{"title":"Calligraphy","description":"\u003cp\u003eDecorative handwriting, lettering traditions, scripts, penmanship, and the art of beautiful writing.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"amphiareo-vespasiano-1","title":"AMPHIAREO, Vespasiano.","description":"\u003cp\u003e.A remarkably well-preserved copy, in an early working binding, of the rare second edition of this successful Italian writing manual. Vespasiano Amphiareo (1501-63) was a Franciscan from Ferrara, who taught calligraphy for decades; a Mac OS font was named after him in 2002, a tribute to his importance in the history of typography. The preface states that the work provided easy lettering for the speedy handwriting of both chancery scribes and merchants, and that the first ed. was so popular it quickly sold out, requiring a second. The manual includes recipes and instructions to write using  acqua di gomma , azurite, ground gold and cinnabar, as well as how to sharpen pens and produce an ink that will not get mould or rot in the heat. Each plate features several lines from different texts, surrounded by their alphabet, some being documents, others messages from Amphiareo himself. After the cursive and Mercantesca comes the  Bastarda , a sloped form of  cancelleresca , this term also having been used by Tagliente (1530) and Palatino (1544). However,  as [Amphiareo] claims to have been teaching writing in Venice for 30 years before the publication of his work, it is just conceivable that he was the first to apply to this form of  cancelleresca  a term which had already been employed to denote an informal form of gothic  (Morison, p.48). A page is devoted to abbreviations in cancelleresca, and several more to astoundingly floriated Gothic scripts and decorated initials, e.g., shaped like tree trunks, and letters inscribed within squares. This copy was used and cherished by Gerardo, Bartolomeo and Teodosio Frascarolo. The second and third were Gerardo s sons, and all are recorded in the 1630s in Tortona, Piedmont. Among the pen trials are discernible copies of documents or personal correspondence, one dated 1573, concerning Giorgio Frascarolo, as well as family property such as capon and a mare..\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"AMPHIAREO, Vespasiano.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868682592591,"sku":"L4356","price":7250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/DSC_8916.jpg?v=1781793473"},{"product_id":"quran","title":"QUR'AN.","description":"\u003cp\u003eA beautiful, finely decorated manuscript Qur’an, on ivory paper, in a very uncommon decorated binding with fore-edge flap. The use of muhaqqaq for the first, middle and last line of each text page, and the lingering presence of Eastern Kufic in the cartouches at head and foot, point to c.1500. Close decorative patterns were traced in manuscripts produced c.1500-1540s in late Timurid \/ early Safavid Herat, in present day Afghanistan, e.g., Cleveland Museum of Art 1924.746. The prevalence of gatherings of 8 ll. is also more frequent in Central Asian manuscripts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe interesting composite binding is an uncommon, skilled technique, of which Dr K. Scheper only records 5 known instances at Leiden UL and 1 at LC. Composite bindings are ‘intriguing’ and ‘complicated’, and ‘the technique itself is easily overlooked because the final result is not decidedly different from that of a typical well-made decorated full-leather binding’ (Scheper, p.256). Here the binding bears central gilt-tooled inlays in olive green goatskin, single gilt ruled at their juncture with the lighter brown goatskin of the board edges, both types of leather having been paired to the same thickness. The lighter leather at the board edges comes in fact from the turn-outs of the doublures, folded over to create contrasting colours (Scheper, pp.256-8, n.37). Similar doublures, with the same colour patterns and quadrilobed decoration, have been traced to Safavid Herat, c.third quarter of the C16 (Louvre, shelfmark AD 6262). The board decoration, heavily influenced by Ottoman models, is also compatible with the style of c.1600 Central Asia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA most interesting Qur’an, with unusual features.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"QUR'AN.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868695667023,"sku":"L4319","price":95000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/CF4E9408-88C3-44C7-937A-6FB69E91A3BB.webp?v=1781793457"},{"product_id":"perez-ignacio","title":"PEREZ, Ignacio.","description":"\u003cp\u003e.A remarkable, extra-illustrated copy of the first edition, the additional leaves from the second, of this important and rare Spanish calligraphic manual. The first 16 ll. comprise the text and the remainder a collection of elegant calligraphic plates illustrating the principal letter forms then current, such as Redonda, Bastarda (and both combined), Francesa, Grisa,  De Libris  and Antiquo. The autograph on the title may be that of the Spanish calligrapher Francisco Asensio y Mejorada (1725-94), who produced numerous engravings for calligraphic manuals, as well as working in the Real Biblioteca. .. . \u003cbr\u003e\n. \u003cbr\u003e\n..We know little of Ignacio Perez (1574-1609), except that he learnt from his father, Juan, also a calligrapher, and worked in Madrid as an examiner of master-calligraphers.  Arte de escrevir  was his great work. It begins with an introduction on the nature of calligraphy, the proportion and shape of the letters, techniques for preparing and holding the pen, paper and ink. A table at the end summarises the main multiplications required for the proportion of letters and Roman numbers, and (from the second ed.) a table providing basic rules for the multiplication of  reales  and  maravedis . The various woodcut tables, often signed and\/or dated, reproduce dozens of texts exemplifying the most common handwriting styles, especially variations on Bastarda,  in which lies his great merit, after the style of Francisco Lucas  (Cotarelo, II, p.165): e.g., Bastardilla, Redonda y Bastarda, as well French letter, Redondilla Peque‚àö¬±a Asentada, Antigua Romanilla, Lettera Grifa, Letra Latina, etc., the last few being printed white on black. A charming writing manual, uniquely extra-illustrated, and one of the earliest produced in Spain... . \u003cbr\u003e\n. \u003cbr\u003e\n..This copy includes all the plates attributed to the first ed. by Cotarelo y Mori. However, some are repeated, on different paper and with variations in page number and different woodcut borders. . \u003cbr\u003e\n. \u003cbr\u003e\n.Only BNE, Harvard, BL and Newberry copies recorded.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"PEREZ, Ignacio.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868705235279,"sku":"L4490","price":29500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/IMG_4695.jpg?v=1781793436"},{"product_id":"qur-an-2","title":"QUR'AN.","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn exquisitely decorated ms Qur‚Äôan produced in the second to third quarter of the C17, likely in Istanbul. The initial charming illumination, as well as the decorated prostration signs, are reminiscent of floral designs used in Istanbul, at the Imperial Palace school: e.g., by an unknown illuminator of Suleyman Efendi Üsk√ºd√¢r√Æ (Derman, ‚ÄòNinety-Nine‚Äô, n.32, 1673), and by H√¢fiz Osman‚Äôs (1642-98) illuminators Kubur Hasan √áelebi (Derman, ‚ÄòNinety-Nine‚Äô, n.39, 1682) and Hasan bin Mustafa (Derman, ‚ÄòLetters of Gold‚Äô, n.15, 1682, and n.16, 1684).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n \u003cp\u003e‚ÄòBefore printing [‚Ķ], [in Ottoman Turkey] there existed a class of scribes who earned their living by making copies of the Qur‚Äôan [‚Ķ]. People relied on manuscripts [for personal devotion], acquiring copies by illustrious calligraphers or minor scribes, depending on their means‚Äô (Derman, ‚ÄòNinety-Nine‚Äô, p.16). Especially under Mehmed IV (1648-87), many of the great calligraphers worked for the Imperial administration, with ‚Äòthe important manuscripts kept there [being] used as models by calligraphers‚Äô (Bayani, p.80), and they trained dozens of pupils who continued the tradition. Our anonymous scribe may not have been a native speaker of Arabic, and was likely a student of calligraphy or a non-professional calligrapher working in the Imperial administration, as shown by the odd incorrect letter (e.g., an initial letter written in the medial form after an ‚Äòalif‚Äô), the handful of incorrect surah titles where the text begins with identical or similar wording (e.g., surat ash-shu‚Äôara titled surat al-qasas), and space forgotten for the verse marker in the third line of surat al-baqara. The 10 randomly supplied leaves, attached to the stub of the original ones, were likely rewritten to revise mistakes in the sacred text ‚Äì indeed, ‚Äòif a mistake was found that could not be corrected, the page would be removed and replaced. Such removed pages are called ‚Äúmuhrec sahife‚Äù‚Äô (Derman, ‚ÄòNinety-Nine‚Äô, p.17). Two pages display a more expanded naskh, with more elongated letters, as if the scribe had decided to practice a different style, returning to the original, more compressed naskh soon afterwards. The theory that the scribe was an official using the imperial administration‚Äôs paper stock is also supported by the very rare watermark ‚Äì three interlaced crescents or ‚Äòsickles‚Äô ‚Äì which is European, recorded by Velkov-Andreev on an Ottoman document dated 1646.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe added colophon attributes this ms to the renowned scribe Hasan Üsk√ºd√¢r√Æ (d.1614-15). Whoever our scribe may be, he was obviously influenced by the school of Üsk√ºd√¢r√Æ ‚Äì ‚Äòresponsible for the transmission of the definitive form of Ottoman naskh‚Äô (Bayani, p.66). Üsk√ºd√¢r√Æ taught Halid Erzurumi (d.1630-1) and Imam Mehmed Efendi (d.1642-3), who in turn trained all major Istanbul scribes active in the second half of the C17. Islamic mss, recorded as early as the C12, attribute copies to famous or earlier calligraphers ‚Äì though ‚Äòit cannot be ruled out that the authors of similar notes acted in good faith in a number of cases‚Äô (Deroche, p.91).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA charming Qur‚Äôan, with interesting bibliographical features for the study of Islamicate manuscript production.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"QUR'AN.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868707922255,"sku":"L4476","price":59000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/Quran-L4476-4.jpg?v=1781793425"},{"product_id":"cartwright-thomas-with-hester-john-trans-fioravanti-leonardo-with-levens-peter-and-langham-william","title":"CARTWRIGHT, Thomas.; with [HESTER, John, trans.; FIORAVANTI, Leonardo.]; with LEVENS, Peter.; and [LANGHAM, William.]","description":"\u003cp\u003eA very rare survival – a sammelband of four C16 English medical works, three in the first edition. Rebound in the early C18, most probably in Scotland, the book was still being used as a reference work by a series of (likely related) C18 physicians: Thomas, John, and James Milne. Although we have not traced their names in any of the four Scottish universities’ early student registers – which include variations such as Mille, Mill, Mylne, or Millne – James signed himself at Brora, on the north coast, the nearest university being Aberdeen. Several annotations include Scottish spelling, e.g., ‘marcat’ for market. In 1712-14, Thomas appears to have had this sammelband bound or rebound, with some works in already incomplete copies, and added blanks for annotations. It is also possible that he deliberately discarded (or disposed of) those parts of works which were not relevant to study or practice. He created a table of contents for Cartwright’s work, and filled several blanks with recipes drawn from books of secrets: to drain a swollen leg, treat the gut, etc. Most interesting is the section on ‘how to become invisible’, using heliotropium and a laurel leaf enclosed in a wolf’s tooth, possibly ultimately drawn from Copeland’s ‘Booke of Secrets of Albertus Magnus’ (1561), which also includes a recipe requiring the ‘matrix of a young frog’. Others include remedies for women who cannot conceive, against St Anthony’s fire (shingles), dropsy, how to help a woman deliver a still-born baby, against the falling sickness, jaundice, falling hair, and others. He was also probably using German sources, as he mentions the German name of spondilium and borrows the convention of ticking U to differentiate it from cursive N, typical of German fraktur handwriting. Thomas’ hand alternates with that of James Milne, who copied other remedies. They both copied two Scottish poems or songs, which we have not traced: ‘I did me to the marcat \/ To see what I could spy…’ and ‘The bee is wowndorous small \/ and naughtie in esteeme’, both with variations. At rear is a prayer for a family, from A. Dent’s ‘Plain Man’s Pathway to Heaven’. Thomas also wrote of himself: ‘Thomas Millne is a Whigg’, then crossed-out.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e‘A hospitall of the diseased’ is attributed to Thomas Cartwright (1535-1603), one of the leading Puritan preachers and master of Warwick’s Lord Leycester hospital from 1585. The preface, signed T.C., urges sick people to ‘delay no time, but with a final price buy a gem worth gold (this book, I mean)’, which provides recipes ‘as in a cunning Apothecary’s shop’.  This pocket manual is made of dozens of short sections, each devoted to a remedy: e.g., against the plague, ague, back pain, burns caused by gunpowder, scalding, eye conditions, for clearing the voice, toothache, etc. The (here fragmentary) ‘Short discours […] uppon chirurgerie’ is comprises ‘translations of extracts from several different works of the Bolognese physician Fioravanti, the first part (leaves 1-14) being chapters 1-23 (with some omissions) of his ‘Discorsi sopra la chirugia’, […] an appendix to his edition of the ‘Compendio di tutta la cirugia’ by P. and L. Rostini. The remainder was drawn from others of Fioravanti’s works, including ‘Tesoro della vita humana, and Capricci medicinali’ (Durling). It touches on a great variety of subjects, e.g., remedies for all captains and soldiers that travel either by water or by land’ for insomnia, jaundice, palsy, dropsy, and the measures to be observed by those who enter into any bath or drink water from a bath. The translator, John Hester (d.1593) contributed to the circulation of Paracelsian medicine in England. ‘A right profitable booke’ was written by Peter Levens (1552-87), a lexicographer trained at Oxford, and a ‘student of Phisicke and Surgery’. Structured as a book of secrets, it comprises dozens of short recipes for remedies head-to-foot, e.g., against headache, nose-bleeding, chipping of the lips, bleeding gums, for blood in urine, incontinence, sweeling of the knees, etc. ‘The garden of health’ (here fragmentary), by the obscure William Langham, is an alphabetic dictionary of the most important common medical herbs and plants, with their virtues, and with recipes and quantities to be used according to the ailment. They include grass, gratiola, housleek, horstail, and horsemint – all very interestingly identified by their English name. A wonderful, quite unique sammelband.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CARTWRIGHT, Thomas.; with [HESTER, John, trans.; FIORAVANTI, Leonardo.]; with LEVENS, Peter.; and [LANGHAM, William.]","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868708708687,"sku":"L4502","price":29500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/wholebook_6d38e696-dc91-4249-9868-efd3bcc719ff.png?v=1781793422"},{"product_id":"cresci-giovanni-francesco","title":"CRESCI, Giovanni Francesco.","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne of the most superb, perhaps the finest, of the Italian writing manuals  (Osley, p.72). This is its second edition, all early eds surviving in less than a dozen copies. At least two undated issues of the second edition are recorded, priority not established. This copy is without the 1571 papal privilege, confirming its 1570 printing date. Giovanni Francesco Cresci (fl. 2..nd.. half of the C16) was appointed papal scribe in the Vatican Library in the 1550s, which he left in 1570. In 1560, he published his first calligraphic manual,  Il Perfetto Scrittore , first printed in 1570, being his second. His fame rested on popularising a revised style of cancelleresca, developing from Palatino s. The woodblocks were cut by the Spaniard Francesco Aureri da Crema. The final alphabet was engraved on copperplates, and it is  apparently the first example of copperplate engraving in an Italian writing book  (Osley, p.78). \u003cbr\u003e\n Part I comprises dozens of samples (texts, alphabets, and abbreviations) of the most important handwriting style and an introduction to good teaching methods for calligraphy. Among the scripts, each prefaced by a short introduction, are the cancelleresca, tonda, ecclesiastica (used for missals, antiphonaries, etc.), bollatica (used solely by Apostolic Scribes), mercantile bastarda (for letters and account books), and the lettera francese (for legal documents). His handwriting manuals were immediately popular throughout Europe, hence their scarcity.  From the late C16 onwards, Cresci s cancelleresca formatella tended to be used in England instead of formal Palatinian Italic [...] identified as  Roman . [...] [It] performed a very similar cultural function to that performed by Palatinian italic: the association with women, children, and scholars remained in place' (Gibson, pp.43-5). Part II is devoted to Roman and decorated initials, with an initial introduction on the subject   23 cut white-on-black, 23 cut white-on-grey, and 23 engraved. The difference in inking between the black-on-white and grey-on-white letters of Part II was the result of careful thinking in terms of perception and production. Cresci was aware that the white-on-black letters were  vulnerable to the excess inking of the day  and was perhaps aware that  the white-on-black alphabet, with its dazzling contrasts, interfered with perception  (Anderson, p.xxi). The engraved letter B was pricked with a needle early on, likely by an early owner transferring it onto fabric for embroidery or onto card for painting. A very attractive work.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CRESCI, Giovanni Francesco.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868708741455,"sku":"L4550","price":5250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/23-cresci-1.jpg?v=1781793422"},{"product_id":"f_r_z_b_d_-muhammad-ibn-ya_q__b","title":"FĪRŪZĀBĀDĪ, Muhammad ibn Yaʻqūb","description":"\u003cp\u003eA beautifully-preserved, finely decorated ms copy of Fīrūzābādī’s ground-breaking dictionary of the Arabic language. Muhammad ibn Yaʻqūb Fīrūzābādī (1329-1414) was a Persian Muslim polymath, and a major linguist. He trained in Islamic law, grammar, and the Qur’an, and travelled widely from Shiraz to Baghdad, Damascus, Jerusalem, Mecca, India, and Yemen. Meaning ‘The Surrounding Ocean’, ‘al-Qamus al-muhit’  was based on hundreds of sources, e.g., Ibn Sida’s ‘al-Mukham’ (458AH \/ 1065AD). Unlike today’s dictionaries, it was organized in ‘rhyme arrangement’, ordering words ‘first according to their final radical, […] then according to their first and intermediate radicals’ (Dictionnaires, p.2441). Through ‘brevity combined with copiousness and clarity, clear indication of vowelling, and the use of abbreviations’ (Haywood, p.88) – all much favoured by students – Fīrūzābādī managed to reach 60,000 entries whilst retaining compactness through a focus on lemmas only, without the traditional illustrative examples from the hadith or the Qur’an. ‘Qamus’ inspired numerous European dictionary of Arabic, including Lane’s ‘Lexicon’, still in use today, and his abbreviation ‘j’ for ‘jam’a’ (plural) is also still current. The marginal notes include references to important medieval grammarians such as Iraqi Ibn Duraīd.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n \u003cp\u003eDated 1650 in the colophon, the ms was copied by ‘Abd Allah bin Hussein ‘Abd al-Rahman on high-quality paper, with very spacious chainlines (here approx. 45mm), frequent in the C17-C18 and probably produced in India (Déroche, p.55). The browning on the first recto and last verso suggests an original binding with leather doublures (see Scheper, p.39), later substituted by the present, very handsome Turkish rūmī-patterned yekşah binding c1800. The GFL countermark on the endpapers is also found on paper with three crescents – a watermark traditionally intended for the Middle Eastern market – on a ms dated 1800-60 (Nat. Lib. Portugal MS F.C.R. 231). The decorated fore-edges, here finely executed in gold, are infrequent in Islamic mss; Scheper only found six examples in the Leiden UL collections (Scheper, p.261). A very fine ms awaiting further study.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eProvenance: Dr Ludwig Strecker – Kat. des Gutenberg-Mus., Mainz, 1959, n.3.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"FĪRŪZĀBĀDĪ, Muhammad ibn Yaʻqūb","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868713296207,"sku":"L4757","price":37500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/Firazubadi-L4757-1.jpg?v=1781793388"},{"product_id":"mustafa-ibn-abd-al-rahman","title":"MUSTAFA IBN ABD AL-RAHMAN.","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe genre of ‚Äòadvice literature‚Äô was popular not only in the 16th century Islamic world, but at the same time in Western Europe, giving readers recommendations on how to be a good ruler, minister, or Muslim\/Christian. The author of this work identifies it as a translation of the Pand-nama of Khwaja ‚ÄòAbdullah al-Ansari,‚Äô the Afghan polymath of the 11th century. The text also includes a second text entitled the Tyhfat al-Wuzara, for which no author is given. The popularity of the genre meant that such texts were common, often associated with the great authorities of the past to lend them weight. The text is given the title Tuhfat al-Salatin (a Gift for Sultans) and signed by Mustafa ibn Abd al-Rahman, who also identifies himself as the translator ‚Äì and presumably ‚Äì editor. This would make this an autograph copy of unusual quality, doubtless intended for presentation. Indeed, the lengthy dedication to Sultan Murad III (r. 1574-95), whose name appears highlighted in gold throughout, may indicate that this manuscript was a gift for a sultan in more than name only. A further manuscript signed by the same scribe, also written in a strong nasta‚Äôliq, was sold to Sotheby‚Äôs London, 24 April 2013, lot 28.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe quality of the calligraphy throughout this manuscript is exceptional, more typical of single-page calligraphic compositions than full manuscripts. The effect is enhanced with the use of dyed paper, gold speckling, and extensive chrysography, as well as beautifully gilt-tooled binding. Particularly distinctive is the broad qalam used throughout this manuscript, giving rise to a more muscular script that distinguishes it from Safavid manuscripts. Other high-quality Ottoman manuscripts in nasta‚Äôliq include a copy of al-durra al-yatima fi al-mada‚Äôih al-karima which sold in at Christie‚Äôs, 26 April 2018, lot 193, and another anthology which sold 12 October 2004, lot 198. That manuscript also had 10 lines of nasta‚Äôliq to the page, as well as erased seal impressions suggesting it had been in the royal library. This would strengthen the suggestion that this manuscript was of a quality to be presented to the sultan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis manuscript was part of the collection of Constantino del Franco (1899-1968), a renowned bibliophile living in the South of Italy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MUSTAFA IBN ABD AL-RAHMAN.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868724306255,"sku":"L4856","price":36000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/collections\/Screenshot_2026-06-13_at_4.42.55_PM.png?v=1781365461","url":"https:\/\/sokol-books-ltd.myshopify.com\/collections\/calligraphy.oembed","provider":"Sokol Books Ltd","version":"1.0","type":"link"}