Erhard Ratdolt

Set of Two Leaves from "Missale Frisingense" /// German Catholic Incunabula 15th

1492

Artist: Erhard Ratdolt (German, 1442-1528) Title: "Vol. 6, page 10-11", "Vol. 6, page 6-7", and "Vol. 6, 28-29" Portfolio: Breviarium Pataviense Year: 1490 (First edition) Medium: Set of Three Original Incunabula Leaves on watermarked laid paper Limited edition: Unknown Printer: Erhard Ratdolt, Ausburg, Germany Publisher: Friedrich von Öttingen and Christoph von Schachner, Passau, Germany Reference: Hain No. 3875; Bod-Inc No. B-542; GW No. 5426; Weale/Bohatta No. 335; Schreiber No. 3615 Sheet size (each): approx. 12.5" x 8.88" Condition: "Vol. 6, page 10-11", "Vol. 6, page 6-7", and "Vol. 6, 28-29" all have scattered wormholes, staining, foxing, and soiling about their sheets. The latter two have remnants of tape at their edges. "Vol. 6, 28-29" has heavier staining to its sheet and edge wear about. Have been professionally stored away for decades. They are all otherwise strong impressions in overall fair condition with strong colors Extremely rare Notes: Comes from Ratdolt's six volume "Breviarium Pataviense", (1490) (First edition), which consists of 378 pages of Gothic texts in Latin with red rubricated initials, psalms, readings, hymns, and woodcut engraved illustrations. Printed in Augsburg by Erhard Ratdolt on May 12, 1490. There was a subsequent printing on November 27, 1490. Both "Vol. 6, page 10-11" and "Vol. 6, 28-29" have a bow and arrow watermark in the center of their sheets. Some information and old prices inscribed in pencil to their sheets. Breviary is a liturgical book in the Roman Catholic Church that contains the daily service for the divine office, the official prayer of the church consisting of psalms, readings, and hymns that are recited at stated hours of the day. Biography: Erhard Ratdolt (1442–1528) was an early German printer from Augsburg. He was active as a printer in Venice from 1476 to 1486, and afterwards in Augsburg. From 1475 to 1478 he was in partnership with two other German printers. The first book the partnership produced was the Calendarium (1476), written and previously published by Regiomontanus, which offered one of the earliest examples of a modern title page. Other noteworthy publications are the "Historia Romana of Appianus" (1477), and the first edition of "Euclid's Elements" (1482), where he solved the problem of printing geometric diagrams, the "Poeticon astronomicon", also from 1482, "Haly Abenragel" (1485), and "Alchabitius" (1503). Ratdolt is also famous for having produced the first known printer's type specimen...

Artist: George Edwards (English, 1694-1773) Title: "Set of Two Hand-Colored Ornithological Engravings by George Edwards" Portfolio: A Natural History of Uncommon Birds, and of Some Other Rare and Undescribed Animals / Gleanings Of Natural History Year: 1743-1764 Medium: Set of Two Original Hand-Colored Engravings on watermarked laid and wove papers Limited edition: Unknown Printer: C. Rickaby, London, UK Publisher: William Gardiner and Messrs. Robinson, London, UK Reference: Mullens and Swann page 194-195; Anker No. 124-126; Fine Bird Books page 93; Lisney page 128-144; Nissen IVB No. 286-288; Zimmer page 192-198 Sheet size (each): approx. 11.25" x 9" Image size (each): approx. 8.63" x 7.38" Condition: "90" has faint offsetting to sheet. "308" has one foxmark center right. They are both otherwise in excellent condition with strong colors Notes: Comes from Edwards seven volume portfolio "A Natural History of Uncommon Birds, and of Some Other Rare and Undescribed Animals" / "Gleanings Of Natural History" (1743-1764), which consists of 362 hand-colored engravings. "90" is on laid paper with a "fleur-de-lis" watermark at center left edge. "308" is on wove paper with no watermark. The last image of the cover title sheets is for reference/provenance; it is not included. Biography: George Edwards FRS (3 April 1694 – 23 July 1773) was an English naturalist and ornithologist, known as the "father of British ornithology". Edwards was born at West Ham...

This is an original 18th century hand-colored map entitled "A New & Accurate Map of Europe Drawn from the Best Authorities Assisted by the Most Improved Modern Charts and Maps." by E...

This is an original 18th century hand-colored map entitled "A New & Correct Chart of All The Known World Laid down according to Mercator's Projection" by Emanuel Bowen. It was published in 1744 in London in John Harris's "Navigantium atque Itinerantium Bibliotheca" or "A Complete Collection of Voyages and Travels". This highly detailed and colorful map depicts the world. as it was known in the mid 18th century. A majority of the northern and central portions of Canada and America are left blank due to the purity of knowledge at the time this map was published. The map is embellished with four Compass Roses in the lower left, lower center, lower right and center, along with many rhumb lines. There a is a decorative title cartouche in the upper left. This colorful, attractive, historical and interesting 1744 map presents the entire world on Mercator's projection as it was understood in the middle part of the 18th century, before the landmark explorations of Captain’s Cook, Vancouver, Wilkes and others. It is an example of a nautical chart, a type of map that was designed specifically for use by mariners. The map is centered on the equator and includes both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. The continents of North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia are depicted, as well as various islands in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. The map is laid out according to the Mercator projection, a type of cylindrical map projection that was developed in the 16th century by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator. This projection has the advantage of preserving angles and shapes, making it useful for navigation. The map presents a paucity of inland detail, particularly for the Americas, but major cities, geographical landmarks, and regions are included. Ocean currents and Tradewinds are identified, as well as the magnetic declination lines or magnetic variance, which refers to the difference between true north and compass north. The continents are color coded, enhancing the beauty of this map. The three compass roses indicate the directions of the cardinal points. The depiction of the western coast of America, the Pacific and Australia are interesting. There was very little exploration of Australia between the navigations of William Damper in 1699 and Tobias Furneaux in 1773. Most of the maps detail relies on the 17th century Dutch expeditions to Australia's western coast, by Abel Tasman and William Janszoon. Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) and New Guinea appear connected to the Australian continent. New Zealand appears as a single landmass. North of New Zealand there is a landmass labelled 'Ter d' St. Esprit' which probably represents the New Hebrides Islands. This map precedes the accurate exploration of the South Pacific and east coast of Australia by Captain James Cook later in the 18th century. The map includes ‘Drakes' Port,' the site where Sir Francis Drake supposedly landed in 1579 during his 1579 circumnavigation of the globe. Here he claimed territory for England, restocked, and repaired his vessels. Drake named the region New Albion. The exact location of Drake's Port is a cartographic mystery. Drake's Harbor is believed to be in the region of San Francisco Bay, Bodega Bay, San Pablo Bay...