SAINT JERÔME EPISTOLAE

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Lot n° 38
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SAINT JERÔME EPISTOLAE
EPISTOLAE [LETTERS] EDITION EDITED BY ADRIANUS BRIELIS (DIED 1472). MAYENCE: PETER SCHOEFFER, SEPTEMBER 7, 1470 An exceptional illuminated copy, printed on vellum, in a contemporary binding by the successor of Johann Vogel. First edition of the expanded version (more than 200) of the letters and treatises of St. Jerome, given by Peter Schoeffer, Gutenberg's main associate. The illumination - luxurious - is done by two hands, the first associated with the Waldburg-Wolfegg Hausbuch and the Pontifical of Adolf of Nassau (archbishop of Mainz) and the second linked to one of the artists of the Heidelberg Virgil (Vat. Pal. Lat. 1632) according to the work of E. König (1987)). The monumental binding is attributed to an anonymous workshop in Erfurt, successor of Johann Vogel, who worked for the Carthusian monks in Erfurt. The present copy, known as the "Doheny", is among the most beautiful achievements of the early Mainz printing period: "We stand at a sort of crossroads, where early Mainz printing, early engraving, and major German book illumination all seem to intersect" (König, 1987, p. 29). 2 large folio volumes, 408 leaves (198 ff., preceded and followed by a white parchment endpaper (vol. 1) and 210 ff. (vol. II)), printed on vellum, in red and black, illuminated copy, text on two columns (56 lines per column), chapter headings printed in red (except 2/10r, where the heading is in red ink by a contemporary hand), colophon and printer's mark of Fust-Schoeffer printed in red on the last leaf of the 2nd volume; the flyleaf of the 1st volume has an autograph note by the binder: "Hic liber continet 200 folia minus duobus scripta et 8 non scripta que summe sunt 20 quinterni et 6 folia" [This volume contains 200 written leaves from which 2 and 8 unwritten leaves must be subtracted, making 20 quaternions and 6 leaves]. Small rectangular cut in the upper margin of the first page of each volume, slight vertical creasing of the vellum on the last leaves of the first volume. The pages with illuminated initials, introducing the main divisions of the text, are marked with small tabs ("finding tabs") of pink-tinted sow skin glued to the edges of the leaves, clearly visible in the second volume. Collation: Volume I: [14, 2-510 68(7+1); 7-1910 208 216(5+1)] (1/1 introduction and register, 1/4v blank, 2-6 Distinctiones I-II; 7-12 Distinctio III; 13-16 Distinctio IV(i), 16/10v blank; 17-21 Distinctiones IV(ii)-V, 21/6v blank); Volume II: [22- 2410 256(5+1); 26-2810 298 306 314(3+1); 32-3410 3510(4+1, 6+1,2) 36-4210 4310(9+1)] (22-25 Distinctio VI, 25/6v blank; 26-31 Distinctiones VII-XI, 31/4v blank; 32-39 Distinctio XII(i); 40-43 Distinctio XII(ii). Colophon: "[...] Anno domici M. CCCC. IXX. die septima mensis septembris que fuit vigilia nativita tis Marie da gloriam deo ". Contemporary binding by the successor of Johann Vogel, bookbinder active in Erfurt (Thuringia). Full cold-stamped calf covering two wooden boards (see below "Binding") (renewed clasps, hinges and spine partially consolidated, modern garnet half morocco conservation boxes). Dimensions : 478 x 332 mm. EDITION The letters and treatises of St. Jerome were printed and commented on from the first decades of printing, following a rich manuscript tradition. The first heading indicates the contents of the two large volumes: "Incipit liber Ieronimianus sic dictus eo quod epistolas beati Ieronimi ad diversos et diversorum ad ipsum". Four editions of the Letters of Saint Jerome were printed between 1468 and 1470: these editions contain between 70 and 130 letters. The present renewed edition by Peter Schoeffer contains more than 200 epistles, organized thematically. Schoeffer made the effort to search the ecclesiastical and monastic libraries for unpublished letters. For this purpose he employed Adrianus Brielis, a Benedictine monk of the abbey Mons S. Jacobi, who expanded the corpus of letters to include a number of new letters. Jacobi abbey, who expanded the corpus and supervised the corrections. Two versions or states of the text are known, and Lotte Hellinga was able to show that about 150 leaves (out of 408) were reprinted to incorporate corrections. Hellinga was also able to find handwritten corrections, a testament to the concern for correction and improvement of the text on the part of editors, printers, and discerning readers. Moreover, two distinct issues exist for the preface and colophon, with one addressed to religious orders (issue "a") and the other to all Christians (issue "b"). The Doheny copy is an example of issue "a" (issue "a") and contains many leaves with handwritten corrections that were later actually printed corrected in the second version. If the copy was to be incorporated into the monastic library of the Carthusian monks in Erfurt, it is logical that the version chosen is the one containing the preface
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