Manuscript on paper made by an unknown Venetian mathematician, astronomer and cartographer. This manuscript is highly interesting for the excellent drawings of contemporary Mediterranean sailing-ships
Description:
In Italian., Script: Written by one hand in Gothico-Humanistic Cursive, which in the maps alternates with Capitalis. Headings in Capitalis inscribed on scrolls or tablets., Maps, borders and decorations in colours. Clumsily drawn human and animal figures., and Binding: Original limp vellum. On the spine is written "G***ctrica MSS". On the rear cover are a pen-drawing, upside-down, of the same decorative device as on f. 2r, and a sketch of city gates.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., and Islands of the Mediterranean.
Subject (Topic):
Atlases, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscript maps, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Sailing ships
Manuscript on parchment of Caesar, Bellum Gallicum, translated into Italian by Pier Candido Decembrio in 1438. With Dedication of the translation to Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan
Description:
In Italian., Script: Written below top line in a bold round humanistic hand by a single scribe who added extra rulings in outer margins for headings, annotations, etc., in red. Additional annotations in humanistic cursive, in a brighter shade of red., Elegant illuminated title page (f. 2v) with the title, written in blue over an erasure, in a circular wreath, green with gold flowers, and framed by narrow gold bands with fillets and inkspray issuing from the top and bottom with blue and deep red flowers, green leaves and gold balls. Full border, f. 1r, white vine-stem ornament on blue, green, deep red and gold ground between thin gold frames. In lower border, medallion, blank, framed by wreath, green with yellow highlights and narrow deep red frame. Partial border, f. 3r, white vine-stem ornament on blue, green and deep red ground between narrow gold frames, enlarged to elongated dots at terminals; white vine-stem ornament extends into upper (trimmed) and lower margins, with single gold balls with hair-line strokes. 8 large initials, 11- to 3-line, gold on blue, green, gold and deep red ground with white vine-stem ornament shaded with pale pink. First few words of each book in gold; incipits, explicits and marginalia in red., and Binding: Date? Italy. Vellum case with title in ink on spine: "Cesare Comment". Gilt, gauffered edges and gold and cream silk endbands. Fragments of a printed service book with musical notation partially visible under pastedowns.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., and Rome
Subject (Name):
Caesar, Julius.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Literature, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and History, Military
Manuscript on paper (trimmed) of 1) Alphabetical index. 2) Extract from Petrarca, Africa, VI, 885-918. 3) Petrarca, Canzoniere. 366 poems. 4) Transcription of a note on the front flyleaf of the Virgil manuscript copied by Petrarch, Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, MS S.P. Arm. 10, scaf. 27. 5) Petrarca, Trionfi
Description:
In Italian., Script: Copied by one hand writing an unusual and upright form of Humanistica Cursiva Libraria, marked by a conspicuous shape of r; a second hand copied the replacement leaves 108 and 109, and a third hand copied f. 149r-v; both using the same type of script., Pale red headings (the one on f. 9r in Capitalis), subscriptions and plain initials (Capitalis). On f. 9r (beginning of art. 3) splendid 5-line trompe-l'oeil initial in Veneto-Paduan style in the shape of a square purple stone slab showing the letter V and plants in relief, slightly damaged., A section in the middle of ff. 85 and 86 is missing and has been replaced by pieces of paper written by a contemporary hand, and Binding: Seventeenth century. Limp parchment with two modern leather ties. On the spine the inscription in ink: "Petrar** Manuss***".
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Petrarca, Francesco, 1304-1374.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Italian poetry, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment of Leonardo Bruni, De bello italico adversus gothos, in the Italian version by Ludovico Petroni made in 1456. Preceded by the letter of Leonardo Bruni to Giuliano Cardinal Cesarini (1398-1444).
Description:
In Italian., Script: Written by a single scribe in fere-gothic script, above top line., Partial border in inner margin of white vine-stem ornament, f. 1r, on blue, green and pink ground with white and blue dots. In lower border terminals extending in ink hair spray with green, pink and blue flowers and gold balls frame central medallion with a crude outline drawing of a head in profile (later addition?). Two decorated initials, 4- to 3-line, gold on blue, pink and green grounds with white vine-stem ornament. On f. 1r initial joined to partial border. Heading on f. 1r in red., and Binding: 18th-19th centuries, Italy. "Alla rustica" with grey-green paper added over the spine and part of the boards. Edges yellow.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., and Rome
Subject (Name):
Bruni, Leonardo, 1369-1444. and Cesarini, Giuliano, Cardinal, 1398-1444.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Italian literature, Literature, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and History
Manuscript on paper (watermarks: unidentified mountain) and parchment (inner and outer bifolios, of poor quality) of Boccaccio, De claris mulieribus; translated into Italian by Donato degli Albanzani
Description:
In Italian., Script: Written by three persons in round gothic script: Scribe 1, ff. 1r-33v (except f. 8, replaced in 16th century); Scribe 2, ff. 33v-36v; Scribe 3; ff. 37r-74r. In portions written by Scribes 1 and 2 some elaborate ascenders and descenders in upper and lower margins, touched with red., Initials, 3- to 2-line, in red or blue, sometimes with red penwork. Rubrics throughout. Initial added [date?], f. 2v, to replace one removed: blue, with leafy filler in green outline, and foliage extending down margin and across top and bottom of column, drawn in green, red, and blue., Initial removed from f. 2v; leaf was then reinforced with paper covering f. 2r, col. b (blank). Lower margins of ff. 1, 33 and 37 cut off., and Binding: 19th-20th centuries. Vellum spine and fore-edge strip with marbled paper sides. Label on spine: "Donne Illust. del Boccacc. MS".
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Boccaccio, Giovanni, 1313-1375.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Latin literature, Medieval and modern, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on paper (sturdy) of Laurentius Iustinianus (Lorenzo Giustiniani, 1381-1456), De disciplina et spirituali perfectione monasticae conversationis (De disciplina spiritualium), Italian translation by Iohannes de Tossignano (Giovanni Tavelli da Tossignano, 1386-1446, bishop of Ferrara 1431-1446).
Description:
In Italian., Script: Copied by one hand in Italian Gothica Hybrida Libraria/Currens., Headings in red ink of various darkness. On f. 1r the Prologue opens with an 8-line Gothic foliate initial L in purple and blue, heightened with white penwork, on a square golden background, containing a stylized flower in purple and yellow with green foliage and ending in blue, purple and green acanthus leaves; on the same page a full floral border in blue, purple and green with a multitude of hairy gold balls. On all the remaining pages the decoration was not executed: the rectangular spaces with guide letters for initials are blank. A 4-line initial was planned f. 5r at the beginning of the text, a 3-line initial at the beginning of chapter 2 (f. 10r), and 2-line initials at the beginning of the other chapters., and Binding: Of the original binding the wooden boards (and the gilt and gauffered edges) survive. The boards are now covered with brown 19th-century marbled paper and the spine with cloth-reinforced beige marbled paper. On the latter (now detached) a paper label with handwritten 19th-century inscription: "146. / Anonimo. / Della disciplina et perfectione / de la monastica conversatione. / Cartaceo. / secolo XV.".
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Lawrence Justinian, Saint, 1381-1456.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Literature, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Monastic and religious life
Manuscript on paper of Benedetto Cotrugli (Benedictus de Cotrullis, c. 1410-1469), De navigatione liber (Della navigazione). After the prologue in Latin addressed to the Doge and the Senate of Venice, the author, quoting countless Biblical, ancient, medieval and Renaissance authors and drawing largely on his own experience, discusses the oceans and seas, islands, ports, the history of ship-building and navigation, weather, and astronomy. At the end, he includes portolano maps and describes the coast of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea
Description:
The author, born in Ragusa (Dubrovnik), was a businessman and humanist, from 1451 onwards in favour at the Court of Naples. His Della mercatura e del mercante perfetto, written in 1458, was for a long time considered his only surviving work. Our manuscript, written during his lifetime and no doubt under his supervision or by his hand, is the only existing manuscript of Della navigazione and it is unfinished, missing most of its illustrations and the end of the text., In Italian., Script: Written by one hand in Humanistica Cursiva close to Humanistica Textualis. Headings and opening words of chapters in pale red capitals., Heightening of majuscules and paragraph marks in pale red up to f. 10r. Space for 2- or 3-line initials at the opening of all chapters, the initials not executed. Illustration largely missing; the few that have been executed are crudely drawn., and Binding: Nineteenth century. Yellowish parchment over cardboard. Marbled paste-downs.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Cotrugli, Benedetto, d. 1468.
Subject (Topic):
Astronomy, Medieval, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Italian literature, Manuscript maps, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Navigation
Manuscript on parchment of 1) Dante Alighieri, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata. 2) Bosone de' Raffaelli da Gubbio, "Capitolo" on the Divine Comedy, in 64 terzine. 3) Iacopo Alighieri, "Divisione" of the Divine Comedy in 50 terzine (thus of the B group).
Description:
In Italian., Script: Written in round gothic script., Very fine initials and borders. Three historiated initials, each with a personification with attributes. Each initial with a full border of fleshy acanthus, blue, orange, olive green, pink, grey and gold, with tooling; birds in lower margin of ff. 1r and 54r; on f. 1r a coat-of-arms, in lower margin: azure, a chevron or, between two roses in chief argent, a mount of 6 in base argent, probably of the Bini family, Florence. 3-line initials, red or blue, with mauve or red penwork with long intricate flourishes often extending the length of the page. Opening text of Inferno adjacent to the initial of f. 1r in display capitals with penwork panels in brown ink. Capitals on the beginning of each stanza stroked in yellow. Rubrics throughout., and Binding: Sixteenth century. Sewn on five double supports attached to wooden boards. The spine is square with well defined bands and red and green endbands. Covered in dark brown goatskin, blind-tooled in mudejar style in two sets of concentric frames; DO.IOAN.DE gold-tooled in the center of one, BORGA in the other. Trace of two fastenings. Gilt edges. Restored.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321. and Dominicans
Subject (Topic):
Manuscripts, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Italian poetry, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Scholia
Manuscript on paper of 1) Note on the reign of the first Doge of Venice, Pauluccio Anafesto (697-717). 2) History of Venice from its legendary foundation to 695. 3) Alphabetical list of Venetian noble families, with their coats of arms and notes on their history. 4) History of the Doges of Venice up to Francesco Venier, elected 1554, d. 1556, with their coats of arms
Description:
In Italian., Script: Copied by two hands. A (ff.IIr and 1r-84v): Gothica Cursiva Libraria/Currens; B (ff. 85r-170r): Humanistica Cursiva Currens., Painted coats of arms, those in art. 3 in decorative cartouches. Large decorative painted initials for each family name., The top and the lower corners of the final leaves badly damaged by moist, with loss of some text., and Binding: Date? Pasteboard.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., Italy., and Venice (Italy)
Subject (Topic):
Heraldry, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, Nobility, and History
Manuscript on paper of Jerome, Epistolae, etc., translated into Italian by Ser Nicolaus Berti Martini de Gentiluzis de Sanctogeminiano, a notary in Florence (ca. 1388-1468). With Ps.-Augustine, Epistula ad Cyrillum, concerning the death of St. Jerome
Description:
In Italian., Watermarks: similar to Piccard Schere III.710, Briquet Chapeau 3387; unidentified eagle., Script: Written by a single scribe in a small upright gothic script with both notarial and humanistic influence, above top line., One illuminated initial, f. 4r, 6-line, gold, filled with red and blue penwork in geometric patterns. The penwork extends the whole length of the text column to form a partial border, terminating in the upper and lower margins in a scroll of blue penwork with small flowers, heart-shaped leaves and red dots. Numerous penwork initials of good quality, 5- to 2-line, alternate in red and blue with purple and red penwork respectively, often extending into the margins. Headings in red. Majuscules and display script touched with yellow., and Binding: ca. 1500, Florence. Sewn on three tawed skin, slit straps attached to oak boards, with brown and natural color endbands (later additions?) sewn on tawed skin cores laid in grooves on the outside of the boards. Covered in orange/brown sheepskin neatly blind-tooled with rope interlace in concentric frames. Spine: double fillets at head and tail and outlining the supports on the spine; fine diapering with double fillets in the panels. Four flower-shaped catches on the lower board, two wanting. Remains of vellum label (worm eaten) on the spine and pieces of string used as place marks. Off-set impressions of medieval liturgical manuscript on front and back pastedowns. Orange edges. Sticky from excessive oiling.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Jerome, Saint, -419 or 420.
Subject (Topic):
Christian legends, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Latin letters, Literature, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
