Colonna, Francesco. Hypnerotomachia Poliphili : ubi humana omnia non nisisomnium esse docet atque obiter plurima scitu sane quam digna commemorat [Latin and Italian]. Venice: Aldo Manuzio for Leonardo Crassi, December 1499
A Gomar Estienne binding for Jean Grolier, the Spencer copy.
Grolier's copy of one of the greatest illustrated books of the Italian Renaissance, a treatise on art and aesthetics in the form of an allegorical romance. Dibdin wrote of it: "...the most perfect specimen of the press of Aldus, and of the tastefulness of wood-engraving, in the XVth century... The language, however barbarous, is not undeserving of the attention of the philological antiquary; as we find in it (so pointed out to me by an ingenious friend), among other singular words, the earliest specimen of that of Cameo... The present copy, although upon paper, is perhaps unrivalled for its size and beauty. It was formerly in the library of Grolier, and is bound in the usually tasteful manner of the books of that distinguished Collector" (Bibliotheca Spenceriana IV, p. 145). This is a work shrouded in mystery—neither the author or illustrator are known. Until recently the author was supposed to have been the reprobate Dominican Fra Francesco Colonna, whose name appears in an acrostic formed by the woodcut initials in the book. However, Fra Eliseo da Treviso has now been suggested as a more likely author by A. Parronchi (in two articles in La Nazione) and P. Scapecchi (Accademie e Biblioteche d'ltalia, LI nos.4-5, 1983, and LIII no.2, 1985). As to the illustrator, there have been many conjectural ascriptions, including Giovanni Bellini.
Jean Grolier had a close relationship with the Aldine workshop; nearly half of the surviving volumes from his library are Aldine editions, and there were books from the press dedicated to him—in 1515 Musurus dedicated to him the posthumous edition of Aldus's Greek grammar, and see lot 72. The present volume is one of five copies of this edition owned by Grolier and one of nine books from the library of Grolier in the collection of Earl Spencer.
On the flyleaf of the present copy are the following lines in an early hand:
"Opera tutta Inamoratae un Libro degno et pien di molto ornatoche ibi chi non Lege havera La mente Ingrata". First edition, issue with text amended by stamping to "sanequam" in line 5 of title on a1 recto. All variant settings noted by Neil Harris are here in the original setting, as is sheet s3.6, as noted by John Lancaster in 2015 (as Munich SB, BSB-Ink C- 471: s3r li. 17 ends “apro-” || s3v li. 1 ends “Her-”).
Super-Chancery folio (316 x 206 mm). Roman type, 39 lines. collation: 𝝅4 a-y8 z10 A-E8 F4: 234 leaves. Woodcut initials, 172 woodcut illustrations, 11 of which full-page (the Priapus woodcut intact), blank leaf inserted between fols. 4 and 5. (A few spots, occasions of faint foxing.)
binding: Parisian binding, full brown calf by Gommar Estienne for Jean Grolier (325 x 215 mm), finely decorated with curved fillets to an architectonic pattern, title ("POLIPHILO") on upper cover, and Grolier's motto ("PORTIO MEA DO / MINE SIT IN / TERRA VI / VENT / IUM") on lower cover, edges gilt, inner dentelles gilt. (Covers somewhat worn, rebacked). Red morocco case.
provenance: Jean Grolier ("IO. GROLIERII / ET AMICO / RVM" to upper cover and motto to lower) — Alexandre Albert Francois, prince de Bournonville (sale Paris, 13 December 1706, no. 31) — "C.C." ("Ce livre appartient a Mr Fauvres Maistre des Comptes, resident rue St. Antoine pres la rue Royalle 1748" inscription to front pastedown, i.e. Étienne-Guillaume Favières (d. 25 April 1749), Seigneur du Plessis & de Charmoy) — George John, 2nd Earl Spencer (1758-1834), Bibliotheca Spenceriana label; his library purchased in 1892 by — Enriqueta Rylands, for the John Rylands Library, armorial bookplate dated 1894, small red ink stamp on flyleaf, and their withdrawn booklabel from 1988, sale of duplicates, Sotheby's, 14 April 1988, lot 42, to Bernard Quaritch — The Arcana Collection, sale, Christie's, London, 7 July 2010, lot 5. acquisition: Purchased at preceding sale via Robin Halwas. references: UCLA 35; Aldo Manuzio tipografo 36; BMC v 561-2; Goff C767; GW 7223; ISTC ic00767000; Renouard 21/5; Gabriel Austin, The library of Jean Grolier: a preliminary catalogue (1971), no. 141; for reset sheets and variant copies, see Harris, “Nine Reset Sheets in the Aldine Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (1499),” in Gutenberg Jahrbuch (2006) pp. 245-75; G. Della Rocca de Candal, “Manus Manutii: A Preliminary checklist of typographical and manuscript interventions in Aldine incunabula (1495-1500)” in Printing and Misprinting: A Companion to Mistakes and In House Corrections in Renaissance Europe (1450-1650) (Oxford 2023), pp.143-146
Colonna, Francesco. Hypnerotomachia Poliphili : ubi humana omnia non nisisomnium esse docet atque obiter plurima scitu sane quam digna commemorat [Latin and Italian]. Venice: Aldo Manuzio for Leonardo Crassi, December 1499
A Gomar Estienne binding for Jean Grolier, the Spencer copy.
Grolier's copy of one of the greatest illustrated books of the Italian Renaissance, a treatise on art and aesthetics in the form of an allegorical romance. Dibdin wrote of it: "...the most perfect specimen of the press of Aldus, and of the tastefulness of wood-engraving, in the XVth century... The language, however barbarous, is not undeserving of the attention of the philological antiquary; as we find in it (so pointed out to me by an ingenious friend), among other singular words, the earliest specimen of that of Cameo... The present copy, although upon paper, is perhaps unrivalled for its size and beauty. It was formerly in the library of Grolier, and is bound in the usually tasteful manner of the books of that distinguished Collector" (Bibliotheca Spenceriana IV, p. 145). This is a work shrouded in mystery—neither the author or illustrator are known. Until recently the author was supposed to have been the reprobate Dominican Fra Francesco Colonna, whose name appears in an acrostic formed by the woodcut initials in the book. However, Fra Eliseo da Treviso has now been suggested as a more likely author by A. Parronchi (in two articles in La Nazione) and P. Scapecchi (Accademie e Biblioteche d'ltalia, LI nos.4-5, 1983, and LIII no.2, 1985). As to the illustrator, there have been many conjectural ascriptions, including Giovanni Bellini.
Jean Grolier had a close relationship with the Aldine workshop; nearly half of the surviving volumes from his library are Aldine editions, and there were books from the press dedicated to him—in 1515 Musurus dedicated to him the posthumous edition of Aldus's Greek grammar, and see lot 72. The present volume is one of five copies of this edition owned by Grolier and one of nine books from the library of Grolier in the collection of Earl Spencer.
On the flyleaf of the present copy are the following lines in an early hand:
"Opera tutta Inamoratae un Libro degno et pien di molto ornatoche ibi chi non Lege havera La mente Ingrata". First edition, issue with text amended by stamping to "sanequam" in line 5 of title on a1 recto. All variant settings noted by Neil Harris are here in the original setting, as is sheet s3.6, as noted by John Lancaster in 2015 (as Munich SB, BSB-Ink C- 471: s3r li. 17 ends “apro-” || s3v li. 1 ends “Her-”).
Super-Chancery folio (316 x 206 mm). Roman type, 39 lines. collation: 𝝅4 a-y8 z10 A-E8 F4: 234 leaves. Woodcut initials, 172 woodcut illustrations, 11 of which full-page (the Priapus woodcut intact), blank leaf inserted between fols. 4 and 5. (A few spots, occasions of faint foxing.)
binding: Parisian binding, full brown calf by Gommar Estienne for Jean Grolier (325 x 215 mm), finely decorated with curved fillets to an architectonic pattern, title ("POLIPHILO") on upper cover, and Grolier's motto ("PORTIO MEA DO / MINE SIT IN / TERRA VI / VENT / IUM") on lower cover, edges gilt, inner dentelles gilt. (Covers somewhat worn, rebacked). Red morocco case.
provenance: Jean Grolier ("IO. GROLIERII / ET AMICO / RVM" to upper cover and motto to lower) — Alexandre Albert Francois, prince de Bournonville (sale Paris, 13 December 1706, no. 31) — "C.C." ("Ce livre appartient a Mr Fauvres Maistre des Comptes, resident rue St. Antoine pres la rue Royalle 1748" inscription to front pastedown, i.e. Étienne-Guillaume Favières (d. 25 April 1749), Seigneur du Plessis & de Charmoy) — George John, 2nd Earl Spencer (1758-1834), Bibliotheca Spenceriana label; his library purchased in 1892 by — Enriqueta Rylands, for the John Rylands Library, armorial bookplate dated 1894, small red ink stamp on flyleaf, and their withdrawn booklabel from 1988, sale of duplicates, Sotheby's, 14 April 1988, lot 42, to Bernard Quaritch — The Arcana Collection, sale, Christie's, London, 7 July 2010, lot 5. acquisition: Purchased at preceding sale via Robin Halwas. references: UCLA 35; Aldo Manuzio tipografo 36; BMC v 561-2; Goff C767; GW 7223; ISTC ic00767000; Renouard 21/5; Gabriel Austin, The library of Jean Grolier: a preliminary catalogue (1971), no. 141; for reset sheets and variant copies, see Harris, “Nine Reset Sheets in the Aldine Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (1499),” in Gutenberg Jahrbuch (2006) pp. 245-75; G. Della Rocca de Candal, “Manus Manutii: A Preliminary checklist of typographical and manuscript interventions in Aldine incunabula (1495-1500)” in Printing and Misprinting: A Companion to Mistakes and In House Corrections in Renaissance Europe (1450-1650) (Oxford 2023), pp.143-146
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
