Incunable leaf with elegantly penned initials. 1492.: The Works of Saint Ambrose.

A finely printed leaf from the Works of St. Ambrose

with elegantly penned decorative capitals.

Ambrose (born Aurelius Ambrosius; c. 340 – 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was the Bishop of Milan, a theologian, and one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century. Ambrose was serving as the Roman governor of Aemilia-Liguria in Milan when he was unexpectedly made Bishop of Milan in 374 by popular acclamation. His literary works have been acclaimed as masterpieces of Latin eloquence. Tradition credits Ambrose with promoting "antiphonal chant", a style of chanting in which one side of the choir responds alternately to the other. He is also remembered as the teacher who converted and baptised Augustine of Hippo. Western Christianity identified Ambrose as one of its four traditional Doctors of the Church. He is a patron saint of Milan and of beekeepers.

Recto:52 lines of Latin text printed on watermarked laid rag paper in four sizes of a gothic font. Page and chapter headings and printed reference notes in the margins. Three three-line hand penned initials in red and capitals touched in red.

Verso: As Recto with one penned initial.

Printer: Johannes de Amerbach. Basel, 1492.

Content: Chapter 12, beginning with the red initial 'I' reads:

Itaque cum habeat consortium regni, quid obstat quominus Spiritum sanctum intelligamus, a quo Esaias missus est? Neque enim Paulo possumus auctore dubitare, cuius sententiam in Actibus apostolorum Lucas evangelista sic probavit, ut scriberet.

(Therefore, since he has a share in the kingdom, what prevents us from understanding the Holy Spirit from whom Isaiah was sent? For we cannot doubt Paul's author, whose opinion the evangelist Luke has so proven in the Acts of the Apostles that he was writing.)

Condition: This leaf is in fine condition with sharp printing on quality rag paper with a clear watermark. The red decorations remain clear and vibrant. The leaf is unconditionally guaranteed genuine.

Size: Leaf: approx. 290x205 mm.

References: Goff A551; C 406 (III, var); Schramm XXI p. 27; Schr 3264; GfT 888, 892; Pell 579, 581 (III, var).

Notes:Johann Amerbach (1444 in Amorbach, Germany; 25 December 1514 in Basel, Switzerland was a celebrated printer in Basel in the 15th century. He was the first printer in Basel to use the Roman type instead of Gothic and Italian and spared no expense in his art. In 1477 he settled in Basel, where he was given the surname Amerbach. Later he was employed in the printing house of Anton Koberger in Nuremberg, which whom he continued to closely cooperate after he established his own printing house in 1483. In 1484 he earned the citizenship of Basel and became the city's most important printer.