LETTERED GERMAN RENAISSANCE BINDING Catechismus, oder Auslegung, unnd Erklarung der Hauptstuck Christlicher Religion oder dess Kleinern Catechismi D. Lutheri

RESERVED - Distinctive and rather beautiful lettered German binding on a scarce Frankfurt, Reformation-era imprint which features a blind-stamped bust of Justice on the upper and lower covers, set within a border of cherubs. Faded gilding to the edges of the text block which have been adorned with gauffering.

The book comes from a small collection of books that escaped Germany in the 1930s when its owner’s family emigrated to New Zealand to take up an academic post before crossing the world to England a generation later. Certainly this copy has not been on the market for at least a century. A rare book, OCLC locates two copies only in Germany and none elsewhere: OCLC: 311771553

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION. Small octavo bound in limp vellum which appear to have lost its pasteboard inner support and endpapers. Internally the vellum sewing strips are now exposed. First and last few leaves creased around edges but the book collates complete: [3]8; a-z8; Aa-Zz8; Aaa-Yyy8; Z2, [pp] 48 pp1094. There is early annotation scattered through the volume, notably around references to Melancthon (p48) and later, Calvin.

PHILIPP NICOLAI (1556-1608) was a Lutheran pastor and composer, a doctoral graduate from Wittenberg who wrote two famous hymns: Wachet Auf (set to music by JS Bach among others) and Wie Schon Leuchtet der Morgernstern.