Corte, Il cavalerizzo, Lyon, 1573, olive morocco richly gilt, presentation binding to Henry, King of Poland (later Henry III of France)
Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
CORTE, CLAUDIO. Il cavalerizzo nel quale si tratta della natura de' cavalli del modo di domargli et frenargli, e di tutto quello che a cavalli et a buon cavalerizzo s appartiene. Di nuovo ristampato, accresciuto, emendato, e ornato di utilissime cose molto piacevoli. Lyon: Pierre Roussin for Alessandro Marsili, 1573
A MAGNIFICENT PRESENTATION BINDING FOR HENRY, KING OF POLAND (LATER HENRY III, KING OF FRANCE). Another copy of the same work in a near-identical presentation binding for Charles IX, the dedicatee of Corte's work and Henry's immediate predecessor on the French throne, was offered for sale in these rooms as part of the Library of the Earls of Macclesfield (10 June 2004, lot 564). The only subtle differences in the binding between the Charles IX-Macclesfield copy and the present volume are that the spine compartments—alternating between gilt fleurs-de-lys or an azured arabesque—appear in a reversed order, and the binding for Charles contains the initials "C M | R F", whereas the binding for Henry is appropriately initialed "H R | P" (Henricus Rex Poloniae). Henry ruled Poland for thirteen months, before assuming the French throne in May 1574.
This book was first published in Venice by Ziletti in 1562, and again by Ziletti in the same year as the present edition; an English translation appeared in 1584. Similar bindings with identical corner and centrepieces are the Antwerp 1573 Ortelius formerly in the Abbey collection (Hobson, French & Italian collectors, no. 23; sale in these rooms, 21 June 1967, lot 2071) and the Antwerp 1572 Braun & Hogenberg (Nixon, Broxbourne Library, no. 40).
Fourth edition, 4to (251 x 178 mm). Italic and roman type, 39 lines plus headline. collation: *-**4 ***2 A-R4 S2 T2: 82 leaves (T1-2 containing table taken from another copy). Architectural woodcut border on title-page, woodcut initials and headpieces, woodcut diagrams. (Some marginal dampstaining, T1-2 inserted from another copy.)
binding: Contemporary Lyonese binding (257 x 183 mm) for presentation to Henry III, King of Poland, olive morocco profusely gilt, double gilt fillets around sides, large deeply impressed cornerpieces of interlacing strapwork and tendrils with foliate elements, large matching centrepiece within semé of small fleurs-de-lys and with crowned fleur-de-lys at uppermost point and on upper cover, initials HRP at the sides and below the centrepiece, in centre oval, on upper cover the arms of Charles and on lower cover his device with the motto "Pietate et Iustitia", traces of 2 pairs of ties, spine with 5 full bands, compartments with gilt fleurs-de-lys or an azured arabesque, edges gilt and gauffered to an intricate arabesque design, heightened in pink enamel. (Small wormhole to lower board.)
provenance: Henry III, King of Poland (later King of France) (1551-1589)—late-seventeenth-century French owner who scribbles numerous pentrials of the name "Penir", the date 1684, and the drafts of letters on the endleaves—Britwell Court Library, begun in 1824 by William Henry Miller (1789-1848), by descent to—Sydney Richardson Christie-Miller, his sale, Sotheby's, 31 March 1925, lot 198, £82 to Quaritch (with subsequent pencil collation note "Perfect. | H.B. Quaritch, Ltd. F.W." to rear pastedown—Jean Fürstenberg (1890-1982), bookplate—Martin Breslauer Inc., Catalogue 109, no.80. acquisition: Purchased in 1988 from Martin Breslauer Inc., New York. references: USTC 130043; Edit16 CNCE 15367; Jacqueline Boucher, Société et mentalités autour de Henri III (Paris, 2007), pp.660-672 (p.664 no. 60, in "Catalogue de livres de Henri III"); for the bindings of Charles IX see Reliures royales de la Renaissance (Paris, 1999), pp. 232 ff., and Olivier 2490. exhibited: Exposition de reliures de la Renaissance: collection Jean Furstenberg: 30 September 1961 (Paris 1961), no. 36
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