Details
Herbarius Latinus [with German synonyms]. [Speier: Johann and Conrad Hist, 1484].
Chancery 4to, 207 x 139mm. (8 3/16 x 5 7/16in.), contemporary blind-stamped pigskin over wooden boards, cover panels divided into four compartments by intersecting diagonals, the upper covers stamped with repeated unicorn, fleur-de-lys, and rosette tools, the lower cover with an eagle and floral tools (the tools not identified in Kyriss or Schwenke-Sammlung), spine in four compartments with five double raised bands, contemporary ink lettering in upper compartment (partially rubbed away), brass catch and leather remains of fore-edge clasp, edges stained blue-green, parchment manuscript sewing guards, a few wormholes to covers, a single long crack to leather of upper cover, top of spine rubbed exposing cords, minor loss to upper fore-edges, several small wormholes through text block of first 45 and last 15 leaves, fol. 12/5 [98] with a 4-inch tear entering text, a few short marginal tears, occasional slight discoloration or pale spotting, mainly to margins, a few stains from old page markers, marginal dampstaining to last 20 leaves, minor marginal soiling.
Collation: [1 2-22 ]. 172 leaves, without foliation or signatures (blank leaf after 1/4 conjugate with front pastedown). Contents: 1/2r: title, v. blank, 1/3r-v: Preface, 1/4r-1/5r: table for part 1, 1/6 blank, 2/1r-19/6v: Text, part 1, 19/7r-v: table for parts 2-7, 19/8 blank, 20/1r-22/8v: Text, parts 2-7. Types: Woodcut title and smaller woodcut headings and numeration to part 1; 1:87 (text). 34 lines. 150 numbered half-page woodcuts of plants, four (figures 9, 10, 15 and 16) with contemporary coloring. One five-line and numerous three-line and smaller Lombard initials supplied in red, red capital strokes and paragraph marks.
Second known edition. Most of the woodcuts are very loose reverse copies of the cuts in Schoeffer's original edition. In this they contrast greatly with the much more faithful copies of the other editions that were published within two years of the first edition, by Jan Veldener in Louvain and Johann Petri in Passau. Nissen, who postulates that some of the cuts may in fact have been copied from an unknown manuscript (notably figures 2-5, 80, 140 and 148), remarks on the contortions imposed on some of the plants by the printer's decision to print the figure numeration directly above the center of each cut (BBI, p. 28).
H 8448*; Klebs 506.2; Klebs (H), "Undated, a"; Early Herbals 4; Schreiber 4207=4210; Schramm XVI p. 16; Nissen 2305; Ahumada 4; Goff H-63 (four copies).
Provenance: Fol. 1/1 with obliterated early ownership inscription and several early Latin inscriptions ("Aggregator practica de simplicibus", etc.), occasional contemporary marginalia; Stanislaus Bock, ownership inscription on front pastedown; partially effaced German library stamp on 1/2; Juan Carlos Ahumeda, bookplate; the present owner.
Chancery 4to, 207 x 139mm. (8 3/16 x 5 7/16in.), contemporary blind-stamped pigskin over wooden boards, cover panels divided into four compartments by intersecting diagonals, the upper covers stamped with repeated unicorn, fleur-de-lys, and rosette tools, the lower cover with an eagle and floral tools (the tools not identified in Kyriss or Schwenke-Sammlung), spine in four compartments with five double raised bands, contemporary ink lettering in upper compartment (partially rubbed away), brass catch and leather remains of fore-edge clasp, edges stained blue-green, parchment manuscript sewing guards, a few wormholes to covers, a single long crack to leather of upper cover, top of spine rubbed exposing cords, minor loss to upper fore-edges, several small wormholes through text block of first 45 and last 15 leaves, fol. 12/5 [98] with a 4-inch tear entering text, a few short marginal tears, occasional slight discoloration or pale spotting, mainly to margins, a few stains from old page markers, marginal dampstaining to last 20 leaves, minor marginal soiling.
Collation: [1 2-22 ]. 172 leaves, without foliation or signatures (blank leaf after 1/4 conjugate with front pastedown). Contents: 1/2r: title, v. blank, 1/3r-v: Preface, 1/4r-1/5r: table for part 1, 1/6 blank, 2/1r-19/6v: Text, part 1, 19/7r-v: table for parts 2-7, 19/8 blank, 20/1r-22/8v: Text, parts 2-7. Types: Woodcut title and smaller woodcut headings and numeration to part 1; 1:87 (text). 34 lines. 150 numbered half-page woodcuts of plants, four (figures 9, 10, 15 and 16) with contemporary coloring. One five-line and numerous three-line and smaller Lombard initials supplied in red, red capital strokes and paragraph marks.
Second known edition. Most of the woodcuts are very loose reverse copies of the cuts in Schoeffer's original edition. In this they contrast greatly with the much more faithful copies of the other editions that were published within two years of the first edition, by Jan Veldener in Louvain and Johann Petri in Passau. Nissen, who postulates that some of the cuts may in fact have been copied from an unknown manuscript (notably figures 2-5, 80, 140 and 148), remarks on the contortions imposed on some of the plants by the printer's decision to print the figure numeration directly above the center of each cut (BBI, p. 28).
H 8448*; Klebs 506.2; Klebs (H), "Undated, a"; Early Herbals 4; Schreiber 4207=4210; Schramm XVI p. 16; Nissen 2305; Ahumada 4; Goff H-63 (four copies).
Provenance: Fol. 1/1 with obliterated early ownership inscription and several early Latin inscriptions ("Aggregator practica de simplicibus", etc.), occasional contemporary marginalia; Stanislaus Bock, ownership inscription on front pastedown; partially effaced German library stamp on 1/2; Juan Carlos Ahumeda, bookplate; the present owner.