A beautiful old book

I was given a book by one of our friends here.  It is in Latin, bound in leather and printed in 1601.  There are numerous engravings at the frontispiece, chapter heads, etc.  it is the collected works of St.  Isidore of Seville, the last of the patristic fathers.  He lived in the 7th century. 

I want to get it evaluated and appraised.  Does anyone have any ideas about where and by whom?  pl

Comments

[B Forester]

Sounds like a beautiful book.

I was in Portland OR recently and Powell's book recommended John Henley.
http://bookappraisals.blogspot.com/

I contacted him about some teletype sheets I have from my Father's WWII ship the USS Bell.
Not worth a much but I'm going to donate them to either the USS Bell association or to the US Navy Museum.

[E L]

I don't think they do appraisals but the Beinecke Rare Book Library at Yale could probably put you on the right path.

[The Twisted Genius]

Colonel Lang,

I just read a little about Saint Isidore of Seville. I knew nothing about him before. He is described as one of the last of the ancient Christian philosophers, "the last scholar of the ancient world", the most learned man of his age, and the patron saint of the internet. I can't think of a more appropriate gift for you.

[The Twisted Genius]

First entry from a Google search for old books written in latin:

The Philadelphia Rare Books & Manuscripts Company
The Arsenal, Building 4 (Officers' Quarters)
2375 Bridge Street, Philadelphia, PA 19137
email: [email protected]
phone: (215)744-6734
fax: (215)744-6137
www.prbm.com

[Martin Oline]

I ran a book store for several years. It is difficult to get an accurate value for truely rare books simply because there are fewer of them.
I would recommend trying ABE (Advanced Book Exchange) to see if there are any that are for sale. I think it's (woof woof woof)abe.com.
Please be advised if you do find a match the price asked for is probably more than it's worth. If it was the right price it would be sold. The oldest one I've acquired is from 1510. We had a birthday party for it a couple of years ago complete with cake.
Religious books are generally of less value than scientific ones. The number of engraved pages increase the value as there are always morons who will break up the book and sell the pages.
Thank you for taking the time to run this site. I don't always agree with the opinions but the civil atmosphere is what keeps me coming back.

[turcopolier]

Martin Oline

Thanks. So far as I can understand, Isidore was a churchman but the book covers a lot of subjects not directly related to religion. pl

[The Twisted Genius]

PL,

If you haven't found this yet, here's a good short description of Isidore's works. He was writing an encyclopedia of everything which sounds like what you have... sort of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" for his time. This link also mentions the 1601 edition printed in Paris by Du Bruel.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08186a.htm

[Jane]

http://www.ilab.org/search.php?author=&title=Opera+Omnia&publisher=&alltext=&exclude=&pricemin=&pricemax=&ymin=1599&ymax=1602&currency=USD&sortby=year_asc&since=&return=25&search=Search

This will take you to ILAB -- International League of Antiquarian Booksellers -- where the search using title Opera Omnia and date 1601 brought items two of which may or may not be yours. Scroll until you find Sanctus Isidorius Hispalensis. The descriptions are in Spanish which I don't speak.

[Allen Thomson]

> The descriptions are in Spanish which I don't speak.

I do read Spanish, a bit, and this looks interesting. I have no idea if it's true, accurate, etc.

[el] ostenta (pp. 69 del libro XIV), la primera imagen geográfica jamás impresa, nombrando solo tres continentes: África, Europa y Oriente.

[it] shows (pp 69 of book XIV), the first geographical image ever printed naming only three continents: Africa, Europe and the East.

ABE sells it for $1300, MareMagnum for the same, 1000 euros.