Quintilianus, Institutionum oratoriarum, Venice, Heirs of Aldo Manuzio & Andrea Torresano, 1521 (but 1522), Bolognese dark red goatskin by Ebeleben Binder for Nikolas von Ebeleben

Quintilianus, Marcus Fabius. M. Fabii Quintiliani Institutionum oratoriarum libri XII diligentius recogniti MDXXII. Index capitum totius operis. Conuersio dictionum Graecarum, quas ipse author in Latinum non transtulit. Venice: Heirs of Aldo Manuzio & Andrea Torresano, January 1521 (but 1522)

An attractive Bolognese Renaissance binding by the Ebeleben Binder, known for his work for Nikolaus von Ebeleben and his cousin Damian Pflug, who heavily patronized the shop while they were students at the University of Bologna. Fewer than forty of Ebeleben Binder's elaborate and innovative luxury bindings are recorded.

4to (210 x 132 mm). Italic type, 39 lines plus headline. collation: *⁴ a–z⁸ A–E⁸ F⁶: 234 foliated leaves. Woodcut Aldine device on title-page and F6v, three- and six-line initial spaces with guide letters. (Title-page with tiny marginal chip and a few tiny marginal wormholes, some with early repair, s7 remargined at top, short tear at lower margin of z8, scattered, chiefly marginal, foxing and staining.)

binding: Bolognese dark red goatskin by Ebeleben Binder for Nikolas von Ebeleben (215 x 143 mm), dated 1543, covers richly gilt to a fanfare design with interlacing strapwork of double gilt fillets interspersed with a variety of fleurons, central lozenge on front cover gilt lettered [N. | DE | EBELEBEN effaced] | M.F.QVINT. | INSTI |TVT., and dated on lower cover .III. | IVNIVS | M.D.XLIII' | BONO | NIÆ, spine gilt-tooled in eight compartments with three full and four half bands, gilt edges, remnants of two pairs of silk ties. (Spine and board edges restored, especially top and bottom compartments, joints cracking, endpapers renewed.) Green cloth folding-case, red morocco label.

provenance: Nikolaus von Ebeleben (ca. 1520–1579), supralibros; posthumous inventory of Ebeleben’s library (Leipzig, Ratsarchiv, Tit XXXIII, II), taken 23 February 1580 by the bookseller Jacob Appeln and the bookbinder Marcus Bachmann, the former valuing this book at 8 Groschen and the latter valuing the binding (separately) at 3 Groschen 6 Pfennige (Johannes Hofmann, "Die Bibliothek des Nikolaus von Ebeleben," in Zeitschrift für Bücherfreunde, N.F. 18 (1926), pp. 82–91 — Johannes Böttinger (d. 1603), inscription "August(inus): Si times Mortem Christus Vita est Johan: Böttingerus" — unidentified owner, initials "J.B.B."(?) under title with date "1737" — Charles Isaac Elton (1839–1900) & Mary Augusta Elton (née Strachey) (1838–1914); A Catalogue of a Portion of the Library of Charles Isaac Elton and Mary Augusta Elton (London, 1891), p. 160 (illustrated); their sale, Sotheby's London, 1–2 May 1916, lot 436; purchased by — J. & J. Leighton, London (£9 15s) — Col. William E. Moss (1875–1953); his sale, Sotheby's London, 2–9 March 1937, lot 1186; purchased by — Bernard Quaritch, London (£10) — Thore Virgin (1886–1957), Bibliotheca Qvarnforsiana; J. Viktor Johansson, Från Gutenbergbibeln till Gösta Berlings saga: vandringar i Bibliotheca Qvarnforsiana (Stockholm, 1952), no. 229 — Rolf Wistrand (1912–1974), Stockholm — Galerie Gerda Bassenge, Auktion 106: Wertvolle Bücher, Berlin, 22 October 2015, lot 1092. acquisition: Purchased at Bassenge via Halwas. references: UCLA 208; Adams Q56; Cataldi Palau 61; Edit16 54149; Renouard 93/14; USTC 851768; for the binding: E. P. Goldschmidt, Gothic & Renaissance Bookbindings (London, 1928), I, p. 273; De Marinis, La Legatura artistica in Italia nei secoli XV e XVI (Florence, 1960), no. 1387G