Dictionarium

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:normal;"><span style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:11.5pt;"> 4to. ff. 381 (Title page and ff. 13-156 missing). Contemporary northern Italian dark brown goatskin over bevelled wooden boards, lacking clasps, fine brass cornerpieces with embossed fleurs-de-lis. Blind-tooled to a panel design, outer border with gilt interlacing curves, rosettes and leaves, second with blind-tooled strapwork and small fleurons, third with gilt interlacing ribbons, clover leaves, open floral and lotus tools, fourth with blind-tooled vine leaves and tendrils, center panel with gilt arms of Anne, Duchess of Brittany, semis of gilt rosettes and six fleurs-de-lis. Spine in four compartments separated by gilt single rule, gilt fleuron to each, head of spine and upper joint partly restored. Label and autograph of Thore Virgin to front pastedown and ep. Decorated initials. The handsome blind-tooled binding was made for a bookseller by the ‘primo legatore di S. Salvatore’ (fl. 1525-1555) in Bologna ca. 1520s.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:normal;"><span style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:11.5pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:normal;"><span style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:11.5pt;">The masterful gold-tooling, inspired by the Roman style of the 1540s-1550s, is a later addition. It was made by Vittorio Villa, an accomplished 19th-century Italian binder from Bologna who faked many very fine 'Apollo and Pegasus' or 'Canevari' bindings, 16th-century bookbindings with a blind stamped medaillion of Apollo and Pegasus on both covers. See also Bib# 7371497/Fr# 1473.2 in this collection for another fake binding by Villa.</span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://catalyst.library.jhu.edu/permalink/01JHU_INST/t3c16/alma991008672889707861" rel="nofollow">Click here to view the Johns Hopkins University catalog record.</a></span></span></p>