EYB, Albrecht Von

Margarita poetica (part I)

      Ulrich Gering, Paris 1478 - 29 November 1478. Royal 4to (11 x 7 inches; 281 x 181 mm). Collation: a-r8 s6 (-s6). [141] leaves (of 142, without final blank.) 36-38 lines. Roman type 5:100. Initial spaces with guide letters. Opening initial in red and blue with handsome floral illumination on a gilt ground by a French hand, other initials and paragraph marks supplied in red and blue throughout. Late 19th-century blind-tooled morocco, edges stained dark brown from an earlier binding; morocco-backed folding case. Condition : Occasional wormholes at beginning and end. Provenance : Anthonius Grouche, priest of St.-Loup, Amiens, with his contemporary ownership inscription huius libri verus est possessor dominus Anthonius grouche , motto semper presumit seva perturbata conscientia written in gothic script, and paraphs at end; given to his brother Petrus Grouche: contemporary inscription Dominus anthonius Grouche sacerdos ecclesie divi lupi de ambianis dedit hunc librum dilecto sibi fratri fratri petri grouche orate pro eo ; Celestines of Amiens, 17th-century ownership inscription ; Paravicini Library, sale, Sotheby's London, 22 June 1818, lot 156, to: Richard Heber, with Heber's inscription: "June 1818, sale of imported books by Sotheby" on front free endpaper (sale, 24 Jan. 1835, lot 1667); Bertram, 4th Earl of Ashburnham, with his shelfmark "12.F" (sale, Sotheby's London, 3 July 1897, lot 1539); George Dunn of Woolley Hall, inscriptions and bookplate (sale, Sotheby's London, 22 November 1917, lot 3111); C.S. Ascherson, bookplate; Albert Ehrman, Broxbourne Library, bookplates; W.R.H. Jeudwine, bookplate; George Abrams, bookplate. Rare edition of an early work of German Humanism. Albrecht Eyb, doctor of law, holder of many benefices in Germany and chamberlain to Pius II, compiled this anthology of humanistic rhetoric, whose title honors his mother Margarete von Wolmershausen, as a manual of humanist rhetorical theory. The text contains selected passages from classical and Italian Renaissance authors and poets - Cicero. Virgil, Ovid, Petrarch, et al., formulas for letter-writing, and general instruction in eloquence. The book remained popular for many years. This is the third Paris edition, following two editions, also of part I only, from the shop "Au Soufflet Vert". In early 1478, Ulrich Gering's association with the other Paris prototypographers Martin Crantz and Michael Friburger came to an end; in April 1478 he began printing under his name alone, using two new roman types for editions of classical, humanist, and theological texts. ISTC records only 11 surviving copies, of which at least one is imperfect, and of which only one in America (AnnMary Brown Memorial Library). This is a fine, fresh copy. Goff E-172; HC 6821; GW 9540. BMC VIII, 22; Pell 4705. UNIQUE PIECE!!!!!!!!! PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST [Attributes: Hard Cover]