ERASMUS OF ROTTERDAM:

Adagiorum Chiliades Des Erasmi Roterodami quatuor cvm dimidia, ex postrema avtoris recognitione. In hac aeditione, prioribus duobus Indicibus subiunctus est tertius nouus, quo cuncta in hoc opere sparsim tractata, lectori ob oculos quam clarissime sunt posita.

Basilae [Colophon]: Basileae per Hieronymvm Frobenivm, et Nicolaum Episcopium, Mense Martio, Anno M.D. XLVI. 1546. Large, thick follio, 335 x 218 mms., pp. [xliv], 1071 [1072 colophon], marginal annotation on recto of aa2, contemporary tawed pigskin, with a fleur-de-lys in centre panel, with binding date of 1549 just visible in central panel, the date is also just visible in a tiny trapezoid 42 mms. from the top front cover near the spine, a border in blind of what appears to be images of juveniles, and another outer border with images of saints, vellum working clasps, with brass endings, almost certainly a Wittenberg binding; binding soiled but would probably repay cleaning, ex-library, with library stamps (Leabharlann Lair, na mBraithre Criostai, which I think was/is a monastery in Maynooth, Ireland) on recto of front free end-paper and on last leaf, with small rectangular bookseller's ticket of J. Mozley Stark, 17 Garrick Street, Covent Garden on the top margin of the front paste-down end-paper. John Mozeley Stark was the son of the Edinburgh-born bookseller and antiquary, John Stark (1784–1867), who married the sister of the bookseller Henry Mozley. John Mozley Stark moved to London the 1860s and set up business at 17 Garrick Street, next to the then new premises (1864) of the Garrick Club. Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (1466 - 1536), known as Erasmus or Erasmus of Rotterdam began his collection of proverbs in the late 15th century, and the first edition, with only a few hundred entries, was published in 1500, his first publication. He continued to add to the collection for the rest of his life, and numerous posthumous editions followed (I have counted about 40, but there must be more than that). After he left Italy in 1508, he had expanded the collection considerably and now called his work Adagiorum Chiliades.

John Price Antiquarian BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 8976

Catalogue: Proverbs

Keywords: proverbs scholarship prose

KELLY (James):

A Complete Collection of Scotish Proverbs Explained and made Intelligible to the English Reader.

London: Printed for William and John Innys..., and John Osborn..., 1721. FIRST EDITION. 8v0, 191 x 117 mms., pp. [xiv], 400 [401 - 481 Index], later 18th century sheepskin, neatly rebacked, title in gilt on spine. A very good copy. Very little seems to be know about James Kelly, except that he was born and educated in Scotland. His work was preceded by that of David Ferguson (d. 1598), whose collection was published posthumously in 1641, as well as other collections by John Maxwell, James Carmichael, and John Ray, among others. Kelly's work was certainly the largest and most important collection of Scottish (or Scotish, or Scots) proverbs to exist when it was published, and it is still remarkable for his usefulness. Allan Ramsay published his own collection of Scots Proverbs in 1737, saying of Kelly's, that it was a "late large book of them [Scottish proverbs] full of errors, of a style neither Scots nor English."

John Price Antiquarian BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 9105

Catalogue: Proverbs

Keywords: proverbs language literature