Dec 10 at 12:00 PM - Sale 2689 -

Sale 2689 - Lot 172

Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000
(MANUSCRIPT -- SCIENCES AND GEOGRAPHY.) [Traite et Abrece de la Geographie et des Sciences Physques et Naturelles]. 122 pages of neat manuscript on laid paper incorporating over 100 wonderful miniature illustrations in ink and watercolor. 8vo, 8x6 inches, well-worn early calf-backed paper boards; ink and pigment oxidation, dampstain throughout not impacting the writing or drawings. Np, seventeenth century?

Additional Details

A spectacularly intriguing French student's manuscript codex on geography and astronomy. The reason for the book's creation is uncertain, apart from an academic pursuit, but it is laid out well enough that it feels publishable. Clearly inspired by earlier works or late medieval treatises, the illustrations have a familiar yet still unattached feel. Perhaps the closest comparison would be the elemental composition of the earth on page 6 to the Flammarion-styled version which appeared in Sebastian Munster's Cosmography in the 1550s.