Richardus de Sancto Victore: De arca mystica, sive Benjamin maior; De duodecim patriarchis, sive Benjamin minor.
[Basel: Johann Amerbach], 1494.
8vo. a-r8 s4 t8 2a-h8 2i10. [148]; [74] leaves (the last blank).
The two tracts are sometimes found separately and catalogued separately.
ISTC ir00194000; Goff R194; BMC III 756 & III 755; Bod-inc R-067 & R-068.
| Shelf-mark: | Sp Coll Ferguson Af-b.54 (see main library entry for this item) |
| Provenance: | Johann Amerbach (ca. 1441-1513), printer in Basel: inscription on free front endpaper “Liber Cartusien[sium] in Basilea donatus a ven[erabi]li m[a]g[ist]ro Joh[ann]e de amerbach cive et impressore Basilien[se] [con]tinens Richard[us] de arca mistica et duodecim p[at]riachis”. BMC III 742, in its introduction to the Amerbach press, notes that Amerbach “was in the habit of presenting copies of all the books he printed to the Basel Charterhouse ... “ Basel, Carthusians, S. Margarita; founded 1401: inscription “Cartusien[sium] In Basilea” on title of 'De duodecim patriarchis'. Hieronymus Zscheckenbürlin(?) (fl. 1501-1536), Prior of the Basel Charterhouse: abbreviated signature on front pastedown - cf. Bod-inc. A-172 for the same provenance. Anatole Claudin (1833-1906), bookseller, Paris: sold book to John Ferguson. John Ferguson (1837-1916), Professor of Chemistry, University of Glasgow: purchased from Claudin according to Ferguson’s pencil note on rear pastedown “Claudin. Perfect with the blank leaf. Original binding. Lovely copy.” and a further acquisition note by Ferguson on the front pastedown “John Ferguson May 5 1875”. University of Glasgow: Ferguson collection purchase, 1921. |
| Binding: | Switzerland, 15th/16th-century blind-tooled calf over bevelled wooden boards. The covers are decorated with double and triple fillets to form a centre panel bordered by two frames; the panel is divided from corner to corner by triple fillets to form four triangular compartments, each decorated with two decorative stamps – a small stylised six-petalled flower and lozenge-shaped stamp of a four-petalled flower; the first frame is decorated with a floral roll; the outer frame is undecorated. Spine undecorated; remains of one brass clasp, catch-plate on front board. Size: 149 × 107 mm. |
| Leaf size: | 145 x 105 mm. |
| Annotations: | None. |
| Decoration: | Initials supplied in red or blue throughout (often with pen flourishes); capital strokes supplied in red throughout; paragraph marks in red or blue; text area enclosed within double red ink rules; lines of chapter headings separated by single horizontal red ink rules; headlines also enclosed within red ink rules. |
| Imperfections: | None. |
