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1494 Haguenau With Provenance
LIBER MEDITATIONUM AC ORATIONUM DEUUTARUM
qui Anthidotarius anime dicitur, cum tabula insertus.
By Nicolaus Salicetus
Author Bio: Nicolaus Salicetus (also known as Nicolaus von Wydenbosch) was a German Cistercian monk. Presumably born in Wydenbosch, he died in 1493. He was abbot of the Baumgarten monastery in Alsace between 1482 and 1493. An obscure but representative figure of the monastic spirituality of the time, he is the author of devotional and meditative texts, of which this Anthidotarius anime is the most famous. His Liber meditationum is part of the late medieval monastic reform and introspective literature, bridging manuscript spirituality and early print.
Provenance: Early marginalia, 16th century. Contemporary/early manuscript-waste vellum wrapper. Private owner’s ex-libris stamp “Ph·H”, dated 1901 (German-speaking Central Europe). Later in the library of Sven Borgström (1927–2022), Swedish collector of early printed books.
Synopsis: Devotional opera attributed to Nicolaus Salicetus, Cistercian abbot of Baumgarten, the Liber meditationum is conceived as an antidote against the vices and temptations of the world, through the systematic use of prayer and guided meditation. The soul is cared for like a sick body, according to a symbolic scheme that combines monastic spirituality and medical metaphors: an "antidote" not for the body, but for passions and weaknesses. Includes the well-known examination of conscience arranged by the Ten Commandments (e.g., “De quarto praecepto … De octavo peccato …”). The volume is representative of the Cistercian ascetic tradition at the end of the Middle Ages, at a time when printing made works previously reserved for convents available to the laity. The print run in Hagenow, a smaller and little-documented center, emphasizes the rarity of the edition. The absence of the printer's name has led to the hypothesis that it was attributed to Heinrich Gran, active in Hagenau between 1489 and 1527. The work was printed in 1494 in Hagenow (modern-day Hagenau in Alsace), without the name of the printer: the most probable attribution is to Heinrich Gran, one of the earliest Alsatian printers active in the 15th century. Despite its limited dissemination, the text achieved a certain success in Cistercian and Carthusian monasteries, particularly in the territories of the Empire. The printing is executed in Gothic type, in two columns, with contemporary decorative rubrication. Few surviving copies are cataloged today.
Format: Vellum, duodecimo or twelvemo (12mo 5 × 7 3⁄8 in 127 × 187 mm )
Note: Binding/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary.
Language: Latin
Published By: Hagenow, [Heinrich Gran?], France
Condition Report:
Dust Jacket: No Jacket, Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Very Good - First Haguenau/Heinrich Gran edition. Nicolaus Salicetus (attrib.). Antidotarius animae — Liber meditationum ac orationum devotarum…. Haguenau, 5 Sept. 1494 (printer unnamed, plausibly Heinrich Gran). 8vo. Gothic type in two columns, contemporary rubrication in red/blue, early marginalia. Contemporary/16th-c wrapper of German manuscript waste (legal acknowledgment dated 1580). A representative Cistercian devotional/ascetic manual—includes the examination of conscience by the Ten Commandments. Private collector ex-libris stamp
Collation:
A–R⁸; R8 (blank) wanting.
Please see Photos as part of condition report.
SKU: BTETM0002663
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 2Kg
Tracked Shipping, Insurance Coverage as per Customer Request
1565 2nd Plantin Edition
BIBLIA, AD VETUSTISSIMA EXEMPLARIA CASTIGATA
Louvain Latin Vulgate — Johannes Hentenius — Christophe Plantin, Antwerp
Biblia, ad vetustissima exemplaria castigata. Quid in horum Bibliorum castigatione praestitum sit, subsequens praefatio latius indicabit.
A scarce and appealing mid-sixteenth-century Plantin Bible: the second Plantin edition of the Latin Louvain Vulgate, printed at Antwerp in 1565 by Christophe Plantin, one of the great printer-publishers of the European Renaissance.
The text derives from the Louvain revision of the Vulgate associated with the Dominican biblical scholar Johannes Hentenius (c.1500–1566). Produced during the confessional and scholarly upheavals of the Reformation period, the Louvain text represented an important attempt to establish a corrected Catholic Latin Bible through comparison with earlier textual witnesses.
This compact octavo edition is particularly attractive as an example of Plantin's scholarly printing. The title is set within an architectural woodcut border incorporating Plantin's celebrated printer's device, while decorative woodcut initials appear throughout. The Bible is printed in two columns and is accompanied by extensive printed marginal references, including Hebrew and Greek characters. Bound at the end is the valuable 32-leaf glossary of Hebrew, Chaldean/Aramaic, Greek and Latin biblical names.
An evocative Renaissance Bible in old vellum, retaining considerable visual and historical appeal despite the clearly described supplied and missing leaves.
Bible, Latin Vulgate
By Johannes Hentenius
Format: Hardcover, Octavo (Standard) (8vo 6 × 9 in 152 × 229 mm )
Note: Binding/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary.
Language: Latin
Published By: Antverpiae, ex officina Christophori Plantini [Christophe Plantin], Antwerp
Condition Report:
Dust Jacket: No Jacket, Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Good - bibliographically defective. An attractive old vellum-bound copy, the binding with manuscript title to spine and expected age-related rubbing, staining, soiling, bumping and wear to the extremities. The vellum remains characterful and gives the volume strong shelf presence.
Original title page present, printed within the elaborate architectural woodcut border and incorporating Plantin's woodcut printer's device. Decorative woodcut initials throughout. Title with small marginal losses and general signs of age and handling.
Printed in two columns, with extensive printed marginalia and references, including Hebrew and Greek type. The separate 32-leaf glossary/index of Hebrew, Chaldean/Aramaic, Greek and Latin biblical names is present.
Text generally age-toned and browned, with scattered foxing, staining and occasional marks from historical use; heavier staining occurs on some leaves. There are occasional marginal losses. The final leaf is narrowly trimmed with small marginal losses affecting a minor number of letters. Front flyleaf with twentieth-century ownership inscription.
The majority of the original sixteenth-century text block remains sound and legible, with a generally strong printed impression. The original Plantin title page, extensive biblical text, scholarly marginal apparatus and terminal glossary give the volume considerable antiquarian and bibliographical interest.
A handsome working and collector's copy of an important Plantin Bible, offered with the supplied opening leaves and other completeness defects fully described.
Collation: *8 A-Z8 a-z8 Aa-Cc8 A-P8 (P8 blank).
[8], 392, 98, [20 of 22], [32] leaves. The opening numbered leaves 1–16 are supplied in reproduction/facsimile. Printed leaf P7 is lacking, together with the final blank P8. These defects are reflected in the condition assessment and should be noted by prospective purchasers.
Please see Photos as part of condition report.
References:
USTC 402605
Adams B-1069
Voet, The Plantin Press, 681 & 1749
Sorgeloos 138
BT 444 & 5919
STC Dutch (BL) 22
Pettegree, Netherlandish Books, 3773 & 5007
Author Bio: Edited by Johannes Hentenius
Editor Bio:
Johannes Hentenius, or Jan Henten (c.1500–1566), was a Flemish Dominican theologian, biblical scholar and exegete associated with the University of Louvain. He is particularly remembered for his work on the Louvain recension of the Latin Vulgate, an important sixteenth-century Catholic biblical text prepared through comparison with earlier manuscript and printed witnesses.
The Louvain Bible became an influential Latin biblical text in the decades preceding the definitive post-Tridentine editions of the Vulgate.
Printer Bio:
Christophe Plantin (c.1520–1589) was one of the foremost printer-publishers of Renaissance Europe. Establishing his press in Antwerp, Plantin developed an international publishing enterprise distinguished by exceptional typography and the production of major works of theology, biblical scholarship, humanism, science and classical learning.
His celebrated printer's device — a hand holding a compass accompanied by the motto Labore et Constantia — became one of the most recognisable marks in early European printing. The Plantin printing house survives today as the Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp.
Synopsis: The Biblia ad vetustissima exemplaria castigata presents the Latin Vulgate text in the corrected Louvain recension associated with Johannes Hentenius. Its title announces a Bible “corrected according to the most ancient exemplars,” reflecting the sixteenth-century scholarly concern with recovering and establishing more authoritative biblical texts.
Plantin's compact octavo printing made this substantial scholarly Bible considerably more portable than large folio editions. Alongside the biblical text are extensive cross-references and marginal notes, together with a glossary of Hebrew, Chaldean/Aramaic, Greek and Latin biblical names, illustrating the increasingly philological character of Renaissance biblical scholarship.
The 1565 edition is generally described bibliographically as the second Plantin edition of the Louvain Latin Bible and remains an attractive example of Plantin's early biblical printing.
SKU: BTETM0002405
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 2Kg
Tracked Shipping, Insurance Coverage as per Customer Request
2025 1st Edition 1st Printing
THE DISCOVERIE OF WITCHCRAFT
By Reginald Scot, Paul Summers Young
Author Bio: Reginald Scot (c.1538–1599) was a Kentish gentleman and MP whose sceptical Discoverie became the first substantial English treatise on witchcraft and a landmark of rationalism; it also contains the earliest detailed English descriptions of conjuring. Paul Summers Young is a Kent author, translator, and editor best known for contemporary editions of early modern esoteric texts with Black Letter Press. His projects include work on Agrippa’s De Occulta Philosophia series, The Lesser Key of Solomon: Ars Goetia and Ars Theurgia, Giambattista della Porta’s Natural Magick, and the French grimoire Le Petit Albert. His editions balance textual fidelity with clear context for modern readers.
Synopsis: From Black Letter Press: The Discoverie of Witchcraft, published by Reginald Scot in 1584, is a groundbreaking work that challenges the existence of witchcraft and the widespread persecution of alleged witches. It is special for its comprehensive documentation of magical practices, spells, and conjurations, making it one of the earliest compendiums of magic and witchcraft. While aiming to debunk superstitions, Scot meticulously catalogued the occult knowledge of his time, preserving a wealth of information about historical magical traditions. The book promotes scepticism and rationalism while serving as an invaluable resource on early modern occultism. Scot was deeply motivated by a desire to oppose the irrational and un-Christian prosecution of alleged witches. He held the Roman Catholic Church largely responsible for perpetuating these superstitions and targeted prominent writers such as Jean Bodin, author of Démonomanie des Sorciers, and Jacobus Sprenger, co-author of the infamous Malleus Maleficarum. In contrast, Scot respected figures like Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa and Johann Weyer, adopting some of their more rational views on demonology.
Format: Hardcover, quarto (4to 9 1⁄2 × 12 in 241 × 305 mm )
Note: Binding/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary.
Limited Edition: 58/150 Copies
Language: English
Published By: Black Letter Press, London
Condition Report:
Dust Jacket: No Jacket, Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Fine - One of only three known signed copies (I also have the other two).
The Collector's edition is limited to 150 numbered copies. These hand-numbered editions of The Discoverie of Witchcraft are designed to be more than just books—they are works of art, carefully crafted to enhance your reading experience and to be cherished as heirlooms. You are securing a piece of history, elegantly presented and meticulously produced.
Quarter-bound with finely crafted cloth spines and gold-tooled title labels
Cover boards adorned with stunning marbled paper for a classic, sophisticated look
Enhanced with gold gilding and two premium ribbon bookmarks
Limited to 150 hand-numbered copies, ensuring exclusivity and value
Dimensions: 245 by 175 mm (9.65 by 6.89 inches)
Paper: Premium paper from Fedrigoni, a renowned Italian paper factory known for excellence in quality prints and fine arts. Fedrigoni is committed to improving sustainability, supporting United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and working throughout the entire value chain.
Printed and bound by Grafiche Veneziane, in Venice, Italy
Bound in luxurious cloth-structured Fedrigoni Imitlin paper
Decorated with gold gilding for an elegant touch
Includes two high-quality ribbon bookmarks for convenience
Collation:
pp. 600
Please see Photos as part of condition report.
SKU: BTETM0002553
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 2Kg
Tracked Shipping, Insurance Coverage as per Customer Request
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