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an old book with a black and white image of an elephantan old book sitting on top of a white table next to a white wall
Jeschke Jádi Auctions Berlin

38 - Fontana, Giovanni
See original version (German)

Estimate €300 - €400
Sale commission
Description
Fontana, Giovanni Avertimenti per la sanità dell'anime, tratti dalla consideratione della Creatione del Mondo. With a woodcut title vignette and decorative elements. Ferrara, Baldini, 1610. 4 leaves, 251 pp., 14 leaves, 4°. Contemporary paperback with later leather label and fastening straps (somewhat stained, partly worm-eaten, front joint split). Extremely rare; we have found no evidence of it at auctions or in the trade. - Our copy is the variant featuring Baldini’s printer’s mark instead of the cardinal’s coat of arms on the title page. - First and only edition of this posthumously published devotional work by the Bishop of Ferrara, Giovanni Fontana (1537–1611), printed in the workshop of Vittorio Baldini, who, as the ducal and chamber typographer (typographus cameralis), was responsible for the most important ecclesiastical and court prints in Ferrara for decades. Fontana, a native of Vignola, was a close disciple and collaborator of Saint Carlo Borromeo in the Diocese of Milan before being appointed Bishop of Nicopolis in 1589 and, the following year, Coadjutor and eventually Bishop of Ferrara, a position he held until his death in 1611. As a committed advocate of post-Tridentine ecclesiastical reform, he distinguished himself above all through his *Editti* and *Ordinationi* aimed at reorganising ecclesiastical life in his diocese, including the fundamental *Ordinationi generali per le chiese della Città e Diocese di Ferrara* of 1591. In the present ‘Avertimenti’, Fontana takes the biblical account of creation as the starting point for a series of spiritual exhortations on the ‘health of souls’: From his contemplation of the creation of the universe, he derives moral and spiritual lessons for the faithful soul – an approach characteristic of Counter-Reformation devotional literature, which links the contemplation of nature with the salvation of the soul. The work thus forms part of Fontana’s body of pastoral writings, through which he was regarded as a ‘good theologian, philosopher and eloquent preacher’ of his time. Giovanni Fontana (1537–1611) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Ferrara and Titular Bishop of Nicopolis in Palaestina. - Endpapers renewed. Title page with a small hole in the white margin. Somewhat browned and stained, with slight water-stains in places. Final leaves with small, partly restored losses in the white margin. With woodcut title vignette and book decoration. Cont. vellum with later spine label and closing bands (somewhat stained, partly worm-eaten, front joint cracked). - Very rare; we have been unable to verify its existence at auctions or in the trade. - Very rare; we have been unable to trace it at auction or in the trade. Our copy is the variant bearing Baldini’s printer’s mark rather than the cardinal’s coat of arms on the title page. First and only edition of this posthumously published devotional work by the Bishop of Ferrara, Giovanni Fontana (1537–1611), printed in the workshop of Vittorio Baldini, who for decades served as ducal and chamber printer (typographus cameralis) and produced the leading ecclesiastical and court publications of Ferrara. Fontana, born in Vignola, was a close disciple and collaborator of Saint Carlo Borromeo in the diocese of Milan before being appointed Bishop of Nicopolis in 1589 and, the following year, coadjutor and eventually Bishop of Ferrara, an office he held until his death in 1611. As a committed advocate of the post-Tridentine reform of the Church, he became known above all for the edicts and ordinances through which he reorganised the ecclesiastical life of his diocese, including the seminal ‘Ordinationi generali per le chiese della Città e Diocese di Ferrara’ of 1591. In the present ‘Avertimenti’, Fontana takes the biblical account of Creation as the starting point for a series of spiritual admonitions on the ‘health of souls’. From his contemplation of the creation of the universe, he derives moral and spiritual lessons for the believing soul, a method characteristic of Counter-Reformation devotional literature that links the observation of nature with the salvation of the soul. The work thus takes its place amongst Fontana’s pastoral writings, on the strength of which he was regarded in his time as a “good theologian, philosopher and eloquent preacher”. Giovanni Fontana (1537–1611) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Ferrara and titular Bishop of Nicopolis in Palaestina. Endpapers replaced. Title page with a small hole in the blank margin. Somewhat browned and stained, with light water stains in places. The final leaves have small, partly restored losses in the blank margin. This lot is subject to standard tax. A 24.95% buyer’s premium is payable on the hammer price, and 7% (Books and Art) or 19% VAT (Manuscripts, Screenprints, Offset Prints, Photographs) is payable on the final invoice amount within the European Union. This lot is subject to standard taxation. A 24.95% buyer’s premium applies to the hammer price, and 7% (Books and Art) or 19% VAT (Manuscripts, Screenprints, Offset Prints and Photographs) applies to the final invoice amount within the European Union.
See original version (German)
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About the sale Valuable books, prints, historical photographs
Auction location
Auction time 10/24/2026 at 10:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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