The 1650 press (5 Ergebnisse)

Zustand: New.

Zustand: As New. Unread book in perfect condition.

Zustand: New.

Zustand: Good. [12], 140, 161-208, 219-242, [20] p. : port. ; 2°. Nicholas Culpeper's translation and reworking (with many additions) of the "Pharmacopoeia Londinensis". Frontis. portrait ([A]1v) of the author signed: Cross sculpsit. Includes indexes. With a final advertisement leaf. Variant 1: final leaf is blank. Two lines of advertisement below "FINIS" on 3S1v. Variant 2: no advertisement text on 3S1v. It is likely but not certain that the two variants are related. Signatures: [A] B-2R 2X-3S . Wing, C7541. …

Second and expanded edition of the most famous work by the Dutch polymath and proto-feminist Anna Maria van Schurman, first published in 1648. Comprising over 70 letters in Latin, Greek, Hebrew and French, a striking self-portrait, and a reprint of her treatise on the rights of women to education, Opuscula definitively affirmed Van Schurman's authoritative standing in the Republic of Letters. Anna Maria van Schurman (1607-1678) was "regarded throughout the 17th century as the most learned woman not only of the Netherlands but also of Europe. She was 'the Star of Utrecht', 'the Tenth Muse', 'a miracle of her sex'. As the first woman to attend non-officially a university, she was also the first to advocate, boldly, that women should be admitted into universities. A brilliant linguist, she mastered at least 14 languages and was the first Dutch woman to seek publication of her correspondence. Her letters in several languages to the intellectual men and women of her time reveal the breadth of her interests in theology, philosophy, medicine, education, literature, painting, sculpture, embroidery, and instrumental music" (Oxford Bibliographies entry). Notable among her correspondents are Antoinette Bourignon, René Descartes, Pierre Gassendi, Bathsua Makin, and André Rivet, as well as royal figures like Queen Christina of Sweden. She also served as an academic mentor to Princess Elizabeth of the Palatinate. In later life, Van Schurman joined the Labadist religious community, for whom she composed several devotional works. Appearing at the height of Van Schurman's fame, Opuscula was instrumental in structuring her positive identity in the male-dominated sphere of artists and authors. It also established her reputation as a humanist polyglot, proficient in classical and modern languages, including Arabic and Syriac (see p. 10). The book was published by the most prestigious contemporary publisher in Leiden, and it opens with an iconic engraved self-portrait of the author, with a Latin inscription below: "Cernitis hic picta nostros in imagine vultus: si negas ars formam, gratia vestra dabit", meaning "See my features portrayed in this image; if art denies beauty, then your favour will grant it". Van Schurman had studied under the famous engraver Magdalena van de Passe and was a talented artist; here, she adopted the format of the oval with inscription, which was typical of male portraits. In addition to her Latin essays Dissertatio and De vitae termino, a selection of her letters on theological, philological, and philosophical subjects, and her poems, a significant portion of the volume is dedicated to acquaintances' praise of her abilities: "In these verses, frequent comparisons are made not only with the goddess Minerva but also with Sappho Van Schurman was labelled a 'virago', or a woman who engages in violent battle. One verse even compares her to the ancient Amazons Adolph Vorstius calls her a heroine of noble name and uncommon courage" (Peacock, pp. 121-1). This second edition was expanded with an additional laudatory poem by Van Schurman's friend the "swan" Utricia Ogle, accomplished singer and musician (p. 369), and a final letter of appreciation from Van Schurman to the editor, the theology professor Heinrich Spanheim the Elder. The book enjoyed an enormous popularity, with a third edition appearing in 1652, and subsequent editions in 1672 and 1700. In 1658 and 1678, Opuscula was included in the Index for reasons today unknown. Scholars suggest that the ban might have helped the book's popularity even more (see Beek, p. 272). This copy has contemporary Dutch provenance, with the manuscript ownership inscription dated 1655 of Johan van Sijpesteijn on the title page verso. This was possibly the soldier Jan van Sijpesteijn (1633-1669), a member of the noble van Sijpesteijn family of Amsterdam. The book was later in the library of the Leigh family of West Hall, with its 18th-century armorial bookplate engraved by Bickham the Younger (c.1706-1771) to the front pastedown; the owner was possibly Egerton Leigh (1702-1760), Anglican clergyman, landowner, and antiquary. This copy was latterly in the collection of Robert J. Hayhurst (1929-2016), noted Lancashire bibliophile and chemist. Pieta van Beek, "Alpha Virginum, Anna Maria van Schurman (1607-1678)", in Women Writing Latin: Early Modern Women Writing Latin, 2013; Bo Karen Lee & Anne Larsen, "Anna Maria van Schurman", in Oxford Bibliographies: Renaissance and Reformation; Martha Moffitt Peacock, Heroines, Harpies, and Housewives: Imaging Women of Consequence in the Dutch Golden Age, 2020. Small octavo (155 x 94 mm). Title page printed in red and black, with woodcut printer's device, woodcut floriated initials and headpieces. Contemporary vellum, yapp edges, edges sprinkled blue. Vellum soiled and gently rubbed, faint toning to head of title page, contents generally clean and fresh. A very good, crisp copy, notably square. …