AUCTION CATALOGUE. HEINSIUS' LIBRARY.
Bibliotheca heinsiana, sive catalogus librorum, quos, magno studio, & sumtu, dum viveret, collegit vir illustris Nicolaus Heinsius, Dan.fil.
Leiden, Johannes de Vivié, 1682. 2 parts in 1 vol. 12mo. (15, 6x9, 3 cm.) [ii], 374-286, (2 blank) pp. Calf. (rebacked with use of old spine). (First three leaves glued in, with remnants of glue in the gutter; loss of some letters on the title-page. A tear in the third leaf repaired; the final blank in the first part missing; a few stains; some marginal pencil scores; annotations in pencil and pen on last blanks; bottom of spine slightly damaged)
¶ Provenance: Gift from Dr. Hellwig to the "Augustiner Chorherren auf dem Sande zu Breslau", & Ex.bibliotheca of the historian Henri Obreen (1878-1937), who in turn gifted it to A. van Gool and his wife C. de Besser.
¶ FIRST EDITION, THE ACTUAL AUCTION CATALOGUE. This catalogue was published in three different forms. First, the actual auction catalogue, with information on the sale and the auctioneers on the title-page; this edition was followed by a presentation edition that appeared hors commerce. In the last, commercial edition, the publisher added Heinsius' portrait and an introduction to the sale catalogue. Our copy is the first edition, the actual auction catalogue, with the date of the auction, and a request for the bidders, on verso of the title page, to be punctually on time. Printed by Abraham Elzevier: Elzevir printer's mark 'Non solus' ("Le solitaire") on the title-page.
¶ According to Willems this was the finest private classical library ever formed up to that date. The auction proceeds amounted to a staggering 23.833 Guilders.
¶ Willems 925: "La bibliothèque de Heinsius contenait la plus riche collection de livres qu'un particulier eût formée jusqu'alors en Europe pour l'étude de l'antiquité classique. La vente produisit 23.833 florins, somme énorme pour le temps".
Antiquariaat Brinkman
Professional sellerBook number: 142751
€ 1800.00 [Appr.: US$ 1929.08 | £UK 1539 | JP¥ 300193]