Johannes de Sacro Bosco; Georg Peuerbach, 23 October 1499

JOHANNES DE SACRO BOSCO (fl. 1230). Sphaera mundi. With commentary by Cecco d’Ascoli, Franciscus Capuanus and Jacobus Faber Stapulensis – PEUERBACH, Georg (1423–1461). Theoricae novae planetarum. With commentary by Franciscus Capuanus. Venice: Simon Bevilaqua, 23 October 1499.

Incunable edition of Sacro Bosco’s and Peuerbach’s astronomical magna opera, with hand-colored woodcuts. Sphaera mundi was a fundamental text on astronomy that enjoyed wide circulation, being taught at schools across Europe and undergoing 35 editions in the incunable period alone. Peuerbach’s re-introduction of Ptolemy was similarly profound; “An influential university textbook, the Theoricae novae planetarum eventually replaced the widely used, anonymous 13th-century Theorica planetarum communis (the common “Theory of the Planets”). By the late 17th century, this textbook had appeared in more than 50 Latin and vernacular editions and commentaries, while introducing such students as Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543), Galileo Galilei (1564–1642), and Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) to an updated and simplified version of Ptolemy’s Almagest that gave a physical interpretation to its mathematical models” (Britannica).

The present copy is the longer of two variants including additional leaves of Capuanus and Peuerbach. H *14125; BMC V 524; BSB-Ink I-512, I-513; Bod-inc J-189; Essling 263; Klebs 874.26; Goff J-419; GW M14635; ISTC ij00419000.

Chancery folio (304 × 206mm). 150 leaves. Astronomical woodcuts throughout many hand-colored in red, green, yellow, brown and blue, hand-colored initials, some rubrication (occasional stains, mostly marginal, large splatter across r6, some leaves toned, short wormtrack in first 3 leaves catching a couple of letters on title-page verso). Early vellum, manuscript title on spine (darkened, some bowing last quire rehinged). Provenance: early marginalia including astronomical notation (occasionally trimmed) – Johannes Schulerus, Mühlhausen, Thuringia (1619–1676; inscription on title-page) – Owen Gingerich (bookplate).