Books with fine provenance

A chronological selection of nine printed books and codices from six centuries
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1Owned by the Austrian theologian Johann Hofmüllner of Weitra
Homilies by Augustine, Bede and others. (With:) (Pseudo-)Petrus de Pilichdorf …Probably Lower Austria, before 1447.
€ 45,000.00Fine late medieval sermon manuscript owned by the Viennese theologian Johann Hofmüllner of Weitra (d. 1475), with an anti-Waldensian treatise at the end. The first part contains mainly homilies for various feast days and Bible passages drawn from St Augustine and the Venerable Bede:
1r: In vigilia ascensionis. S. Johan. In illo tempore sublevatis …
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2Beautifully bound by Marcantonio Guillery - Béraldi copy
Ex Trogi Pompeii historiis externis libri XXXXIII.Lyon, 1546.
€ 8,500.00Pretty and scarce edition in miniscule italics, meticulously printed by Gryphius, "l'un des hommes les plus savants de son temps, qui fut le maître de Jean de Tournes et, sans doute aussi, celui de l'imprimeur Estienne Dolet" (Béraldi).
Charmingly bound in full contemporary morocco with the characteristic stamps of Marcantonio Guillery of …
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3From the celebrated library of Dr. Odorico Pillone
Annales sive historiae rerum Belgicarum.Frankfurt am Main, 1580.
€ 85,000.00First edition of this collection of the leading histories of the Low Countries, edited by Feyerabend. Fore-edge painting by Cesare Vecellio, depicting a scholar seated at a desk overlooking a landscape with the title "ANNA/LES" below; top and tail edges decorated with abstract line designs.
A rare item from the celebrated library of Dr. Odorico …
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4Heinrich von Ferstel's copy
Architecture de Palladio, divisée en quatre livres [...]. Avec des notes …Den Haag, 1726.
InquireThis edition of Palladio's principal work follows Inigo Jones's 1715 English edition and is regarded as one of the best, due to its small-scale illustrations. "Opere di un enorme dispensione per sua ricca e laboriosa esecuzione" (Cicognara). The "Architectura", first published in 1570, exercised an almost unrivalled influence on European architecture …
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5A large-paper copy from the library of the Duke of Richelieu
Caravanne du Sultan à la Mecque: Mascarade turque faite à Rome par Messieurs …Paris, ca. 1749.
€ 35,000.00First edition; a large-paper copy with Richelieu's arms. Vien's charming series of etchings depicts the costumes worn by members of the French Academy in Rome for a "Turkish masquerade" held during the Carnival celebrations of 1748. This masque is an outstanding example of the influence the orient exerted on western style during the late-Baroque …
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6First edition, first issue
[Vathek.] An Arabian Tale, From an Unpublished Manuscript: With Notes Critical …London, 1786.
€ 6,500.00The unauthorized first edition, first issue (with misnumbered page 48). This original edition, claiming to be translated directly from Arabic, appeared without the name of the author, also omitting from the title the name under which the work would later be known internationally.
Although often classified as an early Gothic novel, "Vathek" …
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7Early monetary theory, owned by three famous economists
Der Papier-Credit von Großbritannien. Nach seiner Natur und seinen Wirkungen …Halle, 1803.
€ 1,500.00First German edition of Thornton's treatise on monetary theory, "An Inquiry into the Nature and Effects of the Paper Credit of Great Britain" (1802), translated by Ludwig Heinrich Jakob.
Binding rubbed and bumped. Interior lightly browned as common. Provenance: from the library and with the extensive annotations of the Austrian political economist …
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8"when in the dead of the night the thought comes across me how I have been treated"
Autograph letter signed.Down, Beckenham, Kent, 13 Jan 1881.
€ 45,000.00To the writer and critic Sir Leslie Stephen (1832-1904), whose copy this book is, responding to Sir Leslie's reassurances after having been attacked by the novelist Samuel Butler (1835-1902): "My dear Leslie Stephen. Your note is one of the kindest which I have ever received, & your advice shall be strictly followed. It was very good of you, …
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9A Brief History of Time, "signed" with a thumbprint
A Brief History of Time. From the Big Bang to Black Holes.New York, 1988.
€ 18,000.00First American edition with authorial thumbprint of Hawking's bestselling science classic. A fine copy, 'signed' with an authorial thumbprint on front free endpaper.
Provenance: Judy Fella (Hawking's first secretary, and later PA and nursing coordinator: Fella worked with Hawking on the first draft of "A Brief History of Time").