[Rarebooks] FS: Conradus de Halberstadt's massive "Concordantiae Bibliorum" ca. 1479-81

[Kenneth Karmiole]

(INCUNABULA) Conradus De Halberstadt [or, Conradus De Alemania (fl. 1342-1362)]. CONCORDANTIAE BIBLIORUM. (Reutlingen: Michel Greyff) No date (circa 1479-1481, "not after  1481"). Lg. thick folio (16-1/4" tall, 4-1/4" thick).  ff. 417 (of 418), lacking the final blank, but with the integral blank leaf (f.147) present. Triple column text. Finely rubricated throughout with red capital strokes and headers, paragraph marks in alternating red and blue. Some printed guide letters, 22 6-line or 7-line lombard initials in red and blue, including a prefatory initial with long descender, and one 4-line initial in blue. Period calf over wooden boards, neatly rebacked to style, remnants of the brass fore-edge clasps. A number of deerskin index tabs preserved. Covers worn and abraded. 4 leaves in gathering "V" with small brown stain. Old library blindstamp to first and penultimate leaf, of the General Theological Seminary Library & shelf number at top of f.I. This was one of the rare books deaccessioned by the GTS, and sold at Christie's Oct.1,1980 sale, "The Property of the General Theological Library." Small library bookplate as well as the bookplate of Geogius Kloss (1787-1854), a great collector of early printed books.    $15,000.00 (trade discount allowed)
The rare second edition of the first printed Bible Concordance (Strassburg: Mentelin. Not after 1474), virtually a line for line reprint of the first edition. It is beautifully printed on thick paper stock, and weighs 16 pounds. Michel Greyff was the first printer in Reutlingen, beginning around 1476-1478.  Most of his early books are undated.  In the case of this concordance, a copy in Leipzig is dated 1481 by the rubricator.  ISTC (IC 850000) records 4 copies in America (L.C.; Free Library of Philadelphia; Huntington; and Univ. of Kansas). No new copy has been recorded since the publication of Goff's THIRD CENSUS in 1964. Goff C850; BMC II, 577; Hain 5630; Polain (B) 1148.
Kenneth Karmiole, Bookseller, Inc.
1239A Third Street Promenade
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310-451-4342
kkarmiole at yahoo.com