Tortellius, Johannes: Orthographia.

Venice:  Nicolaus Jenson, 1471.
Fol.   [1-3¹⁰ 4⁸ 5-8¹⁰ 9-10⁸ 11-13¹⁰ 14⁸ 15-19¹⁰ 20⁸ 21-24¹⁰ 25⁸ 26-31¹⁰].   [298] leaves, the first and last blank.
ISTC it00395000; GW M47219; Goff T395; BMC V 170 (IC. 19647); Bod-inc T-221; CIBN T-290; BSB-Ink T-384.Two copies held by the University of Glasgow.

Copy 1

GIP number:	T30/1
Shelf-mark:	Sp Coll Hunterian Bg.1.9 (see main library entry for this item)
Note:	Printer's pin-holes visible.
Variants:	The setting-up of 16/3r and 16/8v (ff. 145 and 150) follows that found in BMC’s first copy (IC. 19647);  21/1r (f. 191r), line 2:  “... interpretationē ...” not “... interpretationem ...” - cf. CIBN T-290;  7/2r (f. 60r), line 3:  “... contrarius ...” not “... cōtrarius ...” - cf. CIBN T-290.
Provenance:	Louis Jean Gaignat (1697-1768), Secretary to King Louis XV:  Gaignat sale, 1769;  lot 1405  in Guillaume de Bure, 'Bibliographie instructive:  supplément ... ou catalogue des livres de feu M. L.J. Gaignat', 2 vols (Paris:  1769). William Hunter (1718-1783), physician and anatomist:  purchased by Hunter at the Gaignat sale through his agent, Jean-Baptiste Dessain, for 72 livres 13 sous;  see 'Dessain-Hunter correspondence' (University of Glasgow Library, MS Gen. 36, f. 23r). University of Glasgow:  Hunterian bequest, 1807;  Hunterian Museum bookplate and book label on front pastedown, with former shelfmark “Y.5.5”.
Binding:	France, 18th-century blue goatskin decorated with triple gold fillets, a small gold fleuron at each corner;  gold-tooled spine;  marbled endpapers;  gilt-edged leaves;  pink silk bookmark;  front flyleaf has watermarks “MGIS” and “MOLEN”.   Housed in a green buckram-covered box.   Size 391 x 285 mm.
Leaf size:	379 x 242 mm.
Annotations:	Occasional marginal and interlinear annotations in a humanist hand, often extracting keywords;  occasional interlinear additions and corrections;  occasional running headings (mainly on verso leaves) e.g. “Agricola”, “Diphthongus”, “Magus”, “Prologus”, “Prosodia”, “Roma”;  number “66” in an 18th-century hand on the recto of the final blank leaf.
Decoration:	On 1/2r a fifteen-line faceted initial “C”, which is supplied in shades of pink, contains a classical figure of a semi-draped man holding a bunch of grasses and making a libation of wine from a bowl onto an altar fire - the altar bearing the inscription “I.O.M. || LICIN || IO” - see N.R. Thorp, 'The glory of the page', no. 89, where several other incunabula with initials by the same artist are briefly mentioned including another copy of this Jenson edition of Tortellius now in Trinity College, Dublin;  other initials throughout supplied in crimson or pale green.
Imperfections:	Wanting the first blank leaf.

Copy 2

 

GIP number:	T30/2
Shelfmark:	Sp Coll BD9-a.1 (see main library entry for this item)
Note:	Printer's pin-holes visible.
Variants:	The setting-up of 16/3r and 16/8v (ff. 145 and 150) follows that found in BMC’s first copy (IC. 19647);  21/1r (f. 191r), line 2:  “... interpretationē ...” not “... interpretationem ...” - cf. CIBN T-290;  7/2r (f. 60r), line 3:  “... contrarius ...” not “... cōtrarius ...” - cf. CIBN T-290.
Provenance:	Anton von Annenberg, Ritter, of Burg Annenberg, near Latsch, Tyrol (1420-1480/84):  inscription on parchment front flyleaf “Anthonius Annenberger Vocabularius  Johannis Tortelius” - which has partially offset onto the bare wood of the inner front board;  unread inventory number(?) or shelfmark(?) possibly in Annenberg’s hand also on parchment front flyleaf. Frederick William Conway (1782-1853), editor of Dublin Evening Post:  number “636” in pencil on parchment front flyleaf i.e. lot 636 “Tortellii (J.) Commentaria de Orthographia, folio, fine copy, wooden binding, clasps Venet. 1471.” in 'Catalogue of the valuable library of the late Frederick Wm. Conway ... which will be sold by auction, by H. Lewis ... on Tuesday, May 30th, 1854, and 24 following days ...', [Dublin:  1854]. Edward Knight (fl. 1857-1874), bookseller, Islington, London:  sold book to William Euing. William Euing (1788-1874), insurance broker, Glasgow:  purchased from Knight 11 Mar. 1857 for £3.5.0 according to Euing’s pencil acquisition note on parchment front flyleaf (repeated on leather turn-in on top edge of front board);  an early Euing inventory number “110” in pencil on verso of first blank leaf. University of Glasgow:  presented by Euing in 1872 according to one of two University Library bookplates on front pastedown.
Binding:	15th-century blind-tooled calf over bevelled wooden boards;  both covers decorated with intersecting fillets to form two frames and a central panel;  each panel is divided by fillets into four lozenge and eight triangular-shaped compartments;  evidence from nail holes and protruding nails of a lozenge-shaped metal centre-piece and four corner-pieces on each board (all now lost);  spine undecorated, 19th-century title labels added;  author’s name written in an early hand on the bare wood of the inner rear board and partially obscured by the leather turn-in at the top edge;  two chased brass and leather clasps intact, with chased brass catch plates on front board;  number ‘j08’ in ink in an early hand on top edge of text block;  without pastedowns.   Size: 422 x 292 mm.
Leaf size:	410 x 287 mm.
Annotations:	Early manuscript signatures in brown ink visible in most quires;  quires numbered in red ink “1”-“31” in an early hand in the centre of the lower margin of the first recto leaf (final leaf in the case of the first quire) and the same hand has occasionally corrected in red ink some of the manuscript signatures;  “Ebert no. 23052” in ink on parchment front flyleaf along with 19th-century pencil numbers “2964” and “636”;  19th-century price codes “oo/-”, “θθ/θθ/-”, date “9/3/35” and a shelfmark(?) “3Fd” - all in pencil - on verso of the final blank leaf.
Decoration:	Fifteen-line initial “C” supplied in red and blue with reserved white on 1/2r;  other initials and paragraph marks supplied throughout in alternate red and blue;  capitals washed in yellow throughout.
Imperfections:	None.