Giovio, Historiarum sui temporis tomus primus, Florence, 1550, contemporary Venetian russet morocco gilt

GIOVIO, PAOLO. Historiarum sui temporis. Tomus Primus. Florence: Lorenzo Torrentino, 1550

A HANDSOME CONTEMPORARY VENETIAN BINDING OF A TYPE USED BY CARDINAL ANTOINE PERRENOT DE GRANVELLE. The present volume also contains an early modern ownership inscription on the title-page, declaring that it has been inherited by Wenzel Hegenmüller von Dubenweilern (1608-1658), heir to the books of Leopold Hegenmüller von Dubenweilern and the books of his father, Johann.

Wenzel’s library passed to Franz Ferdinand Pontz, Ritter von Engelshofen, in 1768/1770 and it was purchased in turn in 1827/1828 by Franz Anton Thun. The Thun-Hohenstein library was dispersed at auction in the 1930s.

A copy of Pierre Belon's L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux (Paris, 1555), sold Sotheby's New York, 5 October 2007, lot 8, holds the same chain of provenance leading from Wenzel Hegenmüller von Dubenweilern to the Count of Thun and Hohenstein. Moreover, a 1500 edition of Conradus Summenhart's Opus septipartitum de contractibus Hagenau at Harvard University Library (Harv. 1085), also holds Hegenmüller and Engelshofen provenance.

Large folio (384 x 244 mm). Roman type, 53 lines plus headline. Collation: π⁴ A-K⁶ L⁴ M-Z⁶ Aa-Dd⁶ Ee⁴: 168 leaves. Title-page with woodcut device, woodcut initials, 4 lines of text underlined in ink in an early modern hand on M1r. (Spotting to title-page and first few text leaves, slight marginal worming.)

Binding: Venetian russet morocco (390 x 264 mm), early 1550s, of type used by Granvelle (Piquard/Brooker Type E), 2 gilt fillets flanked by multiple blind fillets around sides, trefoil at outer angles, frame composed of 2 pairs of gilt fillets interlacing at mid-points, enclosing gilt open and solid leaf tools and rosette at point of interlace, gilt pomegranate at outer angles, gilt cornerpieces composed of bud, leaves, acorn, rosette and dots, in centre gilt ornament composed of 2 circles surrounded by flames containing on upper cover 2 interlaced squares and dot at centre and on lower cover an open escutcheon, traces of 4 pairs of ties, edges gilt with row of twin dots around sides. (Slight worming to lower board and pastedowns.)

Provenance: Johann or Leopold Hegenmüller von Dubenweilern, by descent to—Wenzel Hegenmüller von Dubenweilern (1608-1658), "Jure haereditatis zu Vincislai à Duben Weilern", early modern inscription to title-page—Franz Ferdinand Pontz, Ritter von Engelshofen (1692-1761), eighteenth-century inkstamp to title-page—Franz Anton II, Graf Thun und Hohenstein (1847-1916), nineteenth-century armorial bookplate to upper pastedown. Acquisition: Purchased in 1991 from Thomas Taylor, Austin. References: Edit16 CNCE 21172; USTC 833173