Horatius Flaccus, Quintus. Opera.Paris, 1799.

Didot's "Louvre" edition of Horace, limited to 250 copies, of which this is no. 46 (and one of 100 copies containing the engravings "avant la lettre), signed by the publisher Pierre Didot the Elder ("No. 46 quarante-sixieme sur deux cents cinquante. P. Didot, l'aine"). The elegant unsigned binding is to be attributed to the Viennese artist bookbinder G. F. Krauss (active 1791-1824), showing the distinguishing features of his production. Krauss was the most prominent German bookbinder of his day, and the Duke of Saxe-Teschen was perhaps his most important client. Martin Breslauer's catalogue 110 offered a Krauss binding for Duke Albert, signed with his stamp "G. F. Krauss, Relieur à Vienne" and obviously performed in the same style and with the duke's monogram. Another fine example, unsigned like the present one, is pictured in the catalogue of Otto Schäfer's binding collection.

Duke Albert, Maria Theresa's son-in-law and sometime governor of Hungary and then of Belgium, was a collector of the first order. His collection of graphic art forms the nucleus of Vienna's Albertina; "as a bibliophile he evinced a special taste for good typography [...] Oddly, scholarship was long at a loss to identify Albert's bookbinders. Only recently [with the discovery of Breslauer's signed binding] could it be proved that Krauss bound at least parts of Duke Albert's library" (Schäfer). Works from the Krauss bindery have passed through some of the most distinguished collections over the years. There is but a small number of books printed by Didot and Bodoni which had the chance to be bound by Krauss.

Pierre Didot (1760-1853) was a third generation member of the prominent Parisian publishing family, Didot, renowned for the immaculate quality of their books. "When Pierre Didot l'ainé chose to adopt his own fount of letter - how exquisitely does it appear in the folio Virgil of 1798, and yet more, perhaps, in the folio Horace of 1799!? These are books which never have been, and never can be, eclipsed. Yet I own that the Horace, from the enchanting vignettes of Percier, engraved by Girardais, is to my taste the preferable volume" (Dibdin). Pierre and his younger brother Firmin took over the family business in 1789. Among their first projects was a supremely luxurious suite of the works of canonical authors from antiquity and France known as the 'Louvre' editions because they were launched when the firm occupied a studio space in the Musee du Louvre. The importance of these luxury editions - printed on the highest quality paper, illustrated by the leading artists of the period in Neoclassical style, and printed in a new type face designed exclusively for these editions - cannot be overstated: "The distinction of this set of folios resides in its scale, abounding illustrations, and its consequentially exorbitant production costs. Though it was not a commercial success, these books endure as Pierre's crowning achievement among the hundreds of editions he produced in his career, and easily the most significant illustrated set of books in the period" (Metropolitan Museum of Art). Didot himself, in a letter to Talleyrand, said of his Horace, "la superiorite d'execution de cet ouvrage ... l'emporte evidemment sur celle [du] Virgile [...] La gravure des vignettes est un chef-d'oeuvre".

Some light foxing throughout; dampstains around Didot's signature as a mark of authentication. The sumptuous binding is impeccably preserved. From the collection of the New York banker Lucius Wilmerding (1880-1949), trustee of the NY Public Library, vice-president of the American Library in Paris, and president of the Grolier Club, with his bookplate to the front pastedown.

Chaper, Eugène et al. Études de Bibliographie Dauphinoise. Vols I-XI (= all published).Various imprints, 1870-1890.

Consisting of:

1) Chaper, Eugène. L. Ybot poète et comédien dauphinois. Grenoble, Edouard Allier et Fils, 1870. 11 pp. "Tiré à 50 exemplaires". Faint autograph of Victor Colomb (see below) on front wrapper.

2) Arnaud, Eugène. Notice historique et bibliographique sur les imprimeurs de l'académie protestante de Die en Dauphiné au XVIIe siècle. Grenoble, Edouard Allier et Fils, 1870. 36 pp. "Tiré à 225 exemplaires".

3) Arnaud, Eugène. Notice sur les controverses religieuses en Dauphiné pendant la période de l'Édit de Nantes. Grenoble, Edouard Allier Fils, 1872. 64 pp. "Tiré à 225 exemplaires".

4) [Chaper, Eugène]. Notes sur François Marc jurisconsulte dauphinois et sur Anemond Amabert imprimeur à Grenoble au XVIe siècle. Par un bibliophile dauphinois. Vienne, E.-J. Savigné, 1877. (4), 9 pp., including frontispiece facsimile of a large printer's mark. "Tiré à 50 exemplaires".

5) [Chaper, Eugène]. Notice historique et bibliographique sur Antoine et Pierre Baquelier citoyens de Grenoble et les ouvrages qu'ils ont publiés au XVe et au XVIe siècles. Par un vieux bibliophile dauphinois. Grenoble, F. Allier Père et Fils, 1885. 57 pp. "Tiré à 225 exemplaires".

6) [Chaper, Eugène]. Notes sur les thèses illustrées dauphinoises. Par un vieux bibliophile dauphinois. Grenoble, F. Allier Père et Fils, 1886. 48 pp. "Tiré à 125 exemplaires". Autograph presentation inscription from Chaper on front wrapper.

7) Arnaud, Eugène. Supplément à la notice historique et bibliographique sur les imprimeurs de l'académie protestante de Die en Dauphiné au XVIIe siècle. Grenoble, Joseph Allier, 1886. 10 pp. "Tiré à 175 exemplaires".

8) Arnaud, Eugène. Supplément à la notice sur les controverses religieuses en Dauphiné pendant la période de l'Édit de Nantes. Grenoble, Joseph Allier, 1886. 14 pp. "Tiré à 175 exemplaires".

9) Maignien, Edmond. Recherches sur les cartiers et les cartes à jouer à Grenoble. Grenoble, Joseph Allier, 1887. 34 pp. plus 10 plates (of which 5 colour-printed and 3 folding). "Tiré à 200 exemplaires".

10) Rochas, Adolphe. Notice bibliographique et historique sur Auguste Boissier poète patois de Die. Grenoble, Joseph Allier, 1887. 24 pp. "Tiré à 100 exemplaires". Signature of Chaper on upper margin of half-title.

11) Colomb, Victor. Notice biographique et bibliographique sur M. Adolphe Rochas conservateur de la bibliothèque et du musée de la ville de Valence. Grenoble, Allier, 1890. 18 pp. "Tiré à 150 exemplaires".

Extremely rare complete series - and a charmingly bibliophilic copy - of this short-lived bibliographical journal evincing the development of a small, provincial circle of bibliophiles and bibliographers in the Dauphiné region of France. Evidently spearheaded by Chaper, who authored many of the first issues, the articles suggest a capable degree of scholarship and later issues are even elaborately-illustrated. Some of the earliest parts were issued in runs as small as 50 copies, according to the versos of the title-pages.

Camille-Eugène Chaper (1827-90) was a highly decorated military officer who, following his retirement from public life in 1875, devoted himself to his twin passions of regional bibliography and the management of mining operations. His collection of Dauphinoise imprints and authors (i.e., those of the former province of Dauphiné, capital Grenoble) was unrivalled, and he donated much material to the Bibliothèque de Grenoble. It is also recorded that he was particularly scrupulous about the provenance of his books and manuscripts, and if in any doubt about the propriety of an offering, he had the courage to steer clear of it.

The present example was evidently compiled with care by an admirer of Chaper - quite likely one of the authors mentioned above. OCLC shows a few US holdings of individual parts (eg. #9, on the printed playing-cards of the Grenoble region), but as far as we can tell, only the NYPL holds a complete run.

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (1194-1250). Document.Ravenna, April 1226.

Extremely rare, exceptionally well preserved ceremonial document, lost since 1782. At the request of abbot Conrad, Emperor Frederick II confirms the privilege granted to St Paul's Abbey, Lavanttal, by his grandfather Frederick Barbarossa on 19 March 1170, in which the latter bestowed his protection on the monastery, awarding it sole tenure of Völkermarkt, and specifiying rules regarding the Abbey's stewardship and against enfeoffment. This privilege was intended to protect the economic power of the monastery from regional forces in the difficult times of the early 12th century. Frederick II confirms this privilege, additionally authorising the Abbey to use all silver, lead, and iron ore mines within its demesnes - a very important right in the Alpine area of the early 13th century.

This is a typical and perfect example of Frederick's ceremonial documents. Palaeographical analysis confirms that it is written by the scribe Iacobus de Catania, as Klaus Höflinger had long suspected without then having access to the original; several ornaments were clearly contributed by the notary Iohannes de Lauro, while other elements are the work of anonymous helpers in the chancery. The unambiguous identification of two principal chancery officials from the early years of Emperor Frederick II proves the document's authenticity, which is further underscored by the use of a seal typarium first attested in March 1226, probably created soon after the marriage between Frederick II and Isabella, heir to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, on 9 November 1225. Only the border of the seal has been chipped away on the left and bottom, but the inscription remains well legible in oblique lighting. The seal is thus one of the very earliest to name Frederick as King of Jerusalem. Frederick holds special relevance for the history of the Crusader state due to his Fifth Crusade, a venture undertaken without enthusiasm and brought to an end not by military means, but, uniquely, through a peace treaty with the Sultan in 1229. Only a very small number of well-preserved seals of Frederick survive from this period. In spite of its defects, this is one of the best early impressions of typarium 9.

The document was hitherto known only in two copies: in a notarial instrument from 1442 by the notary Urban Peinsteiner, issued at the orders of abbot Johann I Poschenbeuter (now in Vienna's Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv), the Imperial confirmation privilege is inserted, together with a description of the seal, but it lacks the signum line as well as that of the inserted Barbarossa document. An original transumption for Ferdinand II from 1625 (in the archives of St. Paul's Abbey) cites both signum lines as well as the rulers' monograms. These copies are both based directly on the present original.

The document was missing without a trace at least since the monastery was dissolved by Emperor Joseph II in 1782/87. That this important document, preserved in such fine condition, has now resurfaced from a private collection is to be regarded as nothing less than a sensation: for decades no ceremonial diplomas by Emperor Frederick II have been seen on the market. The only other example, a ceremonial diploma by Frederick II, sold from the Adam collection by Tenner in 1980 (sale 126, lot 127: 19,000 German Marks, to H. P. Kraus), was in poor condition and lacked the seal. In similarly poor condition and also without the seal was the Frederick Barbarossa document which commanded 160,000 Swiss francs before premium and taxes at Stargardt's 2003 Basel sale (lot 30). The cataloguers were then able to trace in the previous century of trade no more than nine documents by any emperor from the Saxon to the Hohenstaufen period.

The present document has been examined by Professor Dr Mark Mersiowsky of the University of Stuttgart, editor of the documents of King Henry (VII), the son of Frederick II, for the Diplomata series of the MGH, and we are indebted to him for the description.

Ravel, Pierre-Alfred, French actor (1811-1881). Autograph letter signed. Together with two portraits.St Petersburg, ca. 1865-1868.

Charming and insightful letter to a friend, possibly to Eugène Labiche, reporting extensively on successful premieres at the famous Mikhailovsky Theatre in St Petersburg and on his Russian journey in general. Ravel describes the reception of four vaudeville plays: "Le capitain", probably Charles Voirin's "Le capitain Roland", "Le caporal et la payse", "Les ressources de Jonathas", both written or co-written by Voirin, and Jules Moinaux's "Le café de la rue de la lune". Despite the apparent success of the first premiere, Ravel felt he was received "very well but somewhat coolly", speculating that he was judged harshly as "the man who earns seventy thousand francs". He must also get used to Russian theatrical customs: "They listened to me with devotion, with pleasure, but without much laughter, although it seems that in the boxes, in the foyers and in the corridors, it was said, after the piece, 'that is an actor who has a lot of talent', which is the Russian idiom" (transl.). With respect to the "Caporal", Ravel refers to the actors Charles-Edme Vernet, Louis Leménil, and Julien Deschamps who had apparently played the role in St Petersburg before, summing up the evening: "Asked to return to the stage after the first scene of the captain, a bit coldly but with politeness, asked to return to the stage with a lot of vigour at the end of the play; asked to return to the stage twice after the caporal". When Ravel, after the performance, complains to a Russian friend referred to as "the general", he tells him: "In one month, my dear, you will be the actor beloved by the court and the high society".

The reception of "Jonathas" and "Le café de la rue de la lune" was much more to Ravel's liking: "Second debut: a completely different thing this time [...] Even at my entrance the reception is not the same; I was confronted with an audience that did not ask for more; Jonathas shook them, touched them, made them dance in their seats, and with the Rue de la Lune, I kept them until half past midnight, which seems strong considering that the people are used to leaving at eleven and never stay for the last piece". In view of this triumph, the general corrects his prognosis: "I believe, my dear, that you will not take a month".

Concerning his journey, Ravel is not too impressed: "Russia is not an extraordinary country except during the ice season; St Petersburg is a city without any particular mark: St Isaac's Cathedral; a beautiful river, the Neva; voilà, that's it. My life here? I am very bored, and concerning the interior of the theatre I shall not say a word, I want neither to humiliate you nor carry you away by my accounts with ideas of luxury that you might regret later".

Despite the apparent success, Pierre-Albert Ravel's engagement at the Mikhailovsky Theatre is hardly recorded. The most recent piece performed by Ravel in St Petersburg was Moinaux's "Le café de la rue de la lune" from 1862. From 1863 onwards, Ravel's star in Paris began slowly to sink due to changing audience tastes. He started touring the French province and abroad, including London in 1867, returning to Paris in 1868 to perform at the Gymnase. St Petersburg was probably part of this international tour.

The recipient of the letter is clearly connected to the Parisian vaudeville theatre, specifically the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, where Ravel had played for twenty years, including the plays mentioned in the letter. Eugène Labiche was the most important vaudeville author connected to the Palais-Royal and a friend of Ravel's. Since Ravel sends greetings to an Adèle, the name of Labiche's wife, it might be speculated that the recipient was none other than the great playwright.

Traces of folds. Somewhat stained with minimal tears to the folds of the second bifolium.

[Alchemical manuscript]. An alchemist's handbook, in German. Illustrated manuscript on paper.Germany, ca. 1480/90.

A Renaissance alchemist's handbook, quoting Al-Razi by name and deeply rooted in the Islamic tradition of alchemical art. An intriguing manuscript which bears witness to early practical chemistry in 15th century Germany and to the immense influence of Arabic alchemy, illustrated with talented watercolour diagrams of the associated apparatus.

Indeed, the word 'alchemy' itself is derived from the Arabic word 'al-kimia', and it was Al-Razi who claimed that "the study of philosophy could not be considered complete, and a learned man could not be called a philosopher, until he has succeeded in producing the alchemical transmutation". Alchemy and chemistry often overlapped in the early Islamic world, but "for many years Western scholars ignored Al-Razi's praise for alchemy, seeing alchemy instead as a pseudoscience, false in its purposes and fundamentally wrong in its methods, closer to magic and superstition than to the 'enlightened' sciences. Only in recent years have pioneering studies conducted by historians of science, philologists, and historians of the book demonstrated the importance of alchemical practices and discoveries in creating the foundations of modern chemistry" (Ferrario). The quest to transmute base metals into gold and to obtain the Philosophers' Stone was a practical as well as theoretical pursuit, as attested by the existence of this manuscript. The main body of the text opens on fol. 5 with an introduction to the art of alchemy, whose practice requires reference to the ancient authorities. Recipes for the various pigments, solutions, acids and alkalis are listed in groups, before descriptions are given of the planets relevant to the alchemist's art, starting with Saturn, and their effect on the elements, again with reference to the ancient authorities including Al-Razi, Origen, Aristotle, Albertus Magnus, and Hermes Trismegistus. There follow notes on the ease of obtaining various elements, before lists of alchemical compounds - including 'sal petri' and 'aqua lunaris' - are grouped according to their nature. Practical instructions, organised by chapter, begin on fol. 17v with the manufacture of vermillion and 'spangrün'; the first of the illustrations depicts two vessels for the burning of cinnabar. Further recipes involve the burning of various substances - illustrated with drawings of furnaces, cucurbits and other vessels, and distillation apparatus - before moving on to the manufacture of acids, bases and oils, mentioning the use of quicksilver, then, finally, turning to the manufacture of gold. The end of the text on fol. 69 is marked with the words 'Alchimia & Scientia' in red ink with calligraphic flourishes, above a floral device.

Collation: written by another scribe and bound before the alchemist's handbook (ff. 5-69) are astrological calculations, including those charting the trajectories of the Sun and the Moon (ff. 1-4, obviously incomplete). At the end, 9 leaves with geometrical calculations, illustrated with pen diagrams (ff. 70v-78, apparently incomplete, 2 leaves loose). The last 12 leaves are blanks (ff. 79-91).

Condition: The binding is sound and intact, but shows significant losses to the upper cover; spine entirely lost. Two leaves loose at the end of the manuscript, outer margins waterstained and tattered, surface soiling most notable to f. 1. Occasionally loose and split at gatherings; presence of bookworm damage on some pages; very occasional wax stains.

Provenance: 1) The script, watermark and binding indicate that the manuscript was made in Germany in the final two decades of the 15th century. The watermark visible on certain pages - a heart beneath a crown, above 'Ib' - is closest to a motif widely used in Germany around 1480-1500 (cf. Piccard 32464-32481), and the binding is contemporary. The pastedowns, taken from a Litany of Saints, are also roughly contemporary. 2) This compendium of cryptic knowledge seems to have lain undisturbed for many years after its compilation: the contemporary stamped leather binding is preserved and no booklabels or ownership inscriptions mark the manuscript changing hands. 3) Zisska & Schauer, 4 May 2010, lot 6. 4) Braunschweig Collection, Paris.

The first pigment recipe books in German would not be published until the 1530s (cf. Schießl, Die deutschsprachige Literatur zu Werkstoffen und Techniken der Malerei, 1989). While the manual at hand never appeared in print, a much later manuscript of the same text, apparently copied by no less an authority than the botanist Hieronymus Bock (1498-1554), survives in Heidelberg's University Library under the title of "Ordenlicher proces der waren alten heimlichen kunst der alchymey in drey bucher gestelt" ("Alchemistisches Kunstbuch", Cod. Pal. germ. 294, dated to the middle or third quarter of the 16th century). Unlike the vividly coloured and deftly shaded illustrations in the present volume from the 15th century, the unsophisticated pen drawings in the later Palatina manuscript were clearly executed by the scribe himself rather than by a trained artist. Also, our manual contains additional illustrations at the end, showing some of the most necessary equipment on a double-page spread, as well as five additional pages of recipes for "lutum sapientiae", "postulatz golt" etc., some parts written in a secret cipher, all of which are lacking from Bock's copy.

A unique survival: the Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts lists no more than eight 15th century German alchemy tracts in institutional possession worldwide.

Lespleigney, Thibault. De usu pharmaceutices in consarcinandis medicame[n]tis, Isagoge.Paris, 1543.

Only known copy of the Jean Ruel issue of the very rare second (?) Paris edition of one of the most important early pharmacological books, with about 250 medicinal recipes arranged alphabetically, written by Thibault Lespleigney (1496-1550), apothecary and professor of medicine and pharmacology at Tours, where he first published it as Dispensarium medicinarum in 1538. It inevitably owes something to the ca. 1100 Antidotarium Nicolai, first printed in 1471 and almost the only comprehensive book on the subject when Lespleigney wrote, but it also foreshadows the pharmacopoeias. The term pharmacopoeia (meaning drug-compounding) was coined only in 1561, but is now used to refer to a collection of recipes officially authorized by a government or medical or pharmaceutical association, the first being Valerius Cordus, Dispensatorium (Nürnberg, written in 1542 but published posthumously in 1546). Before that books of recipes by leading pharmacologists served a similar role without any official authorization. Lespleigney's was the most important in France and enormously influential. About 10 editions appeared from 1538 to 1543 in Tours, Lyon, Paris and even Antwerp and Venice. François Chappuys revised, corrected and expanded Lespleigney's text for the second edition (Lyon, 1539), giving it the present title, and nearly all later editions, including the present, follow his revised text. The present edition clearly resembles Arnoul and Charles l'Angelier's 1541 Paris edition in style and layout, but does not follow it line by line. We have not seen the 1540 l'Angelier edition, with the same pagination as 1541, so they may be two issues of a single edition. We have also not seen what may be other issues of the present 1543 Paris edition, reported under various publishers: Jean Foucher, Vivant Gaultherot and Jean du Chemin. All three have the same pagination as the present edition, and at least the Gautherot shares a misprint (p. 206 numbered "209"), the same collation and the same VD16 fingerprint (ame- s,m- g*i* mepr, based on A2r, A6r, A7r and A7v: VD16 fingerprints substitute "*" for "æ"). So we probably have one or two Paris editions in 1540 and 1541 serving as the model for a 1543 Paris edition in four simultaneous issues. The USTC reports 2 copies of the 1540 Paris edition but no other Paris edition or issue. The Bibliotheque Nationale has a copy of the Du Chemin issue of the 1543 Paris edition and notes 2 further copies of the edition, in London (Foucher issue) and Stuttgart (Gaultherot issue). ICCU reports another at the Bibliotheca Comunale Ariostea in Ferrara (Gaultherot issue) and gives its VD16 fingerprint. The Casanata Library in Rome has a copy of the 1541 Paris edition, viewable on Google Books. All editions are very rare: the USTC records 0 to 3 copies for most and more (5 or 7) only for two editions: Venice 1542 and Lyon 1543. After 1543, Lespleigney's work lost popularity, perhaps due to the success of Cordus's 1546 Dispensatorium, but further editions appeared at Lyon under the title Enchiridion from 1546 to 1561, and the only other known Ruel edition appeared at Paris in 1567 (BMC STC French), all still very rare.

The book collates: 16mo: A-P8 = 120 ll., with I1, I3, K1 and K3 missigned K1, K3, L1 and L3 respectively. It is imposed with two 8-leaf quires worked together in each sheet (except that quire P may have been imposed alone, work and turn), so that each pair of consecutive quires contains one watermark divided at the upper fore-edge of leaves 5 and 6 in one quire, and the point-holes fall at the foot of leaves 3 and 4 (on the line where the sheet was divided to make two quires, so half of a point-hole can appear along the edge). Quire B shows a watermark shield (bearing a merchant's mark with some sign or letters above an upside-down 4) topped by a quatrefoil and with a letter or letters(?) below (about 38 x 18 mm, centred in a 21 mm space between chainlines); quires C, E, G, K, L and O show a watermark crown (about 26 x 23 mm) topped by a quatrefoil, with 3 circles in the slightly arched base and letters(?) below (possibly M followed by a curl, or SM), centred on a chainline, with about 22 mm between chainlines.

The fore-edge fold of H5/6 was carelessly opened, so that the upper outside corner of H5 is attached to H6 instead of H5, a couple pages show minor smudges and there is an occasional small marginal stain or tear, but the book is otherwise in very good condition and almost untrimmed, so that the tears that divided the sheets into half-sheets are mostly preserved at the foot (revealing point holes on several leaves) and part of a fore-edge fold survives. The boards are slightly bowed but the binding is also in very good condition. Unique issue of a very rare early edition of a rare but popular and influential pharmacological book of about 250 medicinal recipes: a predecessor of the pharmacopoeias that appeared in and after 1546.

Le Fèvre, Jehan, French humanist (1493-1565). Illustrated Latin miscellany comprising Lotario dei Segni's De contemptu …No place, 1480s-1530s.

An early Renaissance mixed media compendium, part commonplace book and part scrapbook, revolving around the subjects of fate, death, and hermetic philosophy, decorated in magnificently idiosyncratic style by the owner, the versatile French theologian Jean Lefèvre of Dijon.

The handwritten title announces "golden models extracted from various authors", under which the compiler has signed his own name, "Le feure". The first and longest single text in the volume, also the earliest, is "De miseria condicionis humane" by Lotario dei Conti di Segni (later Pope Innocent III). A deeply psychological and disillusioned work, it deals with subjects so diverse as procreation, nudity, and death, fear and poverty, pain and compassion, cannibalism, greed, ambition and avarice, drunkenness, lust, unnatural coitus, fashion, the Second Coming, corpses, the underworld, divine judgment, and damnation - themes which set the mood for the excerpts and illustrations added to the volume in the early 16th century, mainly by Jean Le Fèvre himself.

Le Fèvre served as canon of Langres and Bar-sur-Aube from 1548 to 1558, taught in Paris and was a university attorney. His knowledge extended beyond theology to mathematics, music, emblems and the mechanical arts (especially chronometers); he left a manuscript dating from 1527 which deals with the construction of sundials. Lefèvre's personal tastes left their mark not only in the selection of texts included in the volume, but also in the illustrations, which range from the whimsical to the grotesque: they include monsters and emblematic material as well as scenes from the Lives of the Saints and specimens of the 'vanitas' genre, some vividly coloured. Throughout, Lefèvre pasted relevant fragments of letterpress text which he must have clipped from incunables at hand - a remarkable example of an intertextual scrapbook in the early Renaissance. Lefèvre's penchant for mechanical solutions to recurring problems is evident from the fact that he drew and cut (or commissioned) several different woodblock stamps for manicules and the annotations "vide" and "nota" (bene), as well as his own name, which he then inked and stamped into the margins on numerous pages, rather than write or draw them anew by hand every time. Underlinings, by contrast, are repeatedly elaborated into shaded, three-dimensional banners enclosing the highlighted text. A remarkable, well-preserved and in many ways unique manuscript miscellany deserving of more thorough scholarly investigation.

Provenance: Convent of the Dijon Carmelites with handwritten 17th century ownership "Ex Bibliotheca PP. Carmelitarum Divionensium" on fol. 2r; several manuscripts with the same joint provenance of Lefèvre and the Dijon Carmelites survive in the Bibliothèque de Dijon). Later in the manuscript collection of the Dijon lawyer and antiquary Louis-Bénigne Baudot (1765-1844) with his handwritten signature to front pastedown; by descent to Baudot's great-grandson, the collector Paul Court (his engraved bookplate to pastedown).

Contents in detail:

3 uncounted leaves contain notes and extracts from various classical authors (Seneca, Horace, Sallust) and from the Psalms, apparently dating at least in parts from the 16th century. The recto of the third leaf is illustrated with three ink drawings: a king, a monk, and a lady accosted by death dressed in various appropriate costumes.

1r-36v Lotario dei Conti di Segni, De contemptu mundi sive De miseria condicionis humane. 37-38 blank.

39r Augustinus, De civitate Dei XXI, ch. 13 (extract), with a large zoomorphic C initial on verso.

40 unidentified text, on verso a curious ink drawing of King Midas holding a banner showing two men tied to each other by a belt, captioned in French: "A bien compter et sans rabatre/ Ces deux presens folz en font quatre".

41r Headed "Le Fevre" at its beginning, followed by a handwritten sentence and two incunabular clippings, both alchemical. On verso a full-page ink and watercolour drawing of the Crucifixion with 2-line title and 8-line text at the bottom of the page.

42r-46r unidentified text, "X Le Fevre" stamped on 42v, two lines clipped from an incunable on 45r.

46v–50v disputation between Catherine of Alexandria and the pagan philosophers of Maxentius; the shattered wheel and her beheading are shown von 50v; 51r a page of verse in the same hand.

51v–60r extracts from various Latin texts.

61r six lines of verse and large woodblock print of St Andrew and the Church Fathers.

62r–87v epigrams, verses and excerpts from Plato, Cicero, Seneca, Horace, Sallust, Aristotle, Hesiod, Tibullus, Juvenal, Martial, Baptista Mantuanus, Beroaldus, Balbus, etc. Wood-printed "X Le Fevre" on 63r; a clipping from a Cato Dionysus incunable between 67v and 68r; 75v drawing of a skeleton pointing to a pasted incunabular clipping; 86r includes 9 lines attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, "Magnum miraculum est homo et animal honorandum"; 86v coloured ink and wash drawing of two sleepers overshadowed by fate, represented by a blindfolded half-woman, half-skeleton; 87r large coloured ink drawing of the wheel of fortune, with a similar allegorical figure spinning around 4 figures (2 kings), stamped "X Le Fevre", 87v Fortuna poem.

88r half-page ink drawing of a man with a stick, addressing a male figure whose face is covered with hair, perched upon a wheel and holding a clock (a subject on which Lefèvre was competent), before a bald female figure upon a column, illustrating the Catonic proverb, "hairy in front, occasion is bald behind".

89-114 further extracts from classical and Renaissance authors, written in an increasingly rough hand with more extensive underlining, and corrections; additional, smaller illustrations, numerous manicules. 113v signature of Lefevre with large XY monogram.

114v and pastedown covered with short notes, manicules, sequences of numbers and calculations.