Early Printing & Illustration

A book for eternity

Unique prayer book manuscript on vellum, containing sixteen full-page illuminated engravings after Marten de Vos: a highly expressive devotional work of the waning 16th century. One of only eight known manuscripts by Hieronymus Oertl, it provides a “unique example of the art of book arts around 1600” (Baeyer, p. 6), highlighting the transitory period between the Middle Ages and the Baroque, between manuscript and printed book.

A leaf from the Gutenberg Bible, “in many ways the greatest of all printed books”(PMM 1) – Ordering the second making of the Tablets with the Commandments and the Ark

First edition, a textually significant leaf from the first substantial book printed from movable type in the western world, now known simply as the Gutenberg Bible, or the 42-line Bible: “in many ways the greatest of all printed books” (PMM 1). This leaf is a particularly interesting one, as it contains Deuteronomy IX and most of X, commanding the making of the Tablets after the destruction of the first.

The Dyson Perrins-Hermann Marx copy of the Ars Moriendi.

Fascinating illustrated incunable Ars Moriendi, or Art of Dying, with a wonderful and rarely seen striking set of woodcuts, a medieval best seller, and one of the great themes of medieval life, inspired in the woodblock books. As with all early editions, this edition is rare. This is a very fine, nearly uncut copy of the Ars Moriendi, which comes from two of the greatest English libraries of the 20th century.

First edition of St. Augustine’s Letters.

Editio princeps of Saint Augustin’s influential collection of Letters, of significant historical and theological importance, instrumental in shaping the relationship between church and state and in arguing for a universal church against local particularism; his Letters are, along with the Civitate Dei and the Confessions (of which it later becomes a part of), the most important writings of Saint Augustine.

One of the most magnificent works published on the antiquities of Mexico.

First edition of one of the greatest illustrated works on Mexican antiquities and their conspiracy theories, and a monumental privately funded publication.

Great woodcut art from the time of Durer: a collection of two splendid illustrated books and a historical work.

Rare first editions of Pinder and von Kaysersberg’s remarkable illustrated works, along with Coccius Sabellicus’ Hebrew history, all housed in the contemporary binding, and in exceptional condition.

Probably the smallest medieval miniature manuscript recorded

Exceptional medieval minuscule manuscript, one of the smallest known of the Middle Ages, and perhaps the smallest known today compared to the other minuscule manuscripts that have been catalogued so far; this kind of minuscule manuscripts, which were often held in reliquiaries, have been largely destroyed and are thus of extreme rarity today. This survival offers a unique chance to examine an extraordinarily rare side of manuscript production of the Middle Ages.

Rare and dramatic image of the Holy Shroud of Turin with explanatory text.

Fine and vivid print depicting the Holy Shroud or Shroud of Turin, the image is composed of several woodcuts in black ink, with the image of the Shroud in red ink; this is apparently the only known copy, state unknown. The image conveys a sentiment of veneration towards the relic, which is accompanied by an oration, and small portraits of the Savoy family to whom it belonged.

The legend of the Swiss Saint Meinrad and the foundation of Einsiedeln Abbey.

First Latin edition, this small incunable contains the account of the life and martyrdom of St. Meinrad of Einsiedeln, illustrated with 21 fine, large woodcuts. Sebastian Brant's rare Latin edition is based on a 12th century manuscript.

Bound in contemporary Spanish Mudejar bindings, one of the first Spanish works to adhere to the Ptolemaic geographical vision of the World, used by 15th century explorers such as Columbus

First edition of a cosmographically-relevant Spanish work, apparently the first published in Spain to adhere to the Ptolemaic theory of the world, printed at the first press established Valencia (Spain), in a fascinating strictly contemporary Spanish “Mudejar” style binding.

The first book with a printed visual alphabet and the first illustration of a chess board

First edition and first issue of this illustrated epitome of the rhetorical arts, representing the first memory treatise to appear in print, the first book containing a printed visual alphabet and the first work to show a printed illustration of a chess board: this woodcut identifies this copy as the extremely rare first issue of the edition, being printed on l. d8r – blank in the second issue, as in most other surviving copies.

“The first illustrated book of travel ever printed” (Fairfax Murray), the first artist’s book, and the first printed travel report of the Middle East.

Fabulous example, complete with all the folding views and in a contemporary binding, of one of the most famous illustrated incunables, Breydenbach’s is the first work ever to feature folding plates and the first illustrated travel book, it is also the first time an Arabic alphabet appears; this is the first edition printed by Peter Drach, and is illustrated with the original engravings of the Mainz edition, this is the second Latin edition.

Exceptional early Vitas Patrum, with a set of 275 woodcut illustrations in contemporary color, here used for the time for this work

The first edition with this illustration cycle, each woodcut in vibrant contemporary coloring, of this influential early work on the lives of the Saints of Christendom; second German edition overall.

Remarkable work by Miro in the original binding.

Remarkable illustrated work by Miro, number 105 from 220, signed Miro in pencil, with the complete suite of 33 original color etching (in and hors-text) for the ´Canticle of the Sun´ by Saint Francis of Assisi, in excellent condition. The Cantic del Sol, or song to the Sun is an admired production by Miro.

Exceptional set of 18th century woodblocks for a complete deck of Tarot cards.

A remarkable set of the four woodblocks used to print a deck of Tarot Cards, in Italian style, composed of 10 numbered cards (some with their value in Roman numerals) and 4 figures (identified at bottom). The trump cards, 0-21, also have their identification at the bottom (except the one corresponding to the 'death', as usual) and the numbering corresponding to each card at the top, also in Roman numerals (except for the madman, 'Le Fou', considered the precedent of the joker, which is unnumbered).

First edition of Goya´s masterful artistic depiction of War, universalizing the theme like never before had been done.

First edition of Goya´s magnificent Tauromaquia, with a marvelous provenance.

First edition, the rarest of Goya's suites of plates, created between 1814 and 1816 and focusing on the drama involved in bullfighting, and a noteworthy copy, owned by one of the most important figures of the art world of Spain of the first half of the 19th century and one of the first Goya admirers, Valentin Carderera, who here presents it as a gift to another relevant figure of Europe´s cultural world, Theophile Gautier, one of Goya's first admirers in France.

Magnificent copy with early impressions of the first edition of Goya´s masterpiece, in a contemporary binding.

A superb set of the first edition of Goya's greatest series of engravings, an early copy printed shortly after the scratch occurred to engraving 45, bound in contemporary Spanish calf and with excellent impressions of the prints. From the edition limited to approximately 300 copies (see Harris).

First editions of three early works of the Italian Opera in England in a contemporary English binding

A beautiful sammelband of first editions of three early works of the Italian Opera in England, including the first and second – 'Almahide' and 'Hydaspes' – sung entirely in Italian, all first performed at Sir John Vanbrugh's Queen's Theatre in the Haymarket during the reign of Queen Anne.

The famous illustrated incunable Bible by Koberger, one of the most beautiful Bibles produced in the 15th century

Koberger´s famous and influential illustrated Bible, with hand-coloured woodcuts and initials, a fabulous publication containing 109 large woodcuts, and the first printed in Nuremberg. This edition is also known as the ninth edition of the Bible in German, one of the most important illustrated incunabular Bible editions. This edition influenced, amongst others, Durer´s Apocalypse, also published by Koberger. The succeeding five editions of the German Bible depend textually on this Koberger edition.

The itinerary from Venice to Constantinople in pictures

Attractive copy of a highly illustrated itinerary from Venice to Constantinople, comprising 72 full-page maps, including many of Constantinople and also of Cyprus, Famagusta, Crete, Rhodes, Jerusalem and the Near East. Published several times in the first half of the 17th century, the subsequent editions contained a variable number of plates. The maps show cities and outposts along the Mediterranean, the Dalmatian coast and the Levant.

First edition in Spanish of the first printed book on architecture, commented by Spanish architect Herrera.

The first edition of Leon Battista Alberti's 'De Re Aedificatoria' in Spanish, one of the most influential books on architecture, an appealing copy.

The official Spanish handbook on precious metals employed in the American colonies.

First edition, extremely rare and influential, this was the official handbook on silver, gold, and precious metals, American bullion, and Spanish monetary policy, written by Spanish sculptor and goldsmith Juan de Arfe y Villafañe; signed at the end by the author, as usual.

The finest example Cortes navigational treatise to come to the market in a century.

First edition, a fabulous copy with the woodcuts and maps in contemporary color and housed in 17th or 18th century calf, in genuine condition, of the “most complete statement of navigational science to date” (PMM), a work of significant influence in the English world, an English translation by Richard Edden appeared as early as 1561, becoming one of the most relevant navigational treatises used in the Elizabethan era. The work contains information about the recently discovered regions by the Spanish and the Portuguese in America and the East.

Extraordinary copy of the first edition of this “encyclopaedia of contemporary knowledge” (PMM), here with the woodcuts in contemporary color and in uniform contemporary bindings

First edition, a spectacular set with the woodcut in fine contemporary color and housed in uniform contemporary bindings. Conrad Gesner (1516-1565) was one of the great polymaths of the Renaissance and one of the founders of modern zoology. “His History of Animals is an encyclopaedia of contemporary knowledge, intended to replace not only medieval compilations but even Aristotle's work of the same title... Although the Historia Animalium does not yet show any recognition of a connexion between different forms of living nature and fails to conform to our modern ideas of biological research, it was a great step forward and remained the most authoritative zoological book between Aristotle and the publication of Ray's classification of fauna in 1693” (PMM).

Fine copy of this intriguing work on the dance of death by Holbein, with a remarkable chain of provenance

One of two 1547 Latin editions, with woodcuts by Hans Lützelburger after Holbein, depicting Death in numerous entertaining scenes of contemporary life. Of the 53 woodcuts included in this edition, 41 are from the previous 1538 edition; one, the beggar, was added for the 1545 edition, and eleven are new subjects: Soldier, Gamblers, Drunkards, Fool, Robber, Blind man, Carter, and four woodcuts of children. The King, who is taken by death as he banquets, is here depicted as François I.

The most important literary work produced in fifteenth century Spain.

Early Italian edition of the Celestina, surely the most remarkable works produced in 15th century Spain. It has enjoyed a huge, lasting influence; it is valued as one of the best examples of Spanish-language literature. A novel consisting of a series of dialogues that can also be read as a play, it has been staged as such.

Illustrated incunable Fable Book, with a fascinating contemporary English provenance.

Early illustrated fable-book with 121 popular fables in prose—some of which derive from Aesop—each accompanied by 121 woodcuts from 119 blocks; bound in is a recipe written in English from the second half of the 15th century. “One of the most disarming of early printed books” (Yale, University Gazette, 1968). First published in 1480 in Gouda, birthplace of Gerard Leeu (c.1450–1492), regarded as the most important printer of the Pays Bas and friends with Erasmus; the work was again printed by him, here already in its fifth edition (after those of Cologne, Stockholm, Lyon).