May 1, 2024 10:00 EST
Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
41
A manuscript collection of homilies and sermons
[MANUSCRIPT]
Panegyrici et Homiliae. [19th-century hand-lettered title on front free endpaper]. Possibly French or Italian: likely very late thirteenth/ early fourteenth century. 19th-century Italian binding of quarter leather, marbled sides. 6 3/4 x 4 3/4 inches (17 x 12 cm); manuscript on vellum, 144 ff. written in 32 lines to the page in black ink with a good but heavily contracted Gothic textura bookhand, modestly rubricated throughout, f. 143 an index (possibly slightly later than the main text), f. 144 blank but ruled, the fore-edge of many leaves exhibiting pricking for rules. The binding worn, the front board creased, the vellum of rather low quality and somewhat irregular, occasional natural vellum flaws, a few sheets with (original) joints, occasional comparatively minor soiling and cockling, the final twelve leaves exhibiting minor losses in the lower margin.
This is a manuscript with a wide selection of homilies and sermons prepared for the major religious holidays and Saints' Days, including the Feast of the Nativity, the Assumption, the holidays of John the Baptist, St. Bartholomew, St. Nicholas, St. Elizabeth, Mary Magdalene, St. George, etc., etc. This would have been a work prepared fairly inexpensively (probably monastically) as a working manuscript for a busy and possibly itinerant cleric; as noted, many of the leaves show signs of marginal extension done at the time of the original composition, and the vellum in general is far from luxurious. The craft of homilectics, the art of preaching, was very highly considered as one of the branches of rhetoric, and a work of this kind would have been treasured and endlessly mined as a source for sermons.
Sold for $17,920
Estimated at $5,000 - $8,000
Includes Buyer's Premium
[MANUSCRIPT]
Panegyrici et Homiliae. [19th-century hand-lettered title on front free endpaper]. Possibly French or Italian: likely very late thirteenth/ early fourteenth century. 19th-century Italian binding of quarter leather, marbled sides. 6 3/4 x 4 3/4 inches (17 x 12 cm); manuscript on vellum, 144 ff. written in 32 lines to the page in black ink with a good but heavily contracted Gothic textura bookhand, modestly rubricated throughout, f. 143 an index (possibly slightly later than the main text), f. 144 blank but ruled, the fore-edge of many leaves exhibiting pricking for rules. The binding worn, the front board creased, the vellum of rather low quality and somewhat irregular, occasional natural vellum flaws, a few sheets with (original) joints, occasional comparatively minor soiling and cockling, the final twelve leaves exhibiting minor losses in the lower margin.
This is a manuscript with a wide selection of homilies and sermons prepared for the major religious holidays and Saints' Days, including the Feast of the Nativity, the Assumption, the holidays of John the Baptist, St. Bartholomew, St. Nicholas, St. Elizabeth, Mary Magdalene, St. George, etc., etc. This would have been a work prepared fairly inexpensively (probably monastically) as a working manuscript for a busy and possibly itinerant cleric; as noted, many of the leaves show signs of marginal extension done at the time of the original composition, and the vellum in general is far from luxurious. The craft of homilectics, the art of preaching, was very highly considered as one of the branches of rhetoric, and a work of this kind would have been treasured and endlessly mined as a source for sermons.
Auction: Rare Books, Autographs & Maps, May 1, 2024
-
Auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on May 1, 2024 Totals $1.2 Million
-
A Medieval Manuscript Rules of St. Augustine Achieves $102k
-
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
