ID 859578
Lot 6 | First collected Petrarch
Estimate value
$ 10 000 – 20 000
First collected edition of the Latin works of Petrarch, with many individual works appearing in print for the first time. Iconic now for his vernacular love poetry, Petrarch considered his Latin scholarship to be his most important gift to posterity—and indeed, it was this body of work which "set the tone for the rest of the Italian Renaissance, whose leading lights after him continued the quest to rediscover the ancient Roman, and eventually Greek, worlds in all their fullness" (Celenza). This edition includes the first printing of Petrarch's Secretum, a deeply personal work of self-examination in which, with the mediation of Saint Augustine and Lady Truth, he builds toward a manifesto for the reconciliation of Renaissance humanism and Christian faith.
Petrarch found an eager audience not only among his own countrymen, but also the German-speaking humanists across the Alps. When Amerbach undertook the project of collecting and printing Petrarch’s works, he found a crowd of enthusiasts and editors willing to contribute manuscripts and printed editions. This copy was previously owned and repaired—and perhaps bound—by the Franciscan Minorites of Cologne, who added marginalia on the life of Petrarch in the 18th-century. Bod-inc P-149; BMC III 757; BSB-Ink P-276; Goff P-365; Fiske p. 1; ISTC ip00365000. See Christopher Celenza, Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer (2022).
Chancery folio (259 x 187mm). 388 leaves (of 389, without final blank). Rubricated, with red and blue Lombard initials, initials at headings slightly larger and some with reserved decoration or contrasting pen-flourishing (first leaf heavily trimmed and window mounted from an early period, first 5 gatherings with lower margin extended occasional shaving some type, next 4 gatherings with lower margin chipped and dampstained, a few other similar repairs throughout, repair to corners of final few gatherings). 18th-century blindstamped pigskin over wooden boards with internal bevel, stud feet on lower board edge, red edges (lacking catchplates and clasps). Custom box. Provenance: Franciscan Minorites, Cologne (dissolved 1802, printed bookplate) – F. Adamus Putz (inscription noting that he did the binding or perhaps the repair? dated 1743) – Gymnasium-Bibliothek of Cologne (duplicate release stamp) – Estelle Getz, 1880-1943 (MEG monogram on box; her sale, American Art Association, 24-25 November 1936, lot 1255).
Place of origin: | Switzerland |
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Auction house category: | Antiquarian books, Printed books |
Place of origin: | Switzerland |
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Auction house category: | Antiquarian books, Printed books |
Address of auction |
CHRISTIE'S 20 Rockefeller Plaza 10020 New York USA | ||||||||||||||
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Phone | +1 212 636 2000 | ||||||||||||||
Fax | +1 212 636 4930 | ||||||||||||||
Conditions of purchase | Conditions of purchase | ||||||||||||||
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Postal service Courier service pickup by yourself | ||||||||||||||
Payment methods |
Wire Transfer | ||||||||||||||
Business hours | Business hours
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