Sphaera mundi, and other texts - photo 1
Sphaera mundi, and other texts - photo 2
Sphaera mundi, and other texts - photo 3

Sphaera mundi, and other texts

Lot 54
28.01.2025 10:00UTC -05:00
Classic
To bid, go to the website
CHRISTIE'S
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
ID 1360770
Lot 54 | Sphaera mundi, and other texts
Estimate value
$ 10 000 – 15 000
JOHANNES DE SACRO BOSCO (fl. c.1230). Sphaera mundi. – GEORG PEUERBACH (1423–1461). Theoricae novae planetarum. – REGIOMONTANUS (1436–1476). Disputationes contra Cremonensia deliramenta. Venice: Erhard Ratdolt, 6 July 1482.

Rare first printing of the most influential pre-Copernican work on astronomy published in Europe, with hand-colored woodcut diagrams. Ratdolt’s tripartite collection of pre-Copernican cornerstones begins with Sacro Bosco’s magnum opus Sphaera mundi, 'a small work based on Ptolemy and his Arabic commentators […] generally adopted as the fundamental astronomy text’ which in 1472 became the first printed astronomical book (DSB). The accompanying woodcut diagrams, likely designed by Johann Lucilius Santritter, appear for the first time in this edition, and would be used for many subsequent editions due to how essential they are for visually explaining Sacro Bosco's concepts. Several diagrams are hand-colored in green and ochre. HC *14110 = H 14102; BMC V 286; BSB-Ink I-502; Bod-inc J-181; CIBN J-270; Essling 258; GW M14652; Goff J-405; Klebs 874.9; ISTC ij00405000.

Chancery quarto (205 × 145mm). 60 leaves. First text leaf printed in red and black, woodcut frontispiece of armillary sphere and woodcut diagrams throughout, some hand-colored in ochre or green (inner margins renewed, other marginal repairs occasionally intruding into text without loss, stains). 19th-century blindtooled goatskin (some restorations, leather flaking).
Place of origin:Italy
Auction house category:Antiquarian books, Printed books
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
14.01.2025 – 28.01.2025
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.