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a black leather bound book with gold triman image of a book with a picture of a wave pattern on ita close up of a wall with a pattern on itan open book with a picture of a man and woman on itan open book with a picture of a plant on itan open book with a drawing of a tree and flowers on itsomeone is holding a book open on a white surfacean open book with a drawing of a tree on itan open book with a drawing of a tree on itan open book with a drawing of a flower on itan open book with a drawing of a plant and a picture of a floweran open book with a drawing of a plant on itan open book with a drawing of a tree on ita close up of an open book with writing on ita person holding an open book with a drawing on itsomeone is holding a book open on a white tablean old book with writing on it sitting on a tablea black leather notebook with a black cover on a white surfacepainting of a blue and yellow wave pattern on a blue wallan old piece of paper with writing on it sitting on top of a table
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201 - HERBARIUS LATINUS. — [At the beginning]: Arnold of Nova Vill…
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Estimate €30,000 - €40,000
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Description
HERBARIUS LATINUS. — [At the beginning]: Arnold of Nova Villaavicenna. Tractatus de virtutibus herbarum. No place, no date. [At the colophon]: Vicenza, Leonardo of Basel & William of Pavia, 27 October 1491. In-4, dark green morocco, Jansenist style, interior lace, gilt edges (Alain Devauchelle). GW, 12276. - Goff, H68. - Schuh, no. 2183. - Anderson, An Illustrated History of Herbals, pp. 82–88. First edition published in Italy of one of the great printed herbals of the fifteenth century. Printed by Leonardus Achates, a printer from Vicenza, and Guilielmus de Papia, it is illustrated with 150 woodcuts within the text depicting plants, medicinal herbs, vegetables, etc. The incipit page is adorned at the top with a woodcut depicting two seated figures facing one another: this engraving, previously used by the printer in his Italian edition of Pierre de Crescens’s *Ruralia commoda* (1490), is believed to depict the physician Arnaud de Villeneuve discussing botany with Avicenna, the Persian philosopher and physician. The *Herbarius latinus*, an anonymous compilation of works by medieval authors and certain classical Arabic texts, is more of a pharmacopoeia on the medicinal use of plants than a treatise on botany. First published in 1484 in Mainz by Peter Schoeffer, Gutenberg’s former partner, the work was widely circulated throughout Europe; there are 11 known incunabula editions, the vast majority of which were printed in Germany and the Netherlands, with the exception of two or three in Italy and one in France. For this incunabulum edition, Leonardus Achates followed the Latin text of the first edition, though without reproducing the German names of the plants; the illustrations, meanwhile, remain influenced by the original, but the woodcuts have been re-engraved with greater finesse. All incunabula editions of this printed herbarium are rare: of the 49 copies of this edition listed by the GW as held in institutions, none are located in France. A washed copy. The covers of the original vellum binding, which have been preserved, bear this handwritten bookplate: ‘Liber ad usum Domini Fratris Bernardini de Trinusio quam amet veronae’. There are old handwritten annotations on a few leaves. The margin of folio 104 has been reinforced; there is paper restoration in the margin of folio 115 and along the edges of the last two leaves. A small, faint water stain on the edges of the twelve endleaves at the end. Expert: Mr Dominique Courvoisier
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About the sale TREASURES OF THE LOIRE VALLEY: books and archaeology
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Auction time 11/23/2026 at 2:00 PM
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