46

Christopher Clavius (1538-1612)

In Sphaeram Ioannis de Sacro Bosco Commentarius. John Evelyn's Copy.

Venice: Joan. Baptistam Ciotum, 1591.
Quarto, large woodcut armillary sphere to title page, illustrated with woodcut diagrams; in full 17th century blind-tooled English calf with speckled compartments and drawer-pull tools bound for Evelyn, with his initials in gilt in the spine panels, along with a red morocco label (front joint cracking, some minor scratches to front board from an aggressive neighbor); with handwritten shelf mark on front free endleaf (some water stains to contents, a few leaves with tears); 8 3/4 x 6 1/4 in.

John Evelyn (1620-1706) made the most of his mind and life at the dawn of the Enlightenment. He had an interest in landscape architecture and botany, antiquities, local history and was a founding member of the Royal Society. It's not much of a stretch to imagine that such a person would love books. His catalogue of 1687 lists about 4,000 volumes in all imaginable categories. He even wrote instructions to his grandson on how a gentleman should compile a library and provide for it through proper binding and shelving. The library descended through that grandson and subsequent family members until it was dispersed at auction in 1977. At that time, a bookplate with Evelyn's two-initial monogram was designed and added to the volumes. This particular volume does not bear the modern bookplate but features his original gilt-tooled monogram in the spine compartments.

  • Notes: Ex libris Professor, Astronomer, Historian & Bibliophile Owen Gingerich.
  • Condition: †8, ††8 (††8 blank & present), A-Z8, Aa-Hh8, Gg10.

    Please contact us to request a condition report:
    Devon Eastland, Senior Specialist: [email protected]
    Grace Meschery-McCormack, Cataloguer: [email protected]


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October 23, 2025 10:30 AM EDT
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