INCUNABULA - [GRUYTRODE, JACOBUS DE].

Speculum aureum anime peccatricis. Colophon: speculum aureum anime peccatricis, a quodam cartusiense editum: finit feliciter. Impressumque Parisius per magistrum Vdalricum cognomento Gering.

      Paris, Ulrich Gering [1478 or 79]. a-c10, d12: 42 ff. 4to, 207X143 mm. Rubricated in red throughout. First leaf slightly dusty, a few faint underlinings, but a clean, crisp and unwashed, internally near perfect copy with many uncut edges, preserving the ms catchwords at end of quires b and c. Bound in brown cloth from the second half of the 19th century. * Early (possibly second) edition of a feisty and charming devotional which quickly achieved tremendous popularity, appearing in about 40 known editions in the 15th century, including translations into French, German and English (by Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII). It is divided into seven chapters, one for each day of the week. ** Ulrich Gering was one of the triumvirate of German printers, called to Paris by its university in 1470, who became the first printers in France. Gering worked alone, as here, only around 1478 and 1479. A beautiful example of Gering's antiqua printing (the Roman type was apparently chosen at the insistence of the Paris university).*** References: ISTC 00639000; Goff S639; H 14904; Pell 4309. Very rare: ISTC records only eight copies: four outside France and one only in the US (Chicago, Newberry).