Item #3416 Catalogus gloriae mundi. Bathélemy de CHASSENEUX.
Catalogus gloriae mundi.
Catalogus gloriae mundi.
Catalogus gloriae mundi.
Catalogus gloriae mundi.
Catalogus gloriae mundi.
Catalogus gloriae mundi.
Catalogus gloriae mundi.
Catalogus gloriae mundi.
Catalogus gloriae mundi.
Catalogus gloriae mundi.
16th-Century Society Illustrated
In a Contemporary Binding
With Annotations Pertaining to the Social Status of Women
Lyons, (Regnault for) Vincentius, 1546.

Catalogus gloriae mundi.

Folio [32.75 x 21.5 cm], Folio [32.75 x 21.5 cm], (8), 330 ff., including numerous woodcut initials, 13 full-page woodcuts, of which the first two show genealogical trees, numerous woodcuts of heraldic escutcheons in text, 1 small woodcut of a printing press (f. 230r), and large woodcut printer’s mark on verso of final leaf showing Peter and Paul holding Veronica’s veil. With the early ownership inscription on the title page of Hector Aemilius and numerous manuscript annotations in the margins in an early hand, most probably in Aemilius’ hand. Bound in contemporary blindstamped pigskin over paper boards, raised bands on spine, panels alternating between portraits of the apostles and floral motifs, manuscript title on fore-edge. Binding worn at extremities, particularly corners. Some minor handsoiling in right corner of title, reinforced on verso in blank corner. Inconspicuous worming in blank margins of scattered leaves; light, even toning; woodcuts in excellent, dark strikes. Very good overall.

Rare second edition (first 1529) of this discursive and illustrated survey of all ranks of society by the Lyonnais jurist Chasseneux. The present edition utilizes the original woodblocks of the 1529 edition, and this is evidently their only other appearance. The work is divided into 12 books, each is preceded by a large and handsome woodcut: the emperor and his princes, the pope and ecclesiastical dignities, a judge presiding in a court of law, nobles and their retainers, personifications of trades and professions, etc.

On f. 230r, there is a small woodcut of a printing press and a compositor at his type case, accompanied by a chapter on the dignity of the art of printing. According to Mortimer (French, 136) this is among the earliest known depictions of printing. The woodcut on f. 143v of a law court in session is one of the earliest such depictions; Mortimer compares this to the title woodcut of Nicolas Bertrand’s Opus de Tholosanorum gestis (Lyons, 1515), but that image shows a parliamentary proceeding, not a court of law. A passage on the mystical dignity of the priesthood (f. 89) frequently attracted the censor’s pen and is often found scored, but in the present copy it has remained intact, as has another typically censored passage on f. 103.

Our copy comes with an interesting provenance: The manuscript ex libris and numerous annotations in the text are in the hand of Hector Aemilius who matriculated at Heidelberg University in 1544, and was a doctor both in Canon and Civil Law. He also authored a few texts relating to witness interrogation published between 1580 and 1590. The annotations deal with the status of noble women and heraldry (eligibility and construction of coats of arms based on social status).

Comparison with the Houghton Library’s copy of the 1529 edition suggests that the present edition is a reprint of the first with the following alterations: there is a change of dedicatee, and all occurrences of the elaborate architectural woodcut border (which was repeated on the divisional titles of 11 of the 12 individual books) have been eliminated.

* Brunet I.1818-19; cf. Mortimer, French I.136 (1529); not in Adams or Baudrier.

 

Price: $5,500.00

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