taken verbatim, from Ive’s Fortification (likely having seen a copy a manuscript prepared for publication in Walsingham’s care).  As a specific example, Tamburlaine’s speech instructing his sons in the art of war in Act III, Scene 2 appears to be directly lifted from Ive’s work.  The passages underscore Elizabethan perceptions and fears  of Turkish military strength and strategy.

January 2, 2012

STOW’S CHRONICLE WAS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ELIZABETHAN SOURCE BOOKS

A FOLIO EDITION OF JOHN STOW’S CHRONICLE

The Book:

John Stow; (edited and continued by) Edmund Howes . Annales, or, A generall chronicle of England. Begun by John Stow: continued and augmented with matters forraigne and domestique, ancient and moderne, unto the end of this present yeere, 1631. Londini, Impensis Richardi Meighen, 1631. FOLIO. COMPLETE. [xx], 1116 p. 32 cm. 18th Century Calf and Gilt, some soiling, corner wear spine relaid, minor marginal loss to t.p. withs some creasing, upper right marginal dampstain, some occasional minor worming. Provenance: Ex-libris Herbert Watney (1843–1932) of Buckhold, Pangbourne, Berkshire (now St. Andrew’s School) [SOLD]

This is Howe’s continuation of Stow’s famous Elizabethan Chronicle. It was issued in several editions, starting in 1610, each adding to the previous to keep it up-to-date. Howe evidently labored five years on its preparation, compiling important source material firsthand including a list of all the principle fairs held throughout England and Wales (appended). This edition is of particular interest to Shakespeare scholars as it recounts the burning of the famous Globe Theatre in 1613, noted for its performances by Shakespeare and his associates. Additionally, it provides important Shakespearean literary references and background information.
This particular additional continues up to the year 1631, including many new references. The work is considered as well to be European Americana, for it contains references to the voyages of Frobisher’s (1576, 1577 and 1578), Francis Drake (1580), and Thomas Cavendish (1586). It also includes a description of the English settlements in North America (1615), including Roanoke.

January 2, 2012

STUNNING 17th CENTURY ENGLISH RED GOATSKIN BINDING

PRINTED 1657: THE RARE Grand Cabinet-Counsels Unlocked

The Book:

[Marguerite, Queen consort of Henry IV King of France] The grand cabinet-counsels unlocked. Or The most faithful transaction of the court-affairs, and growth and continuation of the civil wars in France, betwixt the Huguenots and the papists, during the raign of Charls the Last, Henry the Third, and Henry the Fourth, commonly called Henry the Great. London : Printed by R.H., 1657. 4 p. l., 229 p. ; 16 cm. Very attractive full gilt contemporary red goatskin binding with acorns and numerous other decorative elements. Light worming in the upper left of last few leaves. Provenance: Grinke & Rogers, Cat 3, Item 255 $192 (c. 1974) The Rare English translation by the prolific author Robert Codrington (1602-1665) of the scandalous Memorials of Margaret de Valois. Besides court gossip, it is an important historical work at a critical juncture in the French Wars of Religion. Marguerite was married (August, 1572) at age twenty to her cousin, the young Huguenot King of Navarre, also of the same age. In these Memoirs, the ceremony is described along with her hopes that it will usher in a reign of peace and toleration. Sadly their marriage, the pairing of a Protestant to a Catholic, witnessed the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre a mere six days later. [SOLD]

October 10, 2011

THE FIRST STUDY OF EUROPEAN CABINETS OF CURIOSITIES

EXTREMELY RARE: ‘the single most valuable contribution to Wunderkammer studies’

PRINTED 1716: WITH 30 PLATES

EAST INDIAN BOTANY, UNICORNS & SERPENTS, FOSSILS & COINS

The Book:

Michael Bernhard VALENTINI; Joannes Conradus Becker. Historia simplicium reformata, sub Musei Muscorum . Francofurti ad Moenum : Ex Officina Zunneriana, apud Johannem Adamum Jungium, 1716. COMPLETE. [26], 664, [16] p., illustrated with 30 leaves of plates (5 folded) : ill. ; FOLIO, A TALL COPY. 365 x 220 mm. Contemporary English paneled Calf and Gilt with slight bumping to head and foot, and wear to head, some toning, but overall a handsome complete copy. First Edition in Latin. Nissen BBI 2036; Pritzel 328. [SOLD]

Michael Bernhard Valentini (1657 – 1729) was a German doctor and a collector. He had an important Cabinet of curiosities and was the author of Museorum Museum, the first study of collections in Europe. The work for sale here is the first Latin translation by Johann Conrad Becker and edited by Christoph Vern. Valentini (the author’s son) under the title Historia simplicium reformata. It covers plants, animals, minerals and metals and their commercial and medical uses, rocks and minerals, fossils, East Indian and tropical plants, shells, unicorns and monstrosities, coffee, tobacco, tea, cacaa, vanilla, serpents, and even coins.

The Museum Museorum’ is ‘the single most valuable contribution to Wunderkammer studies’. It records and reprints many European collection that are otherwise unobtainable now through any other source. It also contains one of the earliest and most important treatises devoted to cinnamon: Johann Georg Dexbach’ Disput. medica inaug. de Casia Cinnamomea et Malabathro.