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Illustrated laminated wrappers, 4to, 214 pp, colour plates, ills. 93 lots. Contents: Bibles - Lots 1-7; Early Printing - Lots 8-36; Greek Printing - Lots 37-51; Colour-plate Books - Lots 52-93. From the introduction: "An early member of the Roxburghe Club was the distinguished antiquary, M.P. for Ludlow and heir to a Shropshire ironworks fortune, Beriah Botfield.His taste in book collecting reflected to a large extent that of the third Duke of Roxburghe (1740-1804) himself, as well as that of his most famous rival, the 2nd Earl Spencer, particularly for incunabula, Caxton imprints, first editions of the Greek and Latin classics, Bibles and printing on vellum. To those bibliophile conventions Botfield added a more modern passion for natural-history and colour-plate books. He agreed with most of his Roxburghe contemporaries by emphasizing fine over original condition and by preferring the gold-tooled morocco of René Simier, Bozerian jeune, Roger Payne and Charles Lewis to the blind-stamped calf bindings of the medieval shops.Some of the magnificent travel and natural-history books with coloured plates were also supplied by Payne & Foss, such as association copies from the Duchesse de Berry's library of Redouté's great multi-volume works on lilies and roses, bound for the artist's patron in armorial red morocco gilt by Doll and Simier respectively (each set estimated at £120,000-160,000). Others were no doubt purchased by Botfield direct from the publishers, such as the immaculate 6-volume set of David Roberts's Holy Land, Egypt and Nubia, bound in gold-tooled purple morocco by A. Tarrant (estimate £70,000-90,000). Only two of Botfield's books in the sale, both illustrated with woodcuts, are represented by vellum copies: the Paris-MacCarthy-Hibbert copy of Le Rozier Historial de France, Paris: 1522, bound by Lewis and bought from Payne & Foss for 30 gns. (estimate £70,000-90,000); and Vigerius's Decachordum Christianum, Fano: 1507 (estimate £25,000-35,000). First editions of Latin classical texts to be auctioned include Apuleius (Cardinal Bessarion's copy), Celsus, Cornelius Nepos, Curtius Rufus, Gellius, Justinus, Lucan, Macrobius, Manilius, Plautus, Pliny, Seneca, Sidonius Apollinaris, Tacitus and Vaicrius Flaccus, from the presses of Sweynheym and Pannartz in Rome, the de Spira brothers and Jenson in Venice, Regiomontanus in Nuremberg, Ketelaer and De Leempt in Utrecht, and others." Neatly but unfortunately colour-coded by the previous owner, a bookseller, with five coloured tape bands around the spine.Some creasing to front wrapper, scribbled prices and notes to contents. Print-out of prices realized laid in. Seller Inventory # ABE-60298
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