Add MS 57847

LEONARDO BRUNI: 'De bello punico', anonymous Italian translation; Florence, 1465. Italian. See A. Watson, Dated and Datable Manuscripts . . . in the British Library (1979), I, p. 87, no. 427. The coat of arms in the decorated border of the title-page is possibly that of the Bartolini-Salimbeni family of Florence. Italian notes of late 15th-18th cent. (ff. i-ii). In 1740 the volume belonged to Iacopo Tiburzio Tommaso Monti of Pisa (ownership inscription on f. ii). Purchased from Maggs Bros., cat. no. 948, lot. 93, 30 Jan. 1973.

Paper; ff. iv+96 (near contemporary ink foliation in lower right-hand corner). Sec. fol.: 'sitruova'. 235 x 160mm. Medieval vellum pastedowns and contiguous flyleaves to front (f. ii) and back (f. iii). Gatherings (10) of 10, except x6. Ruled (single bounding lines) in ink for single columns of 27/28 lines. The writing begins above the top-line in the first 2 gatherings, below the top-line in the following ones. The ruling has probably been executed using a template, given the absence of pricking, the only exception being a hole in the lower gutter of each sheet. Written space 161 x 92mm. Vertical catchwords. Script in an Italian semigothic cursive hand by Zanobi Bartolini, a non-professional scribe, who carried out the copying in one week, according to his colophon (f. 94v): 'Finito primo bello punico straslatato [sic] per Messer lionardo bruni e scritto di mano e per me Zanobi Bartolini dadi xv di settenbre e finito adi xxii di detto 1465'. A similar Bartolini colophon of 1465 occurs in Florence, Biblioteca Riccardiana, MS. 1537, f. 247v, see Bénédictins du Bouveret, Colophons (1965-1982), V, no. 18948, p. 548. The Riccardiana colophon states that the volume was written between 29 Aug. and 12 Oct. 1465, indicating that Bartolini was working on both volumes simultaneously. Watermark: cardinal's hat (smaller version of Briquet's no. 3387). Original binding of brown leather on wooden boards, decorated with blind tools and fillets. Traces of double silk clasps, fastening on to lower board, attached to upper board by two brass bossed nail-heads. Some water-staining.

Decoration consists of a 5-line major initial in gold set upon a ground and partial border of white vine on blue with pink and green infills, with gold and penwork dots, inhabited by a bird and containing an heraldic roundel with black and silver lion passant on gules (f. 1); another similar initial with extensions (f. 2). 3/4-line flourished initials in blue and red on ff. 33v, 61, 78.