First edition of Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse’s verse translation of the Psalms, elaborately bound for presentation in pierced vellum, probably by the Schmalkalden binder Hans Bapest von Erfurt.
Pierced vellum bindings are extraordinarily rare. A substantial proportion of those known from this period are found on copies of the second edition of this work (Schmalkalden, 1593): six are known in total, all clearly by the same workshop (these include Bodleian, 4o A 111 Th. BS, British Library BL c27e7, and the three illustrated in Bickell). This example appears to be the only copy of the first edition so bound.
Provenance: Susan Morgan (18th-century ownership inscription on front flyleaf); Walter Ashburner (1864-1936), with his ownership inscription on title noting that it was given to him by Mary Lewellin; Maurice Burrus (1882-1959), acquired from Lauria in 1938.