Featured Books from the Middle Ages

Got a large Lot of REALLY OLD Books and Illuminated Manuscript pages the other day! I tried googling the books and got a little info, but would like to hear some opinions and whatever information anyone is willing to share. Preferable translated title and date? I know this isnt an appraisal site, but if anyone can point me in a direction to what some of these could be worth? Or maybe another selling platform other than ebay? Ive never come across books or pages THIS OLD?!?

 

@2manycats
@Ex Libris
@Roaring20s

 

Nice stack - why can't I find this sort of stuff?

M = 1000, D = 500, L = 50, X = 10, I =1 so MDLXII = 1562, MDLXX = 1570, MDXLIIII = 1544, MDLXXVI = 1576

These are a bit too late (after 1501) to be what we call 'incunables' (or more Latinly, 'incunabula'), books from the cradle of printing, all of which are collectable, but still exciting - usually when someone calls with "really old books" they're from the 1880s. Probably not Sotheby's material - lots of photos, put on eBay, hope for the best.

The one with the handwritten title page is probably the victim of a Victorian title page collector, 'restored' by a later bibliophile.

The Strasbourg title, with the metal hardware, is in an appealing binding; like the others probably of the period, a plus. The modern ink blot down by the date probably obscures a library marking - something to be wary of, but not necessarily a killer - lots of monasteries cut loose material over the years, but there's also a lot of stolen books in the world.

Nicolaum Bryling is the only publisher's name I recognize - long ago I had a 1551 Bible he printed. Sold it on eBay to someone who was excited rather than annoyed by its many marginal notes - a professor, he was going to put his students on the writing....

 

Titus Livius - Titi Liuij deß
https://www.catawiki.com/nl/l/36146...n-geschichtschreibers-romische-historien-1562

 

Further, "Basileae" is Latin for 'Basel', Switzerland, once a hotbed of printing; "Venetijs" (or Venetiis) is Latin for 'Venice', and "Vinegia" is older Italian for the same, likewise a major center of printing in the day, as the home base of one of the fathers of publishing, Aldus Manutius.

"Apud" is Latin for 'at', meaning in this context, 'at [the printing house of]', so typically you'll have the name of the city and name of the printer, then the year.

"Getrukt" and "Apresso" are, I believe, older versions of words meaning 'printed' in German & Italian.

 

Rather amusingly, here's big-time NYC dealer Argosy offering a later printing of your Merlini on Amazon for a fancy price:
https://www.amazon.com/Merlini-Cocaii-Poetae-Mantuani-Macaronicorum/dp/B001A7HI5W
Looks like your binding is detached but present? That is, of course, a problem.

 

Try these folks:
https://www.pbagalleries.com/content/

 

Here's an earlier printing from 1566 ...
THE SECOND BOOK OF THE SERMONS OF THE VERY REVEREND MONS. CORNELIUS MUSSO, BISHOP OF BITONTO

https://books.google.com/books?id=G...=gbs_selected_pages&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=false

About the printer ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriele_Giolito_de'_Ferrari

 

I can’t help you but I’m jealous of your pile! My eyes have been open for some really old books to throw on a shelf. Every time anything comes up local as old as yours they go for at least 100 per book and usually in 200-300 range per. Probably not bad prices but for someone who knows nothing about them it’s too much to play with. I’d like to run into a lot of them that I could grow with. Nothing sets me on a path of learning like stuff I have to understand to determine the value of.


This guy was featured on Pawn Stars a few times early on. I haven’t seen new episodes in years so he could still be making appearances for all I know. He would bring in rare books to sell. The other day I was looking for videos on antiquarian books to pick up a couple tid bits hopefully. His videos came up and I watched a couple. I like his presentation and he seems very knowledgeable. I believe the link above is the video that mentioned a few good online resources for old books.


Speaking of Pawn Stars there was a lady Rebecca who was the rare book expert they would call in. The company she works for bought a print from me that I was selling on eBay a couple years ago.

 

She still films for the show, apparently... but is in business for herself now in Washington, DC and just travels to Vegas sometimes. Here is her "about" page on her website. You'll need to scroll down to read most of it. She says she is "one of the longest running specialists" and the only woman specialist appearing regularly on Pawn Stars. https://www.rebeccaromney.com/about

 

A great haul of books, let's try to identify them: The first book is printed in German in Strasburg (now France) in 1562 with the title:

Titi Liuij deß Wolberedtesten vnd Hochberümptesten Geschichtschreibers Römische Historien. Welche allen Rittermässigen/Gewaltigen vnd Regenten/so sich in Tugendt/Mannheyt/oder Ritterlichen Thaten vnderstehen zuüben / nicht allein zu lesen lustig / Sonder auch einem jeden menschen gemeynes standts / vast nutzlich / und zu wissen notwendig. Jetzundt auffs neuw/nach dem Lateinischen mit besonderem fleiß besichtiget vnd gebessert/Sampt einem vollkommenen Register. Mit Röm. Kay. Mayestatfreiheyt auff Acht Jar.

It seems a book about Titus Livius, a Roman historian.

A copy is for sale here:https://www.antiquariat.de/?i=BF40791747

The price is indicative. It depends if the book is complete with all the pages/woodcuts etc.


The decorated binding is made of blind stamped pig-skin over wooden boards and is probably German.

 

The second book is Italian and printed in 1576 in Venice. The title translates (by Google) as:

THE SECOND BOOK OF
THE SERMONS OF
THE VERY REVEREND
MONS. CORNELIUS MUSSO,
BISHOP OF BITONTO.
WITH TWO TABLES, THE ONE OF sermons,
THE OTHER ONE
OF PIV NOTARY THINGS.
REORDER AGAIN, AND PLACE THE LOR
Subjects for the alphabet, with pophtylla in the margin, The Authority of Holy Scripture,
& corrected with great diligence, for the benefit of the audiophiles.
WITH THE PRIVILEGE OF OUR HIS
POPE GREGORIO XIII. And of other Princes.
A
IN VENICE NEAR GABRIEL GIOLITO
OF FERRARI 1567

This is a slightly different version of the book in Google Books.

https://books.google.nl/books?id=Jq...6BAgGEAE#v=onepage&q="cornelio musso"&f=false

 

The book with the hand written title page is Moralia by Plutarch / Xylander (W Holzman), printed in Basel in 1570.

 

The next book is
C. Iulii Caesaris rerum ab se gestarum commentarii...
ex uetustiss. scriptis codibus emendatiores; pictura totius Galliae, Pontis in Rheno... ex descriptione Caesaris; veterum Galliae locorum, populorum, urbium, montium, ac fluuiorum breusis descriptio.
by Gaius Julius Caesar

Here a later version of this book on Google books

 

The last book is:

Opus Merlini Cocaii Poetae Manuanti Macaronicorum
Folengo, Teofilo (or Girolamo)
Published in Venice: by Jacobum Simbenium., 1572


Here for sale:

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=133222132&cm_sp=det-_-bsk-_-bdp

 

@Scott Eidam Just a few tips to help you with your research:

If it is hard to read a title sometimes Google Lens works great. I can access that via right-click on an image in Google Chrome and choose Search image with Google Lens, the translation is easy lot's of the time.

To see if a book is scarce, try to look them up in many libraries of the world: https://www.worldcat.org/
Sometimes you can find old books for sale on this website: https://www.bookfinder.com/?ref=bf_s3_hd_1

 

Well that was the most comprehensive reply I’ve ever seen and imagine I ever will. Bravo.

 

I am just happy that someone posts some books here that are in my field of interest!

 

....

 

Many many thanks for all of the information! This is why i love this forum. If you all like these books....maybe ill post some of the illuminated pages i got with them. Many of them older than the books