-
1 of 253523 objects
Rudimenta mathematica 1551
30.0 cm (Height) x 3.5 cm (Depth) (book measurement (conservation)) | RCIN 1081299
Sebastian Münster (1488-1552)
Rudimenta mathematica, haec in duos digeruntur libros, quorum prior geometriae tradit principia . . . posterior vero omnigenum horologiorum docet delineationes, autore Sebastiano Munstero 1551
-
Sebastian Münster was a German cartographer and cosmographer. He is responsible for several important maps and books including Hebrew translations of the Bible and Gospel of St Matthew. He is also responsible for the first German language history of the world (Cosmographia, 1544).
This copy of Münster's treatise on geometry and horology, published in 1551, was bound for Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, the elder son of James VI & I. It has been bound in the distinctive style used for his larger books, with a shield of his arms in the centre and large heraldic corner-pieces, in this case a crowned lion rampant.
Binding information
Dark brown calf binding, with an identical design on both sides: border formed of a single gold-tooled fillet line surmounted on either side by a blind-tooled single fillet line. Large stamp of the arms of England, Scotland and Ireland gold-tooled in the centre, barred in blind (the arms of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales). Armorial stamp very similar, but not identical to RCIN 1142252 (Add B 17). In each of the corners, a large gold-tooled lion rampant. Spine divided into six compartments by raised bands, each containing a single gold-tooled fillet line. Each compartment gold-tooled with a fillet border and alternating portcullis and Tudor rose central stamps. Final compartment gold-tooled with letters ‘A L’ [for Arundel/Lumley?] either side of rose. Fore-edges painted red.
This was one of the books selected by Olwen Hedley in the 1960s as an example of fine bookbinding in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle. Hedley’s ‘Additional Bookbindings’ serves as a supplement to the catalogue of fine bindings compiled in 1893 by the Royal Librarian Richard Rivington Holmes.Provenance
The signatures on the title-page of 'Arundel' and 'Lumley' (the latter almost entirely cut off by later rebinding) show that it belonged to the large library built up by Henry, Earl of Arundel, and his son-in-law, John, Lord Lumley, which was bought for Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales in 1609. After the prince's death in 1612, his library was added to the Old Royal Library, which was given to the British Museum in 1757. A stamp on the verso of the title-page shows it was one of the duplicates sold in 1769 (lot no. 481), when it was bought for 6s by the Rev. Philip Furneaux, who presented it to the Coward Trust. The Trust sold it in 1950 to Mr J.W. Hely-Hutchinson, and when his library was sold in 1956, the volume was acquired for the Royal Library.
-
Creator(s)
(publisher)Acquirer(s)
-
Measurements
30.0 cm (Height) x 3.5 cm (Depth) (book measurement (conservation))
30.0 x 3.5 cm (book measurement (inventory))
Category
Alternative title(s)
Rudimenta mathematica, haec in duos digeruntur libros, quorum prior geometriae tradit principia ... posterior vero omnigenum horologiorum docet delineationes, autore Sebastiano Munstero
Place of Production
Basel [Switzerland]
