Add MS 41068 A

COMMONPLACE-BOOK of Bernardo Bembo (1433-1519), Venetian magistrate and father of the famous Cardinal Pietro Bembo, consisting mainly of extracts from classical and patristic authors, but including also later (e.g. Dante) and contemporary (e.g. his own son Pietro) writers. Latin and occasionally Italian. Arranged alphabetically under subjects beginning with "Amor" and provided with two indexes, the second forming part of an insertion (ff. 19-47, watermark of anchor) and interrupting the previous pagination. Numerous marginal notes record personal experiences of Bembo between 1471 and 1518 or allude to events of the time. Entries of Bembo's own composition are as a rule distinguished by a B or BB at the side. For detailed descriptions of the MS. see G. Neilson, "A Venetian's Commonplaces," in the Athenaeum, 21 Dec. 1895, pp. 871, 872, and Eugenia Levi, "Lo Zibaldone di Bernardo Bembo," in Rassegna Bibliografica della Letteratura Italiana, iv (1896), pp. 46-50. Paper (watermarks of cross-bow and, ff. 19-47, anchor).; ff. i + 324. 11.3/8 in. x 8 in. Early xvi cent. Later (? 17th cent.) vellum binding, with end-papers of mottled paper. On f. i is a descriptive note by an Italian bookseller and a pencil note of ownership, "Geo. Neilson, Procurator-Fiscal, Glasgow."