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THE EARLIEST LIBRARY CATALOGUE ARRANGED BY SUBJECTS. Bibliothecae Cordesianae catalogus. Cum indice titulorum.
by [NAUDÉ, Gabriel]; CORDES, Jean de
- Used
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Milan, Italy
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About This Item
THE EARLIEST PRIVATE-LIBRARY CATALOGUE ARRANGED BY SUBJECTS
FIRST EDITION. 8vo (ca. 19,5x15,5 cm), [20], 542 pp., Roman and Italic letter. Woodcut initials, large printers device on t-p and Cordes's full-page engraved portrait to verso of a2. Generally, a very pleasant copy, clean and crisp. Very occasional mild waterstaining at blank margins, stronger damp stains to the final 50 leaves. Upper blank corners of the 3 last leaves restored. Bound in contemporary semi-limp vellum, early ms. title to spine. A near-fine, wide-margined and complete copy of an extremely rare and iconic work, preserved in its original binding.
The present work "did much to establish the use of catalogues of private libraries as reference works" (Taylor, p. 109; see also p. 238). The Bibliothecae Cordesianae catalogus is perhaps one the earliest major library catalogues to appear in print and surely the first printed catalogue of a French private library arranged by subject. For such reason, it is of greatest relevance for the history of bibliography and book collections. The library of Canon Jean de Cordes (1570-1642) was catalogued by scholar Gabriel Naudé (1600-1653), who was later librarian to Cardinal Jules Mazarin. At the death of the book collector, the library was offered to Cardinal Richelieu, who himself died in December of the same year before the purchase could be finalised. Then Mazarin purchased the over 8000 printed books in the de Cordes library, which became one of the founding collections of the Bibliothèque Mazarine, the Cardinal's famous private library. Colbert acquired the manuscripts. The present catalogue describes 8,234 items and is preceded by an eulogy of de Cordes by Naudé. The intriguing portrait of the collector, which is often missing (see, for instance, the Macclesfield sale, Part Twelve, lot 4417, 10/2/2008; Alde, lot 94, 30 Sept 2016), but here is present and in excellent condition, was engraved by Pierre Daret after Daniel Dumonstier. Bernard Breslauer and Roland Folter stated that the Bibliotheca Cordesiana catalogue is "the earliest catalogue of a private library which is strictly arranged according to subjects. Although its immediate purpose was the sale of the library after the owner's death, as with so many 'inventory catalogues', for the following decades it was used as a model for forming a private library. Its classification system remained the leading one throughout the seventeenth century". Such system served as a lasting model for bibliographers and librarians and helped to transform library catalogues into useful and sought-after bibliographic references. Except for the final negligible dampstaining, the present copy is comparable only to the Breslauer copy sold at Christie's in 2005, which as well included the portrait and was bound in contemporary limp vellum.
North, 1; Blogie, II, 1; Bléchet, p. 57; Polard & Ehrman, 200; Taylor, p. 238; Breslauer & Folter, 53; Bibliotheca Bibliographica Breslaueriana, II, 392; Dibdin, Bibliomania, 1811, p. 105.
FIRST EDITION. 8vo (ca. 19,5x15,5 cm), [20], 542 pp., Roman and Italic letter. Woodcut initials, large printers device on t-p and Cordes's full-page engraved portrait to verso of a2. Generally, a very pleasant copy, clean and crisp. Very occasional mild waterstaining at blank margins, stronger damp stains to the final 50 leaves. Upper blank corners of the 3 last leaves restored. Bound in contemporary semi-limp vellum, early ms. title to spine. A near-fine, wide-margined and complete copy of an extremely rare and iconic work, preserved in its original binding.
The present work "did much to establish the use of catalogues of private libraries as reference works" (Taylor, p. 109; see also p. 238). The Bibliothecae Cordesianae catalogus is perhaps one the earliest major library catalogues to appear in print and surely the first printed catalogue of a French private library arranged by subject. For such reason, it is of greatest relevance for the history of bibliography and book collections. The library of Canon Jean de Cordes (1570-1642) was catalogued by scholar Gabriel Naudé (1600-1653), who was later librarian to Cardinal Jules Mazarin. At the death of the book collector, the library was offered to Cardinal Richelieu, who himself died in December of the same year before the purchase could be finalised. Then Mazarin purchased the over 8000 printed books in the de Cordes library, which became one of the founding collections of the Bibliothèque Mazarine, the Cardinal's famous private library. Colbert acquired the manuscripts. The present catalogue describes 8,234 items and is preceded by an eulogy of de Cordes by Naudé. The intriguing portrait of the collector, which is often missing (see, for instance, the Macclesfield sale, Part Twelve, lot 4417, 10/2/2008; Alde, lot 94, 30 Sept 2016), but here is present and in excellent condition, was engraved by Pierre Daret after Daniel Dumonstier. Bernard Breslauer and Roland Folter stated that the Bibliotheca Cordesiana catalogue is "the earliest catalogue of a private library which is strictly arranged according to subjects. Although its immediate purpose was the sale of the library after the owner's death, as with so many 'inventory catalogues', for the following decades it was used as a model for forming a private library. Its classification system remained the leading one throughout the seventeenth century". Such system served as a lasting model for bibliographers and librarians and helped to transform library catalogues into useful and sought-after bibliographic references. Except for the final negligible dampstaining, the present copy is comparable only to the Breslauer copy sold at Christie's in 2005, which as well included the portrait and was bound in contemporary limp vellum.
North, 1; Blogie, II, 1; Bléchet, p. 57; Polard & Ehrman, 200; Taylor, p. 238; Breslauer & Folter, 53; Bibliotheca Bibliographica Breslaueriana, II, 392; Dibdin, Bibliomania, 1811, p. 105.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Orsi Libri ALAI, ILAB
(IT)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 46
- Title
- THE EARLIEST LIBRARY CATALOGUE ARRANGED BY SUBJECTS. Bibliothecae Cordesianae catalogus. Cum indice titulorum.
- Author
- [NAUDÉ, Gabriel]; CORDES, Jean de
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- Antonius Vitray
- Place of Publication
- Paris
- Date Published
- 1643
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Bookseller catalogs
- https://orsilibri.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/1500-1650.pdf;
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About the Seller
Orsi Libri ALAI, ILAB
Biblio member since 2021
Milan
About Orsi Libri ALAI, ILAB
Antiquarian bookseller studio and cabinet of curiosities. We are specialists in early printed books, first editions, popular prints and decorated papers; Latin America, bibliography, English, French and Spanish books. Orsi Libri is member of ALAI and ILAB.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
- Verso
- The page bound on the left side of a book, opposite to the recto page.
- Vellum
- Vellum is a sheet of specialty prepared skin of lamb, calf, or goat kid used for binding a book or for printing and writing. ...
- Crisp
- A term often used to indicate a book's new-like condition. Indicates that the hinges are not loosened. A book described as crisp...
- Device
- Especially for older books, a printer's device refers to an identifying mark, also sometimes called a printer's mark, on the...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
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