Continental

Contact Alex Day, Andrea Mazzocchi, Jonathan Harrison, Charlotte Miller or Sally Deegan

Our Continental department specialises in incunabula, Greek and Latin classics, early vernacular imprints, and notable texts from the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the early modern era, with a specific section devoted to medieval manuscripts, fragments, and illuminations.

We regularly issue lists and catalogues, offering a wide variety of literary, historical, and philosophical books printed in Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, the Low Countries, Eastern Europe, and Russia.  Woodcuts, early engravings, notable bindings, notable marginalia, rare manuscript or printed survivals, and books with a remarkable provenance are among our keenest interests and feature regularly in our stock.

 
  1. ANTIPHONAL,

    with neumes, containing antiphons, responses...

    Germany, 1st half of 12th century. 

    Two bifolia from a notably early antiphonal. 

    £5000

  2. [ANTIPHONAL.]

    Very large historiated initial ‘H’...

    Italy (Siena), c. 1300.

    A very fine large initial painted in a...

    £6750

  3. BOOK OF HOURS,

    in Latin, from the Hours of the Virgin...

    Flanders or northern France, early 14th...

    An exquisite leaf from an exceptionally...

    £1800

  4. [GRADUAL.]

    Vast historiated initial ‘A’ cut from...

    Italy (Umbria), end of thirteenth century.

    A spectacular initial on the scale of a...

    £20000

  5. [BREVIARY.]

    Sarum Breviary, in Latin.

    England, first quarter of fifteenth century.

    A fragment of twenty-one leaves from a...

    £4250

  6. [ANTIPHONAL.]

    Antiphonal, with neumes, containing music...

    Southern Germany or Bohemia, mid-fifteenth...

    An unusual and striking antiphonal leaf...

    £3500

  7. LACTANTIUS.

    Opera.

    [Venice,] Vindelinus de Spira, 1472.

    Magnificent incunable edition of the works...

    £25000

  8. AUGUSTINUS TRIUMPHUS [i.e. AUGUSTINUS de Ancona].  

    Summa de potestate ecclesiastica.

    Augsburg, [Johann Schüssler,] 6 March 1473.

    First edition of this highly important...

    £22500

  9. EUSEBIUS CAESARIENSIS; RUFINUS AQUILEIENSIS, translator.

    Historia ecclesiastica.

    Rome, Johannes Philippus de Lignamine,...

    The Syston Park copy of the earliest history...

    £4500

  10. MEFFRET, Johann.

    Sermones Meffreth alias Ortulus regine...

    [Basel, Nicolaus Kesler, not after 1485.]

    A volume of sermons with early English...

    £6500

  11. THOMAS AQUINAS; Antonius PIZAMANUS, editor.

    Opuscula [with a life of St Thomas].

    Venice, Hermannus Liechtenstein, 7 September...

    First collected edition of seventy-one...

    £3750

  12. ANTONIUS de Vercellis. 

    Sermones quadragesimales de XII mirabilibus...

    Venice, Johannes and Gregorius de Gregoriis,...

    A remarkable copy of the first edition...

    £8500

  13. VORAGINE, Jacobus de.

    Sermones quadragesimales [– de tempore...

    [(Colophons:) Venice, Simon de Luere for...

    An annotated copy of Jacobus de Voragine’s...

    £3250

  14. [INDULGENCE.] 

    Letter of Indulgence (in Catalan),...

    [Lerida, Heinrich Botel, c. 1498.] 

    Extremely rare incunable indulgence in...

    £34000

  15. LACTANTIUS, Lucius Caelius Firmianus, et alii.

    Opera perquam accurate castigata: Graeco...

    [(Colophons:) Venice, Giovanni Tacuino...

    A closely read copy of Lactantius’s encyclopaedia...

    £2750

  16. CHRYSOSTOM, John.

    [Opera] Que in secondo volumine continentur...

    [Venice, Bernardino Stagnino and Gregorio...

    The second volume of the first collected...

    £2500

  17. [THOMAS À KEMPIS.]

    Messer Giovanni Gerson. Utile & divota...

    Florence, Piero Pacini da Pescia, 16 April...

    Scarce edition of an anonymous Italian...

    £4000

  18. ZENO of Verona, Saint

    In presenti opusculo infrascripta continentur. ...

    Venice, Giacomo Penzio for Benedetto Fontana,...

    Rare first edition of the sermons of Zeno...

    £1500

  19. [CARTHUSIANS. GUIGO DE CASTRO, compiler.]

    Repertorium statutoru[m] ordinis cartusiensis...

    Basel, Johann Amerbach, 1510.

    First printed edition of the Statutes of...

    £7500

  20. AUGUSTINE, Pseudo-, et al. 

    Opusculum multarum bonaru[m] rerum refertum,...

    Venice, Pietro Quarengi, 6 March 1512. 

    Uncommon edition of various devotional...

    £750