Manuscript on paper of an album of 105 water-color drawings of Italian costumes and scenes of daily life (some with titles), including two maps of Venice
Description:
In Italian., Drawings mounted, framed by narrow gold strips., and Binding: Nineteenth century. Red, straight-grained goatskin, gold-tooled, with light blue, watered silk doublures and flyleaves. Possibly bound by one of the Bozerians (Paris, 1793-1817), but the foot of the spine where their signature usually appears was destroyed in rebacking. Gilt edges.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., and Venice (Italy)
Subject (Topic):
Manuscripts, Medieval, Description and travel, and History
Manuscript on parchment of Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico; Commentarii de Bello Civili; De Bello Alexandrino; De Bello Africo; and De Bello Hispaniensis
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written by a single scribe in a small elegant humanistic bookhand., Fine initials, gold capitals, 9- to 5- line, edged in yellow, filled with white-vine ornament, on blue, green, and red ground, decorated with yellow dots. Headings in red., and Binding: Fifteenth century. Wound sewing on four slit straps. Colored beaded endbands sewn onto cores of tawed skin laced and nailed into wooden boards. All edges gilt. The sewing straps are laced through tunnels in the edges of the boards and nailed in channels on the outside, protruding well above the face. Covered in dark brown goatskin, blind-tooled with an eight-pointed star and corners filled in with rope-tool interlace interspersed with copper-colored dots, in a border of rectangular tools. Four catches on the lower board and stubs of red cloth (velvet?) straps lined with parchment held to the upper with star headed nails
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., and Rome
Subject (Name):
Caesar, Julius.
Subject (Topic):
Latin prose literature, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and History
Manuscript on paper (sturdy and rough) of 1) Valentin von Eickstedt, Pommersche Chronik, in German. Contains descriptions of some cities of Pomerania, genealogy of the Dukes of Pomerania, and the Chronicle proper. Written by Valentin von Eickstedt (1527-79) in 1574. 2) Funeral orations for the Dukes of Pomerania (in Latin), by Daniel Cramer (1568-1637), Lutheran theologian and archdeacon of Stettin
Description:
In German and Latin., Watermarks: an unidentified letter Z in two concentric circles., Script: Written by several scribes in gothic cursive and italic script., Headings of gothic textura, square capitals, and a large humanistic script, in reddish brown, green, and black., and Binding: Nineteenth century, after 1861. Brown goatskin Jansenist binding by Chambolle-Duru (Paris).
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., Germany, and Pomerania (Poland and Germany)
Subject (Name):
Cramer, Daniel. and Eickstedt, Valtentin von.
Subject (Topic):
German literature, Manuscripts, Medieval, History, and Description and travel
Manuscript on paper of a chronicle of the Kingdom of Navarre from the death in 1425 of Charles III, King of Navarre, through circa 1513, with the conquest of Navarre by Spain
Description:
In Spanish., Single quire of 8 leaves, with pagination 113-127 [128]., Layout: 1 column, about 36 lines., Script: copied by one hand in a Spanish version of Humanistica Cursiva Formata. "Finis" at the end is written in Capitalis., The text discusses members of the royal family of Navarre during the period of 1425 through circa 1513, their marriages, the royal succession, and a disruption to the line of succession that led to civil war. The chronicle closes with a justification for the rule of Navarre by Spain, based upon the historical ties of the kings of Navarre to Spain., Watermark: resembles Briquet 13995 (Bordeaux, 1550) and 14008 (Montreuil, 1559)., No decoration., and Disbound. Text complete, but extracted from a larger manuscript. First leaf repaired, with some loss to marginalia on verso.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., Navarre (Kingdom), Navarre (Spain), and Spain
Subject (Name):
Blanca, Queen, consort of Juan II, King of Aragon, -1441., Catherine, Queen of Navarre, 1468-1518., Carlos, Prince of Viana, 1421-1461., Charles III, King of Navarre, 1361-1425., Ferdinand V, King of Spain, 1452-1516., John II, King of Aragon, 1397-1479., John III, King of Navarre, 1469-1516., and Juana Enríquez, Consort of Juan II, King of Aragon, 1425-1468.
Subject (Topic):
Manuscripts, Medieval, Kings and rulers, and History
Manuscript on paper and parchment (trimmed) of 1) Grantz Geantz, a poem explaining the origin of the Giants that occupied England before the arrival of Brutus and the Trojans. 2) A Latin summary of art. 1. 3) Roman de Brut, a chronicle of England from Aeneas to King Edward II (1307-1327). 4) Sequence to the Roman de Brut, dealing with the reign of King Edward III (1327-1377). 5) Unidentified poem in English on the countries and peoples of Asia, Africa and Europe. 6) Account of the relations between Church and State under popes Gregory VII (1073-1085) and Alexander III (1159-1181), and especially of the conflict between King Henry II of England (1154-1189) and Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury
Description:
In Anglo-Norman, English, and Latin., Script: Copied by two hands: Section I is in Gothica Cursiva Antiquior Libraria (Anglicana); Section II, including the explicit formula of art. 3 on f. 118v, is in Gothica Cursiva Libraria (Secretary)., The decoration of Section I consists of 2- or 3-line flourished initials, blue with red penwork. On ff. 1r and 5r (artt. 1 and 3) 5-line flourished initials in the same colours. In Section II art. 4 is decorated with 2-line flourished initials in the same colours but of a different style, with marginal extensions; at the beginning (f. 119r) a 3-line flourished initial in gold with purple penwork; in art. 4 also red headings and red or blue paragraph-marks. Artt. 4-5 are undecorated., and Binding: Twentieth century. Dark blue velvet by C. Lewis. On the spine the 19th-century brown leather title-label has been pasted with the gold-tooled inscription: "LES VEULZ CRONIKES D'ANGLETRE APPELLEZ LE BRUTE - PLUSEURS AUTRES NOUELLES CRONIKES - MS. IN MEMBRANIS". At the bottom of the spine small paper label with printed number 3338. Gilt edges.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., and Great Britain
Subject (Topic):
Anglo-Norman literature, Church history, English literature, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and History
Manuscript on parchment (thin, good quality) of 1) Tacitus, Annales XI-XVI. 2) Tacitus, Historiae I-V. Written for King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary (1458-90), perhaps by Italians at his palace of Buda
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written by a single scribe in a well formed humanistic script., Twelve initials, 7- to 2-line, at beginning of each book (2 at the beginning of the Annales), gold edged in black, with white vine ornament, against a panelled ground of blue, green and mauve, with white dots, outlined with one or two thin white and one black line; ivy, drawn or pen, with triangular gold leaves or dots, projecting from corners into margins. On f. 1r, the initial includes a putto in the vinework; in the lower margin, coat of arms of Corvinus, type A (quarterly, first and fourth barry of 8 gules and argent [Hungary]; second and third gules, a lion rampant and queue-fourche argent [Bohemia]; an inescutcheon azur with raven sable holding an annulet or, with bordure or [Hunyadi family]. Workmanship of fair quality; style Northern Italian (?)., and Binding: Fifteenth century. Sewn on three tawed, slit straps laid in channels in beech boards. The straps are pegged and the channels filled in with plaster as are the endband grooves and the edge channels cut out for the clasps. The primary endband is plain, wound, and sewn on a tawed core and the secondary is beaded and colored. The core is laid in a groove and pegged. The square spine is given a slightly round shape by the bevelling of the boards and is lined with a tawed skin. Covered in dark, brick-red goatskin with a cusped shield azur, charged with a crow sable (Hunyadi family), in the center of each board; blind-tooled rope work, punch dots and other ornamentation gilt, gold-tooled or painted. "Cornelius Tacitus" is tooled along the head of the lower cover and is also written down the fore-edge with black ink. There are four fastenings, the brass catches on the lower board, with three of them covered over with added leather. The clasps are the same color as the cover and are reinforced with parchment. They are pegged in channels at the edges of the board, underneath the cover. The clasps and a little leather of the spine and the upper board are wanting.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., and Rome
Subject (Name):
Matthias I, King of Hungary, 1443-1490. and Tacitus, Cornelius.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Latin prose literature, Manuscripts, Medieval, and History
Manuscript on paper of The Life, Araignment, and Death, of the famous learned, Sir Thomas More Knight: Somtymes Lord Chauncellor of England. On f. iii verso, engraving of Sir Thomas More, half-length, to right, standing, pointing to scroll in right hand
Description:
In English., Watermarks: Heawood, Coat of Arms 481., Script: Written in neat chancery script., Illuminated title-page, f. iii recto: double blue frame with sprigs of berries and leaves on both sides and gilt designs above and below. Gold initial on f. 1r marks the beginning of text., and Binding: 17th-18th centuries. Part of a book rebound in limp vellum, gold-tooled, with holes for two ties.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., and Great Britain
Subject (Name):
More, Thomas, Saint, 1478-1535. and Roper, William, 1496-1578.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and History
Manuscript on three scrolls of parchment, two of which have been crudely stitched together, while the third is separate. They concern inhabitants of the castle and town of Lustignano in the valley of the river Cornia in Northwestern Italy. 1) Land transaction between Niccholaus, duke of Volterra, and Iohannes, Count of Lustignano, on behalf of a certain Michael; signed by the notary Guarnerius; dated 1350 (detached). 2) Unidentified land transaction involving Iohannes filius [one word unclear] de Lustignano; name of notary scratched out; dated 1304. 3) Bill of contumacy involving Raymerus Balduccus and the brothers "Iohannes and Michelis"; signed by the notary Barthalus Sanuccius (?) of Volterra; dated 1346
Description:
In Latin., Script: All were written in cramped and abbreviated chancery hands. Filing notes, in Italian (17th century), on dorse of each scroll., and Second roll is mutilated and worn, with text illegible at head and tail.
Manuscript on parchment of Plutarch, Vitae, translated into Latin by Leonardo Bruni
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written in an upright italic by a single scribe., Small, 4-line, white vine initials, one to commence each work, gold, infilled with pink and green with white dots, all on a blue ground; gold dots and hairsprays., and Binding: Eighteenth century. Green goatskin with red labels on spine. Delicately gold-tooled.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., and Rome
Subject (Name):
Plutarch.
Subject (Topic):
Biography, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and History
Manuscript on paper of a collection of material copied primarily by William Camden, antiquary and historian (1551-1623), from documents, 14th-16th centuries, that were in the Tower of London and in the College of Arms. Some selections are from official records, others are from private papers that were deposited in the Office of Arms. The manuscript is composed of four parts, the first two of which are laid in.
Description:
In English and Latin., Watermarks: unidentified design, Part I; Briquet Lion 10555 and similar to Briquet Pot 12736, Part II; unidentified grapes and Briquet Lion 10555, Parts III, IV., Script: Written primarily by William Camden in several styles of cursive., Edges of some leaves crumbled and torn, with loss of text., and Binding: Date? Broken limp vellum case.