Comenius Johann Amos (1592 1670) Introduction Nouvelle a la

Sale 2635 - Lot 196

Unsold

Estimate: $ 400 - $ 600

Comenius, Johann Amos (1592-1670)
Introduction Nouvelle a la Françoise et la Flamande. [...] Nieuwe Inleydinge tot de Franse, en Duytse Tale.

Amersterdam: Chez Pierre Mortier, 1686.

First edition, octavo, illustrated with added engraved title page and thirty-six of thirty-eight leaves of plates (lacking plate 14/15, a double-sided engraved leaf with images of body parts and indications of ailments); each plate separated into tiny numbered vignettes and accompanied by brief phrases in Dutch and French this handbook meant to be used in the field between parties who have a language barrier, allowing them to point to the thumbnail images and then refer to the numbered sections of text and thereby gain understanding, a worn copy bound in contemporary sheepskin, neatly repaired, 6 1/4 x 3 3/4 in.

This cleverly conceived phrasebook includes an exhaustive array of imagery meant to cover every possible topic and aspect of life worth communicating with its tiny vignettes. It provides something of a guidebook to the daily lives and activities of Early Modern Europeans.

Rare at auction, Rare Book Hub lists the last copy for sale in 1960.

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