May 1, 2024 10:00 EST
Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
36
A fifteenth century collection of mystical religious texts
[MANUSCRIPT]
Four works bound together. Consists of [Ad I]: SUSO, HEINRICH. Horologoum Eterne Sapientiae [Catch title]; [Ad II]. GIOVANNI DI FIDANZA [ST. BONAVENTURE] Dyalogus Cardinalis Bonaventure [Catch title]; [Ad III]. Incipit Liber Conscientiae [Catch title]; [Ad IV]. [A poem on spiritual love] Comment JHS lami et espoux de lame denote et contemplative. Almost certainly Low Countries or Germany for the first three: second or third quarter of the fifteenth century. Mid-18th century speckled calf, all edges sprinkled red and brown. 7 3/4 x 5 1/8 inches (19.75 x 14.5 cm); 168 ff. on paper, the first three works with Latin text, written in a single column of 34 lines, brown ink in an elegant bâtarde script, with the chapter headings with initials in shell gold and colors, paragraph marks throughout in red, and capitals heightened throughout in yellow; the final work appended at a slightly later date, written in French in a pale gray ink in a very fine bâtarde, unadorned but for versal capitals beginning some lines; the first three works minutely scribally signed at the foot of f. 166 verso (reading apparently "Liber [...]/B. de Sto[contraction mark].. v[it]?)." Generally in excellent condition, other than a marginal wormhole in the first forty leaves, this defect small and insignificant even at its largest extent, a very few extremely neat marginalia noted. The bookplate (dated 1751) of Francois Ferdinand; notations on the front free endpaper in ink by a 19th-century collector regarding the works contained in the volume. noting the final work as unrecorded (but not discussing the terminal poem).
An elegantly written textual manuscript, of which the first 110 leaves are taken up with [Ad I] Suso's popular devotional text, manuscripts of which are moderately numerous institutionally (with 33 examples known) but altogether very uncommon at auction or the larger market. The work was completed in about 1330 by Henricus Suso, a Dominican associated with the great mystic Meister Eckhart. Suso experienced visions from childhood on, and his writings explore the visionary experience, but interestingly the expression of his mysticism follows the minnensinger tradition of literary romanticism. For Suso, the soul's love of Wisdom and of Christ was akin to the knight's devotion to his lady; he writes of a form of divine marriage, and the present work was intended to guide the reader towards a spiritual union with Wisdom and with God.
The second text present here [Ad II], the Dialogus of Bonaventure, was another popular spiritual work of the period; Bonaventura (d. 1274), a Franciscan and a mystic, was also a practical man who was by all accounts a good administrator as a General Minister, a Cardinal and a Bishop. There is a French edition of 1499 of the work (printed by Guy Marchant and Jean Petit) that appears to follow the text here fairly closely (though by no means identical); the present earlier recension is certainly worthy of study.
The third text [Ad III] is similarly mystical, but (as the nineteenth-century commentator indicates on the endpaper) the Liber Conscientiae is possibly unrecorded.
The terminal manuscript [Ad 4] is apparently a contemporary reader's expression of craving for the mystical marriage described by Suso, which the writer speaks of as an "amour espirituellement" (see the subtitle of the poem). We have not been able to establish if this four-page poem is recorded, but it is a substantial piece of vernacular verse and of exceptional interest.
Sold for $20,480
Estimated at $4,000 - $6,000
Includes Buyer's Premium
[MANUSCRIPT]
Four works bound together. Consists of [Ad I]: SUSO, HEINRICH. Horologoum Eterne Sapientiae [Catch title]; [Ad II]. GIOVANNI DI FIDANZA [ST. BONAVENTURE] Dyalogus Cardinalis Bonaventure [Catch title]; [Ad III]. Incipit Liber Conscientiae [Catch title]; [Ad IV]. [A poem on spiritual love] Comment JHS lami et espoux de lame denote et contemplative. Almost certainly Low Countries or Germany for the first three: second or third quarter of the fifteenth century. Mid-18th century speckled calf, all edges sprinkled red and brown. 7 3/4 x 5 1/8 inches (19.75 x 14.5 cm); 168 ff. on paper, the first three works with Latin text, written in a single column of 34 lines, brown ink in an elegant bâtarde script, with the chapter headings with initials in shell gold and colors, paragraph marks throughout in red, and capitals heightened throughout in yellow; the final work appended at a slightly later date, written in French in a pale gray ink in a very fine bâtarde, unadorned but for versal capitals beginning some lines; the first three works minutely scribally signed at the foot of f. 166 verso (reading apparently "Liber [...]/B. de Sto[contraction mark].. v[it]?)." Generally in excellent condition, other than a marginal wormhole in the first forty leaves, this defect small and insignificant even at its largest extent, a very few extremely neat marginalia noted. The bookplate (dated 1751) of Francois Ferdinand; notations on the front free endpaper in ink by a 19th-century collector regarding the works contained in the volume. noting the final work as unrecorded (but not discussing the terminal poem).
An elegantly written textual manuscript, of which the first 110 leaves are taken up with [Ad I] Suso's popular devotional text, manuscripts of which are moderately numerous institutionally (with 33 examples known) but altogether very uncommon at auction or the larger market. The work was completed in about 1330 by Henricus Suso, a Dominican associated with the great mystic Meister Eckhart. Suso experienced visions from childhood on, and his writings explore the visionary experience, but interestingly the expression of his mysticism follows the minnensinger tradition of literary romanticism. For Suso, the soul's love of Wisdom and of Christ was akin to the knight's devotion to his lady; he writes of a form of divine marriage, and the present work was intended to guide the reader towards a spiritual union with Wisdom and with God.
The second text present here [Ad II], the Dialogus of Bonaventure, was another popular spiritual work of the period; Bonaventura (d. 1274), a Franciscan and a mystic, was also a practical man who was by all accounts a good administrator as a General Minister, a Cardinal and a Bishop. There is a French edition of 1499 of the work (printed by Guy Marchant and Jean Petit) that appears to follow the text here fairly closely (though by no means identical); the present earlier recension is certainly worthy of study.
The third text [Ad III] is similarly mystical, but (as the nineteenth-century commentator indicates on the endpaper) the Liber Conscientiae is possibly unrecorded.
The terminal manuscript [Ad 4] is apparently a contemporary reader's expression of craving for the mystical marriage described by Suso, which the writer speaks of as an "amour espirituellement" (see the subtitle of the poem). We have not been able to establish if this four-page poem is recorded, but it is a substantial piece of vernacular verse and of exceptional interest.
Auction: Rare Books, Autographs & Maps, May 1, 2024
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Auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on May 1, 2024 Totals $1.2 Million
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A Medieval Manuscript Rules of St. Augustine Achieves $102k
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Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions
NEW YORK, NY -- Competitive bidding at Doyle’s May 1, 2024 auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps drove strong prices and a sale total that topped $1.2 million, surpassing expectations.
Featured in the sale was a fascinating selection of early manuscripts that achieved exceptional results. Highlighting the group was a 14th century manuscript of the Rules of St. Augustine from an English priory that soared over its $8,000-12,000 estimate to realize a stunning $102,100. The Rule of St. Augustine is among the earliest of all monastic rules, created about 400, and it was an influence on all that succeeded it. Other notable results included a 14th century Etymologiae of St. Isidore estimated at $5,000-8,000 that achieved $51,200 and a 15th century Prayer Book of Jehan Bernachier estimated at $10,000-15,000 that sold for $28,800.
A first edition of John James Audubon's octavo Birds of America sold for $41,600, far over its $25,000-35,000 estimate. Published in 1840-1844 in seven volumes, the first octavo edition was the final Birds of America publication overseen by Audubon in his lifetime.
The Fred Rotondaro Collection offered rare books and manuscripts on a range of subjects touching the African American experience in the United States over three centuries. A first edition copy of Frederick Douglass’ 1876 speech at the unveiling of the Freedman's Monument in Washington realized $12,800, far exceeding its $3,000-5,000 estimate. A first edition of the first issue of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin from 1852 also achieved $12,800.
Highlighting the range of offerings from the Ken Harte Collection of Natural History was a first edition Richard Bowdler Sharpe’s beautifully illustrated monograph of Kingfishers, 1868-71, that sold for $14,080, doubling its $6,000-8,000 estimate. It was accompanied by an inscribed copy of the rare unfinished chapter on the anatomy of the kingfisher by James Murie.
We Invite You to Auction!
Consignments are currently being accepted for future auctions. We invite you to contact us for a complimentary auction evaluation. Our Specialists are always available to discuss the sale of a single item or an entire collection.
For information, please contact Peter Costanzo at 212-427-4141 ext 248, Edward Ripley-Duggan at ext 234, or Noah Goldrach at ext 226, or email Books@Doyle.com
