( Calvin, Samuel )Biblio.com
INSTITUTIE OFTE ONDERWIJSINGH IN DE CHRISTELICKE RELIGIE. and SUPPLICATIE VAN DEN NOODIGHE REFORMATIE DER CHRISTELICKER KERCKE. INSTITUES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION and SUPPLICATION FOR THE NECESSARY REFORM OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
1650ST18306Amsterdam: Paulus Aertsz van Ravesteyn 1650. First Edition of this Translation of "Institutues. 372 x 240 mm. 14 5/8 x 9 3/8". 26 p.l. 315 11 leaves; 2 p.l. 54 leaves. Two works in one volume. Institutie translated into Dutch from Latin and French by Wilhelmus Corsmannus; "Supplicatie" translated by Carolus Agricola. With a life of Calvin by Theodore Beza. <br/> HANDSOME 18TH CENTURY BURGUNDY MOROCCO GILT BY THE BAROQUE FLOWER BINDERY covers with central gilt lozenge composed of two vases Storm van Leeuwen tool 18 four flower-and-rocaille ornaments tool 2 and four flower baskets tool 3 and framed by a floral roll roll I with oblique flora sprig tool 15 and flower basket tool 3 at corners all enclosed in a thick lacy gilt border formed by Storm van Leeuwen roll II and repeated tool 4 raised bands tooled in gilt compartments with floral lozenge at center scrolling cornerpieces green morocco label with gilt lettering gilt turn-ins marbled endpapers all edges gilt. With vignette on title page woodcut initials and engraved portrait of Calvin in his library by C. J. Visscher. Front fly-leaf with large initials A. J. E. written in blue crayon or pencil. For the binding: Storm van Leeuwen IIA 3.2.33 fig. 67 tools 2 3 4 9 15 18 rolls I and II. ◆Spine faintly sunned back cover with a few superficial abrasions lower corners a bit rubbed occasional rust spot or other negligible imperfection internally but AN EXTRAORDINARILY FINE COPY inside and out the contents especially fresh clean and bright and the unsophisticated binding lustrous and with only minor signs of use.<br/> <br/> This is a superb example of a binding by a workshop dubbed the Baroque Flower Bindery for the distinctive flower tendril and rocaille tool that is prominently used in the centerpiece on our boards. The cover design here is identical to that on a folio edition of the Psalms pictured in figure 67 of Jan Storm van Leeuwen's "Dutch Decorated Bookbinding in the Eighteenth Century." According to that work the Baroque Flower Bindery was active in The Hague between 1778 and 1783; the Dutch Royal Library Koninklijke Bibliotheek holds four bindings executed there. One is the folio Psalms mentioned above and the others are presentation bindings. The Baroque Flower Bindery used some tools that had been employed by an earlier Hague workshop known as the Flower Bindery fl. ca. 1751-80 and its tools including the flower basket used here later turned up on bindings by Cornelius A. Matthijs fl. ca. 1795-1801 indicating the way artisans and their tools migrated from one workshop to another. The text here is the second Dutch translation of the magnum opus of John Calvin 1509-64. First published in Latin in 1536 and in Dutch translated by Carolus Agricola in 1578 the present work sets forth the tenets of Calvin's theology. In the words of Britannica the "interpretation of Christianity advanced above all in his . . . 'Institutes of the Christian Religion' and the institutional and social patterns he worked out for Geneva deeply influenced Protestantism elsewhere in Europe and in North America. The Calvinist form of Protestantism is widely thought to have had a major impact on the formation of the modern world." The four parts of this work--covering Knowledge of God the Creator Knowledge of God the Redeemer Christ the Way to Obtain the Grace of Christ and the True Church and Articles of Faith--are supplemented in this edition by Calvin's "Supplication" calling for reform of the Catholic Church. Britannica notes that "the 'Institutes' also reflected the findings of Calvin's massive biblical commentaries" and that influence is epitomized in the fine portrait of the great Reformer in his library by Cornelis Visscher 1629-58. Calvin stands at his desk a copy of the "Institutio" open in his hands the Geneva Bible and his many commentaries on Scripture displayed on his desk and bookshelves. It is a scene that shows the gentler scholarly side of Calvin who is more often depicted as a stern ascetic zealot. RBH seems to list no other bindings by the Baroque Flower Bindery at auction. Paulus Aertsz van Ravesteyn unknown
