Yale Law Library - Rare Books Blog : Provenance, Roman-Canon Law Collection of the ABCNY

Provenance puzzle #1 -- solved!

Mike Widener — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 13:24:00 GMT

A hearty thanks to Stephen Ferguson, Curator of Rare Books at the Princeton University Library, for providing the answer to my Provenance puzzle #1. The stamp is a portrait of Augustus, Elector of Saxony (1526-1586). Stephen used Google Books to find a reference to the stamp in Konrad Haebler's Rollen- und plattenstempel des XVI. jahrhunderts (Leipzig: O. Harrassowitz, 1928-1929), vol. 2, pp. 79-81.

See the Wikipedia article on Augustus of Saxony, where you will learn that Augustus, a Lutheran, played an important and influential role as a peacemaker in the religious conflicts of the early German Reformation.

The stamp is on the front cover of our copy of Practica eximia atque omnium aliarum praestantissima by Giovanni Pietro Ferrari (Frankfurt: Sigmund Feyerabend, 1581), part of the Roman-Canon Law Collection of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.

Additional images of the covers are in my Flickr gallery in the "Provenance markings" set.

Finally, check out Stephen Ferguson's excellent blog, Rare Book Collections @ Princeton, a favorite of mine.

MIKE WIDENER
Rare Book Librarian

Provenance puzzle #2

Mike Widener — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:38:00 GMT

This armorial stamp graces the front and back covers of several tall folios from the Roman-Canon Law Collection of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.I have no idea what library this stamp is from, but I have a couple of clues. The binding style (stamped pigskin over boards, with rounded backs) is typically German. Several knowledgeable folks say that the initials also suggest a German library.If you can shed any light or provide any suggestions, please let me know.On my Flickr gallery, in the "Provenance Markings" set, I have posted an image that shows more of the cover and the tooling. Following are the titles bearing this stamp (click on the title to see the full record in our online catalog, MORRIS):

Luca da Penne, Lectura ... Super tribus libris codicis (Lyon, 1538) [with] Martin Sanchez, Arbor dividui et individui (s.l., 1538). (The volume shown here).

Alessandro Tartagni, In Digestum vetus lecturae [with] Lecturae in Digestum novum (Lyon, 1567).

Alessandro Tartagni, In codicem Iustinianeum commentariorum tomus primus et secundus [with] In infortiatum commentaria (Lyon,1567).

Primum volumen[-volumen xvii] tractatuum ex variis iuris interpretibus collectorum (Lyon, 1549; 18 vols. in 11).

MIKE WIDENER
Rare Book Librarian
Lillian Goldman Law Library

Provenance puzzle #1

Mike Widener — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 21:17:00 GMT

This rubbing is from the front cover of one of the volumes from the Roman-Canon Law Collection of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. I would be grateful if someone could help me identify this portrait and/or the coat of arms on the back cover (see below), to learn who was the book's original owner.

The text below the portrait reads: "VIRTVTES * ANIMI * MAIESTAS / EXPLICATORIS * AVGVSTI * VVLTVS / INSPICE * NVMEN * HABENT".

The book itself is Practica eximia atque omnium aliarum praestantissima by Giovanni Pietro Ferrari (Frankfurt: Sigmund Feyerabend, 1581). The book is bound in stamped pigskin over pasteboard, and appears to be a German binding. Additional images of the covers are in my Flickr gallery in the "Provenance" set.

Although the online resources available at the Provenance Information page provided by the Consortium of European Research Libraries didn't answer my question, I highly recommend them for others with questions like mine.

Thanks to Brian Mendez for the rubbings and Joanne Kittredge for the scans.

MIKE WIDENER
Rare Book Librarian
Lillian Goldman Law Library