BALBUS, Johannes. Catholicon. (1469 - AN ORIGINAL CATHOLICON LEAF PRINTED BY PETER SCHOEFFER)

AUTHOR: BALBUS, Johannes. 

TITLE: Catholicon. (An original leaf).

PUBLISHER: Mainz: [Peter Schoeffer], 1469.

DESCRIPTION: AN ORIGINAL CATHOLICON LEAF. 36.5 cm x 28.5 cm, printed in double columns with 66 lines to the page, rubricated 15 on recto and 38 on verso, printed on Galliziani paper, the half of the sheet without the watermark, but with the characteristic shadows at wire-line intervals of ca. 5 mm..

CONDITION: Mild toning to edges of leaf, otherwise in VERY GOOD CONDITION.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The first nonreligious book ever printed by the first printer. Below is an interesting translation mentioning Africa from Verso: column 2: 11th item: line 34 - "Heliotrope: A green colored stone having blood red veins. If placed in a silver dish filled with water and exposed to the rays of the sun, the water will turn blood red, and the sun will go dark. It is most brilliant when at the rising and setting of the sun it changes color. It is found in Africa." 

Aside from a leaf from the Gutenberg bible this is one of the earliest possible obtainable pieces of printing associated with Johann Gutenberg.

PROVENANCE: 1) Sir Hans Sloane; by bequest in 1753 to 2) British Museum; sold as a duplicate, 20 February 1805. 3) Roach; sold by Evans, London, 10 December 1824. 4) Henry W. Poor; sold 1908. 5) Alvin W. Krech. 6) E. Byrne Hackett; broken up by him for the Brick Row Book Shop in 1936. 7) Note included "Purchased Brick Row Book Shop, April 7, 1959.