A catalogue of medieval literature, especially of the romances of chivalry, and books relating to the customs, costume, art, and pageantry of the middle ages.

  • Bernard Quaritch Ltd
Date:
1890
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A catalogue of medieval literature, especially of the romances of chivalry, and books relating to the customs, costume, art, and pageantry of the middle ages. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    45/100 (page 39)
    203 LE FEVRE (Raoul). Le eecueil des Histoiees teoi- ENNES contenans troys liures. Au premier est contenu la genealogie de saturne et de Jupiter . . , Au second est contenu des faitz et des prouesses du vaillat liercules . . . Au tiers est contenue la reedificacion de la dicte troye faicte par le roy priant et generalle destruction diceUe faicte par les gregoys . . . small folio, RltrtS jgotllillUtfj, FEINTED ON VELLUM, loitli 3 fiill-'page and 80 small Miniatures heautifully illuminated, in gold and colours^ all the initial letters illuminated; the copy which belonged to Jean d'Alhret^ who was crowned King of Navarre in 1494, with his arms emblazoned in fireplaces; bound in red morocco extra, silk linings, gilt edges, by Lefebvre [circa 1498] 105 0 0 Before tEe sale of this copy only three others on vellum were known, of which two are in the National Library at Paris, and one in that of the Due d’Aumale. This copy appears to want 17 leaves, as it only contains 158 printed leaves besides the 3 miniatures on separate leaves ,(which of course do not appear in the paper copies), while Brunet gives the number as 175. The first full-page miniature represents Verard presenting this volume to the King, behind whom we see curtains striped with the arms of Aragon or Poix. He did not long retain his royalty, being dethroned by his liege Ferdinand of Aragon. He was great grandfather of the King of Navarre who became Henri lY of France. The motto of Jean d’Albret is written several times in scroll-fashion around the large miniatures, thus : “ Espoyr me nnyt.” 204 LE FEVRE (Raoul) The eecuyles oe gadeeIge to GYDEE OF Y’' HYSTOEYES OF TeOYE HOW IT WAS DESTEOYED & BEENT TWYES BY Y” PUYSSAUNT HeECULES & Y’ THYEDE & GENEEALL BY y’' geekes, sm. folio, lilacit Rltci', numerous looodcuts; a very fine and perfect copy in brown morocco extra, gilt edges, arms on sides, by Bedford, in an olive morocco case Emprynted in London in Flete strete at the sygne of the sonne by Wynken de Worde. The yere of our lorde god . M.CCCCC. . and . iij (1503) 420 0 0 The smaller Caxton-mark, with the xylographic inscription “ Wynkyn . de . worde . .” is impressed below the colophon on the last page.—This is the second edition of Caxton’s first English book, and it is even rarer than the volume printed at Bruges (or Cologne). Besides this, only one other perfect copy has survived, which was Pepys’, and is now locked up in Magdalen College, Cambridge. Of imperfect copies, but two are known: one is in King’s College, Cambridge, the other in the British Museum.—But for a romantic incident in my career over twenty years ago, this volume would probably have passed from the Enschede collection into the British Museum. I was not then entrusted with commissions for the National library, and a portion of the episode to which I have alluded was that I secured the Troy-book between midnight and 1 p.m. while the Museum agent waited for morning light and the orthodox hour of buying and selling. It has since been one of the most treasured possessions in two American libraries successively ; and now I have it once more. This is one of the few Wynkyn de Worde books which are worth almost any price.