Davis849

Origin: Venice.

Provenance:

Benetto Moro Giuro (fl. c. 1585-1595), owned in the late 16th century: made for him, as indicated by the addition of his coat of arms to the lower covers and f. 1r; and the text on f. 1v that addresses him.

Count Stanislaus Kostka Zamoyski (b. 1775, d. 1856): acquired in 1802 together with nine other Venetian manuscripts [the pressmark 'N 4' and price on f. [i]verso refer to this sale; the other Venetian manuscripts feature similar pressmarks and sale prices] (see The Zamoyski Library, ed. by Tomasz Makowski (2005), p. 85); his bookplate with the date 1804 pasted on the inside of the upper cover.

Biblioteka Ordynacji Zamojskiej, Warsaw, owned until 1940: acquired the manuscript by inheritance; its pressmark number ‘19’ on f. [i]verso (see BOZ 2060, no. 19).

Confiscated from the above by the Sonderbeauftragten für die Sicherung der Kunstschätze (Special Commission for Securing of Art Treasures), Winter 1940, and placed on deposit at the Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie [= National Museum, Warsaw]; listed in a catalogue prepared by the commission as ‘Wahl II, no. 46’ (see ‘Wahl II’ Quittungsbuch’ of the Special Commission, p. 6: Bundesarchiv, Berlin R52 II.274]; and Witek, Dokumenty (2003), p. 138). Transferred to Kraków, ‘kiste nr.3’ (crate no.3), November 19, 1943, by order of Governor General Hans Frank, and deposited at Wawel Castle in 1943 (see ‘Inhaltsverzeichnis der aus Warschau eingelangten Kisten, u.zw. Nationalmuseum Warschau' (the inventory of crates transferred from Warsaw to Kraków, c. 1943): Bundesarchiv, Berlin R52 II.274).

Muzeum Narodowe, Warsaw: recovered at Wawel Castle and transferred to Warsaw, on transport no. 12, crate no. 20, on July 26, 1946, according to communication between Tadeusz Mańkowski, director of the Wawel State Art Collections, and Stanislaw Lorentz, director of the National Museum, Warsaw (see the Archives of the National Museum, Warsaw [Archiwum MNW], sygn. 837f, Rewindykacje z Krakowa, 1945-1946 sheet no. 273/46); placed on deposit with the National Museum, Warsaw in crate no. 463, MN XX (according to an inventory of objects attached to the above communication: Notatka z przekazania skrzyni 463, MN XX do Gabinetu Rycin Muzeum MN w Warszawie Dział Inwentarzy MNW, Rewindykacja, t. 4, Teka IIIA, Rewindykacja z Krakowa 1946, k. 147); and transferred to the Etchings and Drawings Cabinet, National Museum, Warsaw, in May 1948, where it was listed as item no. 210954 (according to the inventory of the Etchings and Drawings Cabinet at the National Museum, Warsaw: Wyciąg z księgi inwentarzowej MN w Warszawoe zawierającej numery 210 001 - 213 00).

Czeslaw Bednarczyk (d.1986), Warsaw and Vienna, owned by 1962: according to Sotheby’s, London Sale Archives, and written communication from Sotheby’s restitution department; his sale at Sotheby’s, London, 18 June 1962, lot 127.

Bernard Breslauer (b. 1918, d. 2004), acquired from the above according annotations on f. [i]verso, and the British Library’s annotated copy of the Sotheby’s sale catalogue.

Henry Davis (b. 1897, d. 1977), businessman and book collector, between 1962 and 1968: acquired from the above, July 7, 1962 according to f. [i] verso and notecards in the Henry Davis Collection records; his bookplate pasted on the inside of the upper cover and pressmark (‘David 849’) inscribed on f. [i]verso. The Henry Davis Gift of book-bindings was donated to the British Museum in 1968.