This sixth edition of the Confession of Faith has yet another addition: “Of imposition of hands and Singing of Psalms in publick worship.”

Provenance:  1930s bookplate of John Clyde Oswald, author of (among other biblioworks) Benjamin Franklin, Printer (1917) and Printing in the Americas (1937).

•  Evans 5124; Miller, Benjamin Franklin's Philadelphia Printing, 317; Sabin 61497; Hildeburn, Pennsylvania, 811; ESTC W037515. Griffith has its own Evans citation: Evans 5194.   19th-century half black roan in imitation of morocco, abraded along front joint (outside) and edges of the boards; signed with blind-embossed stamp, “Turner Hamilton, Binder, Philadelphia.” Bookplate as above. Three leaves torn with varying degrees of loss of text: pp. 21–24 (in fact all readable with confidence except for one word), 33–34 (text approximately half missing). Age-toning and spotting; abrasion to rear pastedown. Far from a “perfect copy” and priced as such, certainly a copy withvery pleasing provenance.  (26032)

Publishers' advertisements at back offer other useful volumes, and tout this one as, “not by any means a clap-trap book, though it exposes many clap-traps.”

•  Publisher's black pebbled cloth, covers blind-stamped, spine with blind-stamped title; limited fading and rubbing, sewing starting to loosen. Front pastedown with inked inscription, front free endpaper with intriguing “Fraters Florere” rubber-stamp. Pages faintly age-toned, otherwise clean.  (26631)

•  Evans 36546; ESTC W26008. Period-style quarter calf over marbled paper–covered sides, spine with gilt-stamped title. First two leaves with a bit of light spotting in margins, otherwise clean.

The main text is composed of “In Pindaricam exegesin prolegomena” (pt. 1: fol. 1–5 recto); “Prolegomina de Olympiis” (pt. 1: fol. 5 verso – 12, p. 13–45); “De eidei, strophe, antisrophei [sic], epodoi, kolois, pedibus, & carminibus lyricis” (pt. 1: p. 46–51); “Pindarou Olympionikai” (pt. 1: p. 53–331; caption title p. 53); “Pindari Pythionicae” (pt. 2: p. [1–8], 1–395; half title p. [1]); “Pindari Nemeonicae” (pt. 3: p. [1-8], 1–267; half title p. [1]); “Pindari Isthmionicae” (pt. 4: p. [1–8], 1-–53; half title p. [1]); “ Catalogus victorum, qvibus eide haec scripta sunt” (pt. 4: p. 155–56); “Leipsana seu residua fragmenta scriptorum Pindari, incuria superiorum seculorum amissorum, ex diversis autoribus collecta ab E[rasmo S[chmidtio]” (pt. 4: p. 157–68); “De dithyrambis. Qvaestio in promotione XXXII. Philosophiae candidatorum d. 23. Martii Anno 1607. à M. Joachimo Jaschio proposita” (pt. 4: p. 247–55); and two indices.

•  Alden & Landis 616/94; Sabin 62917; Jantz, German Baroque, 193; Schweiger, I, 235; Dibdin, Greek & Latin Classics, II, 288.   Contemporary vellum. Browned copy; ex-library with bookplate and attractive rubber -stamp in margin of one preliminary leaf; old notes in an elegant hand on front and rear free endpapers. In fact a very good copy. (21201)

This book bears an ornate, emblematic engraved title-page, with portraits of St. Brendan and Boyl and more, and no fewer than 18 leaf-filling plates by Wolfgang Kilian. These plates, which mixfancy and realism in entirely engaging ways, include a portrait of Columbus, a scene of St. Brendan celebrating mass on the back of a whale, botanical images of the marvelous Peruvian potato, and numerous views of the missionaries’interaction with the natives, some friendly, and some not—the unfriendliest being notably violent and gory. Also, on p. 35–36 is given an example of purportednative American music, with both words and notation. This copy is one (probably the first) of two states of this sole edition (with only three leaves in the preliminaries), without the additional foldout plate found in some copies.

•  Alden & Landis, European Americana, 621/100; Sabin 63367; Palau 224762. Binding as above and shown at left (distortion noted), chipped on corners and at head and foot of spine. Small wormholes visible on inside of covers, running into margins of pages and plates, and a few closed tears, neither affecting print or plates. Engraved title remounted. Small stains, light spots of waterstaining, and light soiling. A very covetable illustrated Americanum of the early 17th century, in an enjoyable copy.