[Fall of princes].

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Abstract:

A poem in 9 books by John Lydgate, who adapted Laurent de Premierfait's translation of Giovanni Boccaccio's 'De casibus virorum illustrium'.

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Binding note:

Bound in England in the early 19th century in brown calf over pasteboards, gilt and blind stamped along perimeter and gilt along board edges and along turn-ins; sewn on five raised bands; endbands with secondary sewing of white, yellow, and dark and light green; paste-downs and flyleaves of vermillion marbled paper; gilt edges; a blue silk bookmark; spine rebacked. Spine title (gilt): “The Fall of princes by Lydgate.”

Provenance:

Early provenance unknown. In the mid-16th century, the manuscript was owned by Richard Reeds, whose ownership inscription on p. 45 noted that the manuscript had cost him 50 shillings: “huius libri est possessor Rychard reeds Precium est xxxxx s.” Intermediate provenance is unknown. Later the manuscript was in the collection of the British bibliophile Richard Heber (1777-1833) until being sold on 11 February 1836 by the London bookseller and auctioneer Robert Harding Evans (1778-1857). Purchased by Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872), of Middle Hill, Worcestershire and sold at Sotheby's in London, at the Phillipps sale, 10-17 June 1896, where it was acquired by the antiquarian bookseller Bernard Quaritch. Robert Garrett (1875-1961), of Baltimore, Maryland, Class of 1897, purchased the manuscript from Quaritch on 1 October 1905 and donated it to Princeton University Library in 1942.

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References:

Medieval & Renaissance manuscripts in the Princeton University Library, pages 320-321
Ricci, S. de. Census of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts in the United States and Canada, volume 1, page 893

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