Turrecremata, Johannes de (1388 - 1468)

Expositio super toto psalterio.

      Mainz, Peter Schöffer, April 4th, 1478. Third Schöffer edition. Pott Folio; 12.2 in x 8.2 in. 196 (of 198) ll. (a12, b-s10, t-v8).(Hain 15701; Goff T524) Blind-stamped calf binding. Good condition. Peter Schöffer's third edition of Johannes de Turrecremata's writings on the biblical psalms. The volume was decorated richly and artistically. The text contains beautiful initials painted by hand with great care. A total of 149 wonderful red initials as well as a 5-lines and a 7-lines blue initial can be found in this precious incunable. The last leaf shows Peter Schöffer's printer's mark. It depicts two coats of arms and was printed in deep red ink. It must be mentioned that this third edition of the 'Expositio super toto psalterio' is the first book that was ever provided with a printer's mark. The binding is especially captivating. It is the original incunabula binding and was preserved in a rarely seen and extraordinary condition. The original brass mountings on both covers are beautifully preserved. Both brass clasps are working. The calf binding over the original wooden boards was decorated with an elaborate blind-stamped pattern. [Condition of the binding: Good / Condition of the paper: Good (+) / Further remarks: The binding is rubbed but only lightly bumped. A small fault on the back cover was professionally repaired. Missing central brass mount on back cover. Two of the corner mountings with minimal damage. Lacking blank leaves a1 and v8. First leaf with stronger foxing, otherwise the paper is in excellent condition with only occasional light foxing. First half of the volume with few worm holes in lower part but without any text loss. A wonderfully preserved copy of this incunabulum edition of Turrecremata's 'Exposito'.] Johannes de Turrecremata (also Juan de Torquemada) (1388 - 1468) was a monk of the Dominican Order from Spain. He took an active part in the councils of Constance (as a student), Basle and Ferrara-Florence which had a great impact on his life. Turrecremata also acted as bishop in various places such as Cadiz, Orense, Palestrina, Sabina and Léon. Due to his work 'Summa de Ecclesia Turrecremata is regarded the father of Catholic Ecclesiology. The work consists of four books, each dealing with on of the following topics: Nature and the Secret of the Church, the Roman Primacy, the Councils, Schism and Heresy. Other than that, Turrecremata dealt with uncountable other theologian matters, such as the structure of the sacred power and questions from the field of Mariology. Peter Schöffer (1425-1503) was a printer from Gernheim at the river Rhine. From 1452 he worked in Gutenberg's workshop in Mainz and became the chief printer after the workshop was taken over by Johannes Fust. When the latter died in 1466, Schöffer married Fust's daughter and thus from the on owned the workshop himself. Schöffer is regarded as one of the best printers and editors of the incunabula age. He improved the technique of movable type printing and established the printer's mark as a proof of origin of printed books. One of his most important prints was the 'Mainz Psalter' published in 1457. It was the first work to be printed using three different colours on a single printing plate