University of Richmond
Gresham Incunabula Pages
Dew Gresham, William, 1925-1986
MS-11
/repositories/4/resources/5
17 Leaves
17 books leaves
.5 Linear Feet
1482--ca. 1502
An Incunabula Short Title Catalogue (ISTC) number has been provided in the collection inventory for each leaf. It may be used in the British Museum's ISTC for further information about the incunabula such as additional incunabula references from Hain and Goff.
This collection contains 17 individual incunabulum book leaves printed in Italy and Germany from 1482 to circa 1502.
Latin
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The incunabulum leaves were donated as part of the William Dew Gresham Collection to the University of Richmond in 1987.
Alternative Form Available
Digital images are available upon request.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged chronologically.
Biographical / Historical
In Latin, the term incunabulum (plural: incunabula) refers to a cradle, source, or birthplace. The earliest examples of metal-type printed books prior to approximately 1501 are commonly known as incunabula. The earliest incunabula date from the 1450s, when Johann Gutenberg of Mainz is generally credited as first introducing metal-type printing to the world. By the 1460s, printing had entered Italy and by the 1470s had spread throughout the rest of Europe.
Early incunabula clearly reflect the transition from illuminated manuscripts to metal-type printing. One example of this is the use of guide letters, or small letters located within surrounding white space. Guide letters provided the option for a book to be hand-rubricated (or embellished) using red or blue ink. In later incunabula, rubrication also took the form of decorative woodcut capital letters. Columns and printed marginalia (margin notes) were also adapted by printers from medieval manuscripts. Latin contractions and abbreviations were frequently utilized by medieval scribes in order to save both space and time. Incunabula printers continued their usage and created typefaces that also included contractions and abbreviations.
For further information on the history of incunabula, Haebler's The Study of Incunabula offers an in-depth analysis and overview. Haebler was an early twentieth-century incunabula typographic expert from Germany. In addition to an overview of incunabula, the National Diet Library of Japan's "Incunabula – Dawn of Western Printing" website also features invaluable lists and images of incunabula typefaces.
Custodial History
The original incunabula collection was purchased from a dealer by Mr. Gresham before being donated to University of Richmond in 1987.
Preferred Citation
Box 1, [Folder Number], MS-11, Gresham Incunabula Leaves Collection, Book Arts, Archives, & Rare Books, Boatwright Memorial Library, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia.
Processing Information
Attempts have been made to reconcile information given by the original dealer with the ISTC. Incunabula title names have been derived from the ISTC while Library of Congress Name Authority Headings has been used for author and printer names.
Processed by Erica L. Johnson.
Related Materials
The following complete incunabula are also available in the Rare Book Room:
Nider, Johannes, approximately 1380-1438. Praeceptorium divinae legis, sive Expositio decalogi. Basel: Berthold Ruppel, -1494 or 1495, circa 1472.
ISTC in00196000
Bernardino, de' Busti, approximately 1450-1513?. Rosarium sermonum [Part I of II only]. Venice: Giorgio Arrivabene, active 1483-1520, 1498.
ISTC ib01336000
Antonius, de Bitonto, approximately 1385-1465. Sermones dominicales per totum annum. Venice: Boneto Locatelli, active 1486-1523 for Nicolaus von Frankfurt, active 1473-1516, 1499.
ISTC ia00894000
Scope and Contents
This collection contains 17 individual incunabulum book leaves printed in Italy and Germany from 1482 to circa 1502. The incunabula leaves printed in Venice are by Scotto, Bertochus or Pagnini[?],Benalius, Arrivabene, Faelli, and Pinzi. There is one leaf from Rome by Silber and one leaf from Florence by Miscomini. In Germany, Koberger printed one leaf in Nuremburg, Grüninger printed one leaf in Strassburg, and Otmar printed one leaf in Tübingen.
The majority of the leaves are from incunabula with religious subject matter, but a small amount relate to ancient Rome. The collection is arranged chronologically with bibliographic information for the incunabulum the leaf is from. Additionally, an Incunabula Short Title Catalogue (ISTC) number has been listed for each incunabulum represented.
Many of the leaves in the collection contain marginalia, rubrication, as well as woodblock printing. Some of the leaves also contain hand-drawn maniculum, or hands used to point to relevant passages. One of the more interesting examples of marginalia is found in File 4, which contains a leaf from Cassian's De institutis coenobiorum. In addition to handwritten Latin notes and maniuculum, four doodles of men's heads are found on both the recto and verso of the leaf. Woodblock printing is found throughout the collection in the form of illustration and rubrication. A small woodblock illustration of a man being attacked in his bed is found on the verso of a leaf from Livy's Historiae Romanae decades in File 8. This leaf also has woodblock rubricated capital letters, as do the leaves in Files 7, 9, and 12. Files 11 and 14 contain leaves with hand-rubricated capital letters in red that reflect a tradition taken directly from illuminated manuscripts. All files contain one leaf, with the exception of File 6 which has two. These unique features are also noted in the Collection Inventory.
The collection was originally purchased from a dealer by William Dew Gresham (1925-1986), a University of Richmond alumnus and former assistant librarian as well as book collector. They were donated to the University of Richmond in 1987.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Bibliography
Haebler, Konrad. The Study of Incunabula. Translated by Lucy Eugenia Osborne. New York: The Grolier Club, 1933.
National Diet Library of Japan. "Incunabula – Dawn of Western Printing." Last modified August 4, 2005. http://www.ndl.go.jp/incunabula/e/index.html.
Printing -- Italy
Marginalia
Printing -- Germany
Printing -- 1450-1500
Rare Books
Rubrication
Wood-engraving
Paper
Incunabula
Dew Gresham, William, 1925-1986
Horace. Opera/repositories/4/archival_objects/37August 5, 1482Ed. and comm. by Cristoforo Landino, 1424-1504.
Florence: Antonio Miscomini, active 1476-1494, ISTC ih00447000.
Note: Contains handwritten marginalia.1 MS-111Biondo Flavio, 1392-1463. Historiarum ab inclinatione Romanorum imperii decades/repositories/4/archival_objects/38July 16, 1483Venice: Ottaviano Scotto-1498, ISTC ib00698000
Note: Contains handwritten marginalia.1 MS-112Capreolus, Jean. Quaestiones in IV libros Sententiarum Petri Lombardi, seu libri IV defensionum theologiae Thomae Aquinatis/repositories/4/archival_objects/1011483-1484Ed. by Thomas de S. Germano.
Venice: Ottaviano Scotto, -1498, ISTC ic001290001 MS-113Cassian, John. De institutis coenobiorum/repositories/4/archival_objects/1021491Venice: [ISTC suggests printer is either Dionysius Bertochus, active 15th century or Printer of Cassianus (Paganino Paganini?)], ISTC ic00234000
Note: Contains handwritten marginalia, manicullum (pointing hands), and four doodles of men's heads.1 MS-114Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo. Explanatio psalmorum/repositories/4/archival_objects/103August 4, 1493Venice: Bernardinus Benalius, active 1483-1543, ISTC ia012730001 MS-115Angelo Carletti, 1411-1495. Summa angelica de casibus conscientia/repositories/4/archival_objects/104May 2, 1495Venice: Giorgio Arrivabene, active 1483-1520, IATC ia007260001 MS-116Campano, Giannantonio, Bishop, 1429-1477. Ed. Michele Ferno, -1512. Opera/repositories/4/archival_objects/105October 31, 1495Rome: Eucharius Silber, active 1480-1510 for Michele Ferno, ISTC ic000730001 MS-117Livy. Historiae Romanae decades/repositories/4/archival_objects/106November 3, 1495Ed. by Sabellico, 1436?-1506.
Venice: Fillippo Pinzi, active 1490-1530 for Luca-Antonio Giunta, 1457-1538, ISTC il00247000
Note: Contains woodblock rubrication and a woodblock illustration on verso.1 MS-118Suetonius, approximately 69-approximately 122. Vitae XII Caesarum/repositories/4/archival_objects/1071496Venice: Simon Bevilaqua, active 1485-1518, ISTC is00827000
Note: Contains woodblock rubrication.1 MS-119Biblia latina
/repositories/4/archival_objects/1081497Nuremburg: Anton Koberger, approximately 1440-1513, ISTC ib006190001 MS-1110Biblia latina/repositories/4/archival_objects/109April 26, 1497Strassburg: Johann Grüninger, -1532?, ISTC ib00600000
Note: Contains hand-rubricated capital letters in red.1 MS-1111Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, 1225?-1274. Super quarto libro Senteniarum Petri Lombardi/repositories/4/archival_objects/110May 23, 1497Venice: Boneto Locatelli, active 1486-1523 for Ottaviano Scotto, -1498, ISTC it00172000
Note: Contains woodblock rubrication.1 MS-1112Antonius, de Bitonto, approximately 1385-1465. Sermones quadragesimales de vitiis/repositories/4/archival_objects/111February 14, 1499Venice: Johannes Hamman, active 1482-1509 for Nicolaus von Frankfurt, active 1473-1516, ISTC ia008960001 MS-1113Biel, Gabriel, -1495. italics">Sermones
/repositories/4/archival_objects/1121499-1500Tübingen: Johann Otmar, active 1482-1514 for Friedrich Meynberger, active 1499-1501, ISTC ic00234000
Note: Contains hand-rubricated capital letter in red.1 MS-1114Apuleius. Asinus aureus, sive Metamorphosis
/repositories/4/archival_objects/113August 1, 1500Venice: Benedetto Faelli, ISTC ia009380001 MS-1115Jerome, Saint, -419 or 420. Epistolae
/repositories/4/archival_objects/114ca. 1502Venice: Filippo Pinzi, active 1490-1530, ISTC ih001770001 MS-1116