Sales catalogue 533: Maggs Bros

Date:
1930
Reference:
WA/HMM/CM/Sal/13/88
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Sales catalogue 533: Maggs Bros. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    13/294
    {A very early Americanum, item 28: Pedro Cirvello’s commentary on the Cosmography of John of Holywood, (Paris, G. Marchand, 1498), containing references to the, then, recent discovery of America. A famous travel item is Prester John, De Ritu et Moribus Indorum, (Strassburg, H. Knoblochizer, about 1482), a letter purporting to describe the wonders of the Empire ruled by the fabulous Christian monarch of the East, item 80. q The first Bible printed in Roman type appears in this section, item 71. (Strassburg, the R-Printer, about 1468). (Books with rare provenances include a book from the library of Queen Leonor of Portugal (died 1517), a patroness of printing, with MS. inscription and threat of excommunication to anyone removing the book, item 26. Nos. 93, 100 and 107 contain the famous woodcut book plate, hand-coloured, of the XVth century bibliophile, Hilprand Brandenburg of Biberach on the Rhine, one of the earliest specimens of a printed book-plate. (A good proportion of the books are still in their old monastic bind- ings of wooden boards covered with stamped leather, and the collection includes two chained bindings, items 74 and 102, interesting relics of the time when the books of a monastery were commonly chained to their shelves or reading desks. Rare Places of Impression A number of items in this part of the catalogue are from towns where the output was very small and exam ples are consequently rarely to be obtained. ( AUSTRIA. Vienna had only two presses, both of which are here represented. (BELGIUM. The only press at Brussels was that of the Brothers of the Common Life. One of their earliest productions appears in this catalogue.