Los Angeles, CA: Zeitlin & Ver Brugge; San Francisco, CA: Bernard M. Rosenthal, Inc., 1971.
Folio. 19 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches. Unpaginated. [18] pp. Half-title, leaf with flaps and tissue guard holds the vellum leaf, text and title page printed in red and black inks with a red Peter Schoeffer printer's device on title page, facsimile of the colophon of the 1472 edition of the Decretum, Plantin Press printer's device on colophon; text un-marked with minor finger soil in the outer margins of a couple of pages. Vellum spine, marbled paper side, vellum tips, vellum spine label titled in gilt, comes in the original slip case; binding square and tight, slip case with rubbing and light soiling, seams starting at the opening of the slip case. BRW423-001. Very Good.
FIRST EDITION, LIMITED to 193 copies, this is number 162, printed by the Plantin Press of Saul and Lillian Marks, binding by Max Adjarian of Malibu. Peter Schoeffer (1425-19503) was a German scribe who worked with Johannes Gutenberg to develop moveable types. Schoeffer became the business partner of Johannes Fust (1400-1466), the investor in Gutenberg's project who sued for control of the press and types in Mainz after Gutenberg failed to provide a return on Fust's investment. Lehmann-Haupt's essay reviews what is known of Schoeffer's career and the creation of the 1462 Bible type which was used to print The Decretum of Gratian. McCurry's essay discusses biographical information on Gratian, the sources of The Decretum, its history and importance. McCurry died before finishing his dissertation at Yale University.
"The Decretum of Gratian stands out among leaf books with respect to the print quality of its leaf. It is not the only leaf book to contain a leaf printed on vellum. Others include special copies of A. W. Pollard's Cobden-Sanderson and the Doves Press (checklist 41); Martin Hutner's Making of the Book of Common Prayer of 1928 (cat. 38); and Richard Bigus's Mystique of Vellum (1984), which includes a leaf printed on vellum by the author. But that included in The Decretum of Gratian is a fifteenth- rather than a twentieth-century leaf, and for most purchasers, this leaf book represents the only chance for them to own an actual example of a vellum leaf from an incunable." De Hamel and Silver, p. 90.
REFERENCES: De Hamel and Silver, Disbound and Dispersed, Catalog No. 31; Checklist No. 157; Harmsen and Tabor, The Plantin Press, No. 341; Rounce & Coffin Club, Western Books, No. 40.
Title: Two Essays on the Decretum of Gratian. Together with an Original Liaf Printed on Vellum by Peter Schoeffer at Mainz in 1472
Edition: FIRST EDITION, LIMITED to 193 copies, this is number 162
Created: 1971
Country of Origin: United States
Location Published: Los Angeles, CA and San Francisco, CA, Zeitlin & Ver Brugge; Bernard Rosenthal: 1971
Binding: Vellum spine, marbled paper sides, vellum tips, ve
Book Condition: Very Good
Jacket Condition: None, as issued
Size: Folio. 19 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches
Type: Book
Categories: History, Antiques & Collectibles, Books, Fine Press
Seller ID: BRW423-001
Keywords: bernard rosenthal, charles mccurry, fine press, gratian, hellmut hermann-haupt, johannes fust, leaf book, lillian marks, limited edition, max adjarian, peter schoeffer, plantin press, saul marks, the decretum, two essays on the decretum of gratian together with an original liaf printed on vellum by peter schoeffer at mainz in 1472, zeitlin & ver brugge