[Rarebooks] FS: A beautiful copy of St. Thomas Aquinas' "Summa Theologiae Pars Secunda..." Venice: L. Wild. 1479

[Kenneth Karmiole]

(INCUNABULA) Aquinas, St. Thomas. SUMMA THEOLOGIAE PARS SECUNDA. SECUNDA PARS. (Venice: Leonardus Wild. 1479). Folio. ff.332, complete with the final blank. Double column. Capital guide letters filled in blue and red throughout. The first leaf of text with a very fine large painted capital "P" in gold, green, black and red, with a portrait of Aquinas in the middle and with marginal flourishes in the same colors. At the bottom margin of this leaf is a painted circular shield in green and blue with the letters "C" and "H" in gold. The identity of  this original owner has not been found. Some old faded water staining at inner margin in gatherings "o" and "p". This copy has a great deal of contemporary marginal annotations in brown ink, some a bit faded. Finely bound in cont. blind tooled paneled calf, with some pieces of the original brass, but lacking the clasps. Original paper spine label. The binding has been refurbished. The end sheets front and back are from a vellum legal document, the front leaf contains a date of 1478.  A very attractive copy.  Housed in a fine morocco slipcase, tooled in imitation of the binding.                          
                                                                                                                                                                                   $35,000.00 (trade discount allowed)The greatest work of Saint Thomas Aquinas, the "Summa" was divided into 4 printed volumes, Parts I, II, and III, Part II in two separate parts. The printing history of the 4 volumes starts with Part II, the second part. This is the large section on moral philosophy, apparently the most in demand by the clergy, and was the single volume most reprinted in the 15th. century.  It appeared alone, printed in Strassburg by Mentelin in 1463. The next to be printed was Part I by Zel in Cologne, in 1469. Volume II, the first part, was next printed in Mainz by Schoeffer in 1471. The final separate part, Part III, was printed in Basel by Wenssler, circa 1474. The complete set was not printed together until 1485 by Wenssler in Basel.
The printer of our 1479 edition Leonardus Wild was active in Venice 1478-1481, and printed few books; the BMC lists 8 works.
Goff T215; HC 1463; ISTC it0002150000; BMC V264.

Kenneth Karmiole, Bookseller, Inc.
1239A Third Street Promenade
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310-451-4342
kkarmiole at yahoo.com