| Goff C-932 Corsettus, Antonius, Repertorium in opera Nicolai de Tudeschis... Venice: Andreas Torresanus, de Asula, not before 1486 f° Leaf: 415x285mm Ref: HC 5771*; Pr 4711; BMC V 308; GW 7783; BSB-Ink C-673 |
Library of Congress (Vollbehr) ff Hain 5771 |
Provenance
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Thomas Romer (inscription)
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Binding
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| Notes: This binding appeared in Anthony Hobson's Humanists and Bookbinders, (Cambridge, 1989) pp. 60-62, and I have to admit that my localizing it to Florence is because Mr. Hobson says it is so. Hobson referred to another binding by this same workshop in the Philadelphia Free Library, and I have included that binding in this website as well, since it was not illustrated in Hobson's book. I don't know what makes these identifiable as Florence work, but they are certainly stunning Italian bookbindings. There are, however, several odd aspects to both of them. The wooden boards are much thicker than one ordinarily finds with 15th-century Italian bindings, and they are not beveled along their inside edges as was the common Italian practice. Also, the spines are unusually rounded. But most puzzling are the catch plates, one remaining on this binding, and two on the Free Library copy. These catches are not at all Italian, and in fact are a type of catch more commonly found on bindings from northwest Germany and the Netherlands. It seems likely they are a part of the import trade with the Netherlands of the time. What is even more odd is that on both bindings these catches are positioned on the upper cover. This is not at all common for Italian work and is a mystery. |
