Boccaccio, Il Decamerone, Venice, 1550, contemporary Parisian strapwork binding dated 1552 for "Ε.Π."
Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
BOCCACCIO, GIOVANNI. Il Decamerone di m. Giovanni Boccaccio di nuovo emendato secondo gli antichi essemplari, per giudicio et diligenza di piu autori con la diversità di molti testi posta per ordine in margine, & nel fine con gli epiteti dell'autore, con la espositione de proverbi et luoghi difficili. Venice: Gabriel Giolito de Ferrari, 1550
FOURTH EDITION, IN QUARTO, IN AN ELABORATE STRAPWORK BINDING FOR AN UNIDENTIFIED "Ε.Π.", DATED 1552.
While in Paris in 1552, Guillaume Postel adopted the pseudonym Elias Pandocheus, and the peculiar Greek inscription on this binding might signify his ownership of the volume. George John Venables Vernon, 5th Baron Vernon (1803 -1866) was a British politician with a penchant for Italian literature, particularly Dante. He sold part of his library, including this volume, to Robert Stayner Holford (1808-1892), whose son, Lt.-Col. Sir George Holford (1860-1926), later inherited the collection. This collection was sold in these rooms in 1927-8.
4to (228 x 153 mm). Italic type, with Roman, 42 lines plus headline. collation: *6 A-Z8 2A-2H8 2I4 a4 b-d8 e4: 290 leaves. Woodcut printer's device on title-page and two colophons, woodcut initials and illustrations, woodcut portrait of author on *3v, ruled in red. (Occasional light spotting, small tear to foot of B8 not affecting text.)
binding: Parisian brown calf binding (235 x 162 mm) for "Ε.Π." dated 1552, elaborate strapwork frame interlaced with large architectonic cartouche, all executed in blind freehand gougework against a blind stippled ground, cartouche contains in gilt "Ε.Π./ΠANTÔN.TÔN./ΓΥNAÎKΩN./KOΣMOΣ./KAI.EIΣ./ÔΠAIΣH/AΘANATHΣI./ΘEHΣ./1552", spine with blind-tooled decoration, stubs from 2 pairs of ties, edges gilt and gauffered to a floral design. (Rebacked to resemble original, lower cover slightly scraped and repaired, corners defective.)
provenance: "Ε.Π.", initials on binding, possibly Guillaume Postel (1510-1581) (see catalogue note)—George John Venables Vernon, 5th Baron Vernon (1803 -1866), sold part collection to—Robert Stayner Holford (1808-1892), by descent to—Sir George Holford (1860-1926), his sale, Sotheby's, 5 December 1927, lot 106 ("from the Vernon collection"). acquisition: Purchased in 1993 from Ursus Books, New York. references: USTC 814832; Edit16 CNCE 6319
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