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868 - MIKHAIL SLEZKA (MYKHAÏLO SLOZKA) (?–1667)
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Estimate €1,100 - €1,200
Sale commission
Description
MIKHAIL SLEZKA (MYKHAÏLO SLOZKA) (?–1667) Triod’, siest’ Tripesnets svyatoy Velikoy Chetyredesyatnitsy [The Triodion, that is to say, the Book of the Three Odes of the Holy Great Lent]. Lviv: printed by Mikhail Slezka, at the expense of Bishop Afanasii Jeliborski, 1664. 2–6 nn., 1–453 f.; 2°. Contemporary binding: wooden boards covered in cold-stamped leather. The engravings in the text are executed in the characteristic style of the Lviv school, notable for the fineness of the line and the attention to detail in the clothing and interiors. The volume is richly decorated with numerous headbands featuring sumptuous floral and geometric motifs in the late Renaissance and early Baroque styles, as well as initials. Good condition. Fragments of the leather binding have been restored; tears in the leaves have been reinforced; rare gaps have been filled; there is soiling and water damage; rare gaps where fragments of leaves are missing, with slight damage to the text, covered with paper (all restorations date from the 18th–19th centuries), traces of wax. The first title page, bearing the Jeliborski family coat of arms on the reverse, is missing. Inserted notes and numerous ownership inscriptions in the margins, 17th–19th centuries. Mikhail Slezka was a prominent Western Ruthenian printer and publisher of the first half of the 17th century. Originally from Vilnius, he arrived in Lviv as a young man ‘with nothing but a knapsack’ and, from 1630, worked at the printing house of the Stavropegial Brotherhood of the Dormition in Lviv; he became a member in 1633 and soon took charge of its printing works. A talented printer, writer (author of numerous dedications, prefaces and afterwords), bookbinder and bookseller, he left the brotherhood’s printing house, weary of its control, and founded his own in 1638. Mikhail Slezka published some twenty works, more than any of his contemporaries working in the region’s printing houses. This unique monument to 17th-century Slavic printing in Cyrillic script is of great cultural, artistic, scientific and material value and ranks among the book monuments of national importance. At the buyer’s request, we shall be happy to provide a general report on the condition of the lot described above. However, as we are not professional conservators or restorers, we strongly advise potential buyers to carry out their own inspection or to consult a specialist of their choice to obtain a comprehensive assessment of the lot’s condition. Descriptions of items provided in the catalogue or by correspondence are for information purposes only and should not be regarded as a definitive assessment. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSION REGARDING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD ‘AS IS’, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE PUBLISHED IN THE CATALOGUE.
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About the sale RARE BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS: Antique books § Autographs, rare editions, photographs § Works on paper
Auction location
Auction time 10/29/2026 at 2:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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