Poemata omnia: quorum Catalogum proxima à Praefatione pagina reperies... Basel: Heinrich Petri, March 1562

£2,500 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

An attractive, unsophisticated copy of the works of Christian poet Prudentius (348-c.413), with a large, sixteenth-century donation exlibris. This volume of Prudentius’ poetry is edited by professor of Greek at Basel, and printer Petri’s son-in-law, Marcus Hopper (d.1564) with his dedication to Johann Rudolf von Erlach; with the commentary of jurists Johannes Sichardt and Jakob Spiegel, and Erasmus. The exlibris attached to the front pastedown, dated 1588, explains that the present volume was one of over a thousand books (more precisely ‘mille tribus’) and mathematical instruments bequeathed to the monastery of the Holy Cross in Augsburg by their owner, Wolfgang Andreas Rem von Kötz (1511-1588), the provost of the cathedral church there. This was one of two gifts bequeathed by Rem on his death, the other being of 160 books on law and jurisprudence to the Dombibliothek (the books in this gift had their own similar but separate bookplate noting Rem’s donation). The exlibris here is the larger of two variant bookplates printed in letterpress for the books donated to the monastery; the other, smaller label does not mention mathematical instruments, as this one does. These donation labels are the only identifying features of books from Rem’s library; though it was extensive, his books were not unified by distinguishing, uniform bindings or other marks of ownership. Rem’s arms at the foot of the label, with an ox at the centre, can be seen carved on a memorial for him in the Augsbu

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