Földvári Books

17th-century Illustrated French Scientific Manuscript

Usage du calendrier gregorian [Methode mecanique po.r construire un Quadran Horisontal et Vertical non declinant; Table contenant les longitudes et latitudes des principales villes et autres lieux; Du lever et coucher du soleil soubs .48. degrez de Latitude; Usage du compas de proportion; Liste et cathologue des Roys de France; Instructio touchant le Canon.]

France (Paris?): between 1625–1630. llustrated manuscript on vellum in French. 20 lines, written in brown ink on vellum, in a neat French cursive bookhand. Pages are numbered in brown ink, ruled by a gold and blue double-frame. Decorated with numerous gilt initials, tail, and headpieces. Illustrated with several tables, diagrams, and figures in blue, red, brown, and gold. Two, contemporary, stiff, prepared paper of fabric leaves bound after, with drawings and names (eg. Marie de Lorraine) probably in silverpoint. Gilt edges. In later decorative, gold-tooled, oriental green maroquin binding with matching, brown and red leather doublure. The front panel is not presented, some of the onlays and most of the gems from the outer board and spine are missing. Housed in a custom made black solander-box. Despite the flaws of the binding, the manuscript itself is in fine condition. pp. 1–158 [2] [2 (blank)] 159–224 [2] [2 (blank, but ruled)] and [2 hard paper leaves with possible possessor’s inscriptions and drawings in pencil] [1 blank leaf of paper]. Size:. Despite the flaws of the binding, the manuscript itself is in fine condition.

17th-century illustrated scientific manuscript book in French, with an early description of the use of the proportional compass.

The manuscript is divided into seven chapters of scientific topics. It contains a long text on various aspects of the Gregorian calendar and on related calculations, a description of methods constructing sundials, an extensive list of the geographic coordinates of major cities all over the world, the determination of the sunrise and sunset times in Paris for the year, an introduction to the use of the proportional compass, a register of the French monarchs, and tables with the properties of distinct cannons (Calibres de France).

The first and longest section of the manuscript, Usage du calendrier gregorian (pp. 1–154), is an astrological text, an explanation of the use of the Gregorian calendar. It defines the units of time from hours to years, describes various methods to understand and count dates, and provides plentiful illustrations and figures demonstrating the text, such as a double-page table of the planetary hours (pp. 10–11); an astrological chart of the seven classical planets (p. 14); two figures for finger counting dates and the epact (p. 36; 57); a table and a chart with dominical letters of which the latter is for the years between 1625 and 1654 (p. 41; 44); a table and a chart of epact for the nineteen years of the Metonic cycle (p. 54; 59 [from 1625 to 1643]); a table of epact determining the paschal full moon (p. 67); a six-page complex table determining the dates of the moveable feasts (Ash Wednesday, Easter, Feast of the Ascension, Pentacost, Feast of the Holy Trinity) for the years between 1629 and 1700, it also features the epact, the Metonic and Solar cycles, and the dominical letters of each year (pp. 72–77); the final part is a lengthy chart determining the exact times of new moon and eclipses for the years between 1630 until 1700, with the degree and the symbols of the relevant zodiac, appended with a one-page list of the names of the twelve zodiac signs and the seven classical planets with their symbols. The rulings of the tables and charts are either in red or blue, for the titles and the values the opposite color, gilt, or brown was used. The text is decorated with a gilt floral headpiece, many tailpieces, and several initials.

The second section deals with the construction of different sundials, titled Methode mecanique po.r construire un Quadran Horisontal et Vertical non declinant (pp. 155–159). This chapter is illustrated with a full-page geometric figure in brown, red, and gilt, and decorated with a lavish gilt floral headpiece, two tailpieces, and one large and several modest initials.

The third passage, Table contenant les longitudes et latitudes des principales villes et autres lieux (pp. 160–187) is an extensive alphabetical list of major cities all over the world with their geographic coordinates. Besides the French and European towns it contain several locations in the Americas, Africa and Asia, such as Cuba Isle, Damas en Syrie, Goa es Indes, Japon Isle, Java maior/minor Isle Aust., Lima au Peru Aust., Mexique, Les Philippines Isles, Quitu au Peru, Rapta en Ethiopie Aust., Siras ville de Perse, Tunes ville d’Afrique, Zeilon Isle. The chapter is decorated with gilt initials throughout, the title is crowned with an elaborate gilt floral headpiece with birds and a head, and the table is ruled in red and blue.

The fourth part, Du lever et coucher du soleil soubs .48. degrez de Latitude (pp. 188–193), gives the sunrise and sunset times for every tenth day of each month of the year (evidently February is an exception), at 48th parallel north, the latitude of Paris. The section is richly decorated, begins with a large gilt initial and ends with an almost full-page gilt figural tailpiece. Each month’s name is written in gilt, the relevant zodiac signs are represented in blue, and the starting days of the signs in red.

The fifth chapter, Usage du compas de proportion (pp. 194–213), discusses the use of the sector, a relatively recent invention of the 16th century. This is a very early text in French on the instrument, considering that the first French book on the sector, Denis Henrion’s Usage du compas de proportion, was published in 1618. The chapter is illustrated with twelve geometric diagrams and decorated with a floral headpiece, gilt initials, and a tailpiece.

The sixth part, Liste et cathologue des Roys de France (pp. 214–219), lists and dates the French monarchs from Pharamond to Louis XIII (“Louys 13, que Nostre Seigneur preserve”). The chapter is decorated with a gilt floral headpiece and initial, each date is written in red, the dynasties and the first letters of each sovereign in gilt.

The seventh, last section, Instructio touchant le Canon (pp. 220–[226]), presents the properties of twelve different cannons. The chapter expands the ordinary system of standardization of cannons in France, the so-called Calibres de France, which contains six standard calibers of artillery weapons. The text is decorated with a gilt floral headpiece and all the initials are gilt.

The last two stiff, prepared leaves contain broadly contemporary inscriptions of two names, a short, partly illegible note which also contains a name (“Capitan Pisonte”), an unfinished doodle of a coat-of-arms, and a copy of Dürer’s magic square, the word “Bere’” written under the square. One of the names is “Marie delorraine”, who could be Marie de Lorraine, Duchess of Guise (1615–1688) or Marie of Lorraine Princess of Monaco (1674–1724), the other is “Wolffgangus Sigismundus […]” whose family name remained undecipherable.

Price: €30,000.00