A, Good, Rare, Heavy Plate, Original Italian Vatican Infantry Army Helmet of Pope Urban VIIIth’s Armoury, a Cabasset Helmet 1500’s. As Used By The Cannoneers of the Papal Artillery. Originally Sourced From The Papal Armoury, in The Vatican

It’s companion Cabasset helmets are now in the Vatican Historical Museum in the Lateran Palace, Rome
The defensive helmet as used by the cannoneers of Pope Urban’s Papal Army artillery, and just as would be used by the chief cannoneer in battle, in the army commanded by Mateo Barbarini, Pope Urban’s brother. A helmet worn, while also armed with the chief Cannoneers fusetto

Used in artillery combat in Papal armies, such as were once commanded by the infamous Cesare Borgia, who was an Italian cardinal and condottiero, an illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI and member of the Spanish-Aragonese House of Borgia.
His fight for power was a major inspiration for ‘The Prince’ by Niccolò Machiavelli. The Prince, one of Machiavelli's greatest works, as Machiavelli admired Borgia's undimmed ruthlessness, but mainly, because Borgia, for Machiavelli, exhibited a unity and coherence of purpose and intents that was good for the polity. {see Casare’s portrait in the gallery}


This is a Papal Army helmet from the collection of armour in the armoury of the Papal Army in Rome.
Good Heavy Italian Infantry Helmet Cabasset , hammered steel raised from a single plate, medial ridge with pear stalk finial stepped flared brim with turned over edge and in very good condition.

Provenance: From the Papal Armoury; and later acquired by London dealers Fenton & Sons Ltd. Fenton and Sons, Antique Arms and Armour, around 100 years ago. They traded in London from 1894-1927. and supplied, amongst others, the British Museum. An interesting point aside, we used to supply Fentons back in the 1920's ourselves. This and a few others were acquired by Fentons in 1919 and were listed in their catalogue. They were all from the Papal Armoury in Rome made for the Barberini family.

The Barberinis supplied the armour and cabassets for the papal army in the 16th century, a period fraught with anarchy and bandits and direct attacks on papal territories by Parma. The close association led to Maffeo Barberini becoming Pope Urban VIII. His brother Taddeo was made Supreme Commander of the Papal Army. The helmets, including this one, were from the papal armoury and served through the papal wars. It is estimated that about 4500 men served the papal army and most would have worn cabassets, making the original number of the group well over 4000. Others from the group are now in the Musio Storico Vaticano the Old Papal armoury now in the Vatican Historical Museum in the Lateran Palace, Rome.
The Papal Army was the loosely-construed army of volunteers and mercenaries in the service of the Italian Papal States, active from the 8th century until the capture of Rome by Italy in 1870. The Papal States maintained a sizeable military during the Middle Ages, using it to fight against the Holy Roman Empire and its Ghibelline allies. During the 1300s, the Papal States began to employ the services of condottieri, mercenaries who sold their services to the extremely wealthy Catholic Church. These forces would be instrumental to the defence of the Pope during the Italian Wars of the 15th and 16th centuries, with Cesare Borgia leading the Papal Army on a campaign of conquest that added several new city-states and regions to the Papal States' territories. Painting in the gallery of the Massacre of San Bartolome in the Catholic-Protestant Religious Wars, where the French crown aided by Queen Catherine de Medici, mother of the French King, with the Pope's blessing, fought ten of thousands of Huguenots what is considered the second deadliest religious war in European history (surpassed only by the Thirty Years' War, which took eight million European lives) The pope was so delighted with the battle he ordered a Te Deum to be sung as a special thanksgiving (a practice continued for many years after) and had a medal struck with the motto Ugonottorum strages,  read more

Code: 23616

An Original, WW1, German Kaiserliche Marine Vickers-Maxim I Pounder Pom Pom Shell

Imperial Kaiserliche Marine Stamped. A superb fuzed shell head fully stamped and marked. With a 37mm calibre the water-cooled, belt-fed Maxim-Nordenfeldt (among others, with variants produced as Vickers-Maxim and Hotchkiss-Maxim) was the smallest item of artillery used during that war and boasted a firing rate of 60 rounds per minute, utilising a belt of 25 one-pound shells, each shell covering a distance ranging up to 3,000 yards. In World War I, it was used as an early anti-aircraft gun in the home defence of Britain. It was adapted as the Mk I*** and Mk II on high-angle pedestal mountings and deployed along London docks and on rooftops on key buildings in London, others on mobile motor lorries at key towns in the East and Southeast of England. 25 were employed in August 1914, and 50 in February 1916. A Mk II gun (now in the Imperial War Museum, London) on a Naval pedestal mounting was the first to open fire in defence of London during the war. However, the small shell was insufficient to damage the German Zeppelin airships sufficiently to bring them down. The Ministry of Munitions noted in 1922: "The pom-poms were of very little value. There was no shrapnel available for them, and the shell provided for them would not burst on aeroplane fabric but fell back to earth as solid projectiles were of no use except at a much lower elevation than a Zeppelin attacking London was likely to keep"

Nevertheless, Lieutenant O.F.J. Hogg of No. 2 AA Section in III Corps was the first anti-aircraft gunner to shoot down an aircraft, with 75 rounds on 23 September 1914 in France.

The gun was experimentally mounted on aircraft as the lighter 1-pounder Mk III, the cancelled Vickers E.F.B.7 having been specifically designed to carry it in its nose.
Hiram Maxim originally designed the Pom-Pom in the late 1880s as an enlarged version of the Maxim machine gun. Its longer range necessitated exploding projectiles to judge range, which in turn dictated a shell weight of at least 400 grams (0.88 lb), as that was the lightest exploding shell allowed under the St. Petersburg Declaration of 1868 and reaffirmed in the Hague Convention of 1899. Dated 1905. Not suitable for export, empty inert and safe.  read more

Code: 20782

An 1801 Pattern Baker Rifle Sword {Bayonet}. Brass D Hilt & Single Edged Long Sword Blade

Traditional ribbed grip hilt, flattened section knucklebow, slightly bent quillon with long retaining spring, released by press catch. 23 inch steel flat sided single edged blade with return false edge. No maker markings remaining.

The sword that affixes to the end of a rifle as a bayonet. However, as all British Army riflemen know, the rifleman carries a sword, not a bayonet, despite it looking and acting as one. The rifle was used throughout the entire Peninsular Wars, the War of 1812 in America and Waterloo, by the world's greatest marksmen to fight for King and Country. This is not the denigrate our cousins, the American Riflemen of course, but they were not fighting for King and Country.

The British army had learned the value of rifles from their experience in the American rebellion in the 1770's. However, existing rifle designs were considered to be to cumbersome, slow-firing, fragile or expensive to be put to use on any scale beyond irregular companies. Rifles had been issued on a limited basis and consisted of parts made to no precise pattern, often brought in from Prussia. The war against Revolutionary France resulted in the employment of new tactics, and the British Army responded, albeit with some delay. Prior to the formation of an Experimental Rifle Corps in 1800, a trial was held at Woolwich by the British Board of Ordnance on 22 February 1800 in order to select a standard rifle pattern; the rifle designed by Ezekiel Baker was chosen.

Colonel Coote Manningham, responsible for establishing the Rifle Corps, influenced the initial designs of the Baker. The first model resembled the British Infantry Musket, but was rejected for being too heavy. Baker was provided with a German Jager rifle as an example of what was needed. The second model he made had a .75 calibre bore, the same calibre as the Infantry Musket. It had a 32-inch barrel, with eight rectangular rifling grooves; this model was accepted as the Infantry Rifle, but more changes were made until it was finally placed into production. The third and final model had the barrel shortened from 32 to 30 inches, and the calibre reduced to .653, which allowed the rifle to fire a .625 calibre carbine bullet, with a greased patch to grip the now-seven rectangular grooves in the barrel. The rifle had a simple folding backsight with the standard large lock mechanism (marked 'Tower' and 'G.R.' under a Crown, although later ones had 'Enfield,' but these only saw service after Waterloo), with a swan-neck cock as fitted to the 'Brown Bess.' Like the German Jager rifles, it had a scrolled brass trigger guard to help ensure a firm grip and a raised cheek piece on the left-hand side of the butt. Like many rifles, it had a 'butt-trap' or patchbox where greased linen patches and tools could be stored. The lid of the patchbox was brass, and hinged at the rear so it could be flipped up. The stocks were made of walnut and held the barrel with three flat captive wedges. The rifle also had a metal locking bar to accommodate up to a 23- inch sword bayonet, similar to that of the Jager rifle. The Baker was 45 inches from muzzle to butt, 12 inches shorter than the Infantry Musket, and weighed almost nine pounds. Gunpowder fouling in the grooves made the weapon much slower to load and affected its accuracy, so a cleaning kit was stored in the patch box of the Baker; the Infantry Muskets were not issued with cleaning kits.  read more

Code: 25073

Princess Victoria's (Royal Irish Fusiliers) OR's fur cap grenade circa 1890

Die-stamped brass, the ball bearing Eagle on a tablet inscribed '8'.
The Eagle and '8' represents the flagstaff eagle of the 8th French Light Infantry captured by Sgt Patrick Masterson of the 87th Fusiliers at Barossa on 5th March 1811. It is 3.75 inches long. The French Imperial Eagle was the emblem of the Grande Armee of Napoleon I, and during the Peninsular War of 1808-1814 and the Battle of Waterloo, the capture of an eagle by enemy troops was a massive blow to any regiment.

In the instance of the Battle of Barrosa, in 1811, the British captured their first ever eagle. The captor was an Irish Sergeant of the 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot. Looking at the history of the battle  read more

Code: 20306

A Simply Beautiful Original Napoleonic Wars French 'Prisoner of War' Straw Valuables Box. Around 220 Years Old Made By French Prisoners from The Battle of the Nile To Waterloo

A fabulous original souvenir of the Anglo French wars, that is not only beautiful, and historically important, it is perfectly functional as a desk top jewel case, or, anything of similar use, such as a gentleman's watch and cufflink case

Napoleonic prisoner of war straw work marquetry ladies jewelry box with hinged lid opening to reveal three compartments, and one is hinge lidded. Overall in super condition. Decorated throughout with numerous and varied scenes of the British built Prisoner of War wooden fort.

This box dates to the Napoleonic wars between the French and English. Prisoners-of-war were held in purpose-built prisoner-of-war depots and typically were soldiers and sailors of the rank and file. Straw was a popular craft material for prisoners of war. They turned their skill to the making of cases and boxes covered with intricate straw patterns created using the contrasts between the light and dark sides of the straw strips. Those who understood dyes were also able to add colour to their work and produced some very sophisticated objects. Fewer of these straw items have survived to the present day, but there are still some lovely straw-covered boxes and cases which are intact.

Very similar example to one that is on display in the Burghley House Collection. Made by the captured Napoleonic and French wars French Prisoners-of-War in the early 1800's in order to subsidise their meagre prison rations, and this fine piece is made to give the impression it is a sizeable book when closed. All of the interior straw-work is pristine in colour and unfaded showing wonderful contrasts.

Great Britain was at war with France continuously from 1793 to 1802. Hostilities ceased briefly in 1802, but conflict soon recommenced. The Napoleonic Wars continued until 1815, when Napoleon's forces were finally defeated at Waterloo.

In 1796 the first prison to house French prisoners was built at Norman Cross, some 5 miles north of Peterborough. Conditions must have been both harsh and crowded; disease killed more that 1,700 inmates between 1797 and 1814.
To supplement their rations and to provide small income, some prisoners made ornaments, models and toys, which they were allowed to sell. The materials used included straw, wood, bone and even human hair. Many of the items made were extraordinary in their complexity and design and were always very desirable to collectors. The proximity of Burghley House to the camp meant that members of the Cecil family acquired many fine examples.

Those displayed at Burghley include a number of containers made of wood with applied decoration of coloured straw, a stationery box, a set of bone spillikins in a pocket case, a framed straw-work picture of the house built for Napoleon Bonaparte on St Helena, to where he was exiled, a bone set of dominoes and playing cards and a detailed model of an 80-gun ship-of-the-line with hair rigging.

Every single item from The Lanes Armoury is accompanied by our unique Certificate of Authenticity. Part of our continued dedication to maintain the standards forged by us over the past 100 years of our family’s trading

9 inches x 6 3/4 inches x 3 inches when closed
some very small straw inlay losses but overall in beautiful order.  read more

Code: 25072

A Very Rare, Original, 1913, Silver Medal Of The Crash of Imperial German Naval Airship L2 in Johannisthal

Silver medal 1913. (Lauer) On the crash of the naval airship L 2 in Johannisthal. Icarus lying on the ground, phoenix rising above it burning, falling airship. Hallmark: silver 990, 33.3 mm, 17.5 g. Coll. Joos a. 293 Kaiser 397. Very rare. Matted, small scratches, extremely fine The Johannisthal air disaster was one of the first multiple-fatality air disasters in history. It involved the Imperial German Navy's L 2 airship manufactured by Luftschiffbau Zeppelin as LZ 18. Its test flight resulted in the death of all 28 passengers and crew on board. On 17 October 1913, at approximately 10:30am local time, hydrogen gas which was being vented was sucked into the forward engine and ignited causing the airship to explode and burn. It crashed near Johannisthal Air Field about 10 miles southeast of Berlin. This accident occurred a little over a month after the Helgoland Island Air Disaster.The "Almanac and Year-Book for 1914" reported that the airship "was destroyed by the explosion of a gasoline tank, which occurred as the ship was making a trial trip above the city of Johannisthal, near Berlin. All except one of the twenty-seven military men on board, including the entire admiralty trial board, were killed.

Thousands, who had been watching the evolutions of the L-2, which, if accepted, was to have been the flagship of Germany's new aerial fleet, heard a heavy detonation and saw the craft suddenly become enveloped in flames and drop to the ground from a height of 900 feet.

On reaching the spot in the highway where the airship fell the spectators found nothing but a mass of crumpled aluminium and twisted wreckage. The only man found alive was Lieut. Baron von Bieul, a guest on the trip, who was fatally injured. The passengers of the centre gondola were blown through the sides of the car by the explosion and their bodies fell a quarter of a mile away from the wreck of the dirigible.

The pilot of the airship was Capt. Gluth, who had been in Count Zeppelin's employ for a long time.

The admiralty trial board consisted of seven officers, including Lieutenant-Commander Behnish, and Lieut. Freyer, both personal friends of Emperor William, Naval Constructors Neumann and Pietzler, Naval Engineer Busch, Lieut. Trenk and Chief Engineer Haussmann were among the others killed."  read more

Code: 23640

A Very Attractive Pre WW1 German Military Beer Stein of the 46th Artillery

Souvenir of service for a WW1 volunteer.An Imperial Prussian stein for 4 Battery, Niedersachs Feld Artillery, Regt. 46, for the years 1904-1906. Lower Saxony Field Artillery Regiment No. 46. The recipient then volunteered back into the regiment and served in WW1. Superbly decorated. Transfer glazed with hand painted highlights with scenes of the field artillery in combat. Personally named 'in memory of my service' to the recipient 'Kanonier Bahrwald', and further named with every man's name from the regiment 47 names in all Souvenirs of service were purchased by reservists once there service was finished, in this case 1906. Steins seem to have been the most popular purchases. The period of popularity extended from the mid 1890s until the onset of World War I. Examples exist from the 1850s on, but were few in number and individually purchased items. Almost all early examples came from Bavarian units. Steins with wartime dates also exist but the demands of the war in terms of men and material effectively ended the manufacture of regimental steins as we know them.
Steins were ordered from military shops in the area around the garrison town or through the representatives of stein manufacturers. Normally ordered in the spring, they were delivered in early September, just prior to mustering out. The average cost approximated a month?s salary for a German private of that period. The base shows when lit internally the hidden factory 'watermark' in the porcelain. The base also has two old damage areas where the base has been penetrated and in other one area fixed see photo The lid's artillery cannon has the barrel lacking. The Regiment was part of the 20th Infantry Division in WW1. Their actions in WW1 were as follows Calendar of battles and engagements
20th Infantry Division (Western Front)
08.08.-08.16.1914 Conquest of Li?ge
23.08.-08.24.1914 Battle of Namur
29.08.-08.30.1914 Battle of St. Quentin
06.09.-09.09.1914 Battle of Petit-Morin
12.09.-09.13.1914 Fighting at Reims
13.09.1914-18.04.1915 Fighting at the Aisne
21.04.-04.30.1915 Transport to the east
20th Infantry Division (Eastern Front)
05.05.-05.23.1915 Pursuits after the Battle of Gorlice-Tarnow
16.05.-05.23.1915 Crossing over the San
24.05.-05.26.1915 Fight at Radymno and San
27.05.-04.06.1915 Fight at the bridgehead of Jaroslau
12.06.-06.15.1915 Breakthrough battle at Lubaczow
17.06.-06.22.1915 Battle of Lviv
22.06.-07.16.1915 Pursuit battles on the Galician-Polish border
16.07.-07.18.1915 Breakthrough Battle of Krasnostaw
19.07.-07.28.1915 Fighting after the breakthrough battle of Krasnostaw
29.07.-07.30.1915 Breakthrough Battle of Biskupice
31.07.-08.10.1915 Pursuit battles from Wieprz to Bug
12.09.-09.26.1915 Reserve of OH-L. and transport to the west
20th Infantry Division (Western Front)
27.09.-10.18.1915 Autumn Battle in Champagne
31.10.1915-16.05.1916 Fighting at the Aisne
03/10/1916 Storming of the mountain at La Ville aux Bois
18.05.-01.06.1916 Transport to the east
20th Infantry Division (Eastern Front)
14.06.-07.15.1916 Fights on Stochod
16.07.-07.27.1916 Fighting on the upper Styr-Stochod
28.07.-04.11.1916 Battle of Kovel
05.11.-11.18.1916 Positional fights on ob. Styr-Stochod
20.11.-11.25.1916 Transport to the west
20th Infantry Division (Western Front)
26.11.1916-05.01.1917 training
06.01.-02.03.1917 Fighting at the Aisne
10.04.-05.08.1917 Battle of the Aisne
15.05.-04.07.1917 Positional fights in Champagne
05.07.-07.12.1917 Transport to the east
20th Infantry Division (Eastern Front)
13.07.-07.22.1917 Fighting on the Lomnica near Kalusz
23.07.-07.30.1917 Pursuit battles in eastern Galicia
31.07.-02.08.1917 Fighting for Zbrucz, between Zbrucz and Sereth
03.08.-08.16.1917 Position fights between Zbrucz and Sereth
30.08.-08.31.1917 Position fights before Riga
01.09.-05.09.1917 Battle for Riga
09/02/1917 Fights on the Big Jail
09/03/1917 Wholesale Kangern
09/04/1917 Conquest of Bh. Hinzenberg
09/04/1917 Pursuit battles towards the Riga-Wenden road
06.09.-09.10.1917 Positional fighting north of the D?na
10.09.-09.20.1917 Transport to the west
20th Infantry Division (Western Front)
27.09.-10.10.1917 Battle in Flanders
20.11.1917-17.02.1918 Positional fights in the Artois
20.11.-11.29.1917 The tank battle at Cambrai
30.11.-07.12.1917 Attack Battle at Cambrai
18.02.-03.20.1918 Training and march to the "Great Battle of France"
21.03.-04.06.1918 Great battle in France
21.03.-03.23.1918 Breakthrough Battle Monchy-Cambrai
21.03.-03.23.1918 Fight for Morchies and Beugny
24.03.-03.25.1918 Battle of Bapaume
22.04.-05.25.1918 Fighting positions between Maas and Mosel: on the Maashohe at Lamorville-Spada and St. Mihiel
25.05.-06.25.1918 Reserve of OH-L. at Arlon
18.07.-07.26.1918 Defensive battle between Soissons and Reims
27.07.-03.08.1918 The mobile defensive battle between Marne and Vesle
03.08.-08.17.1918 Reserve Army Group German Kronprinz or Boehn
28.08.-02.09.1918 Battle of Monchy-Bapaume
06.09.-09.26.1918 Fighting in front of the Siegfried Front
27.09.-08.10.1918 Defensive battle between Cambrai and St. Quentin
03.11.-11.11.1918 Defensive battle on the Maas
03.11.-11.11.1918 Defensive battles between Maas and Beaumont
12.11.-12.23.1918 Clearance of the occupied territory and march home 12 inches high overall  read more

Code: 21788

A Grenadier Guards Officer's Sword From The Lanes Armoury Sold, and Raised £2,465 For The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity, Photographed With H.M. King Charles formerly HRH P.O.W

Swords, over the eons, have been part of the journey of civilised mankind since the days of pre-history, before 1200 bc. And over 3200 years later, even ‘retired’ historic swords can be put to a fine use that they were certainly not entirely designed to perform.
We were absolutely delighted that a sword, from us, once sold at their special charity ball auction. The auction raised in total, £56,000, a most handsome sum.
Mike Hammond, the Chief Executive, wrote to us to say;
"We’ve already had hundreds more of people staying at the house since we opened our doors to military patients and their families, and the sword has helped in funding another 99 days of accommodation for the families".

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham is home to the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, which treats UK military patients injured or wounded anywhere around the world.
The hospital charity built Fisher House, a home away from home for military patients and their families to stay whilst they are having medical treatment. You can see more about Fisher House at their website www.fisherhouseuk.org All donations will be most gratefully received.

A photo in the gallery is of HM King Charles when as HRH Prince Charles, opening Fisher House.  read more

Code: 17336

A Scarce Infanterie Seitengewehr Model 1871 Mauser Rifle Bayonet With Full Regimental Markings to Sword and Scabbard

The Mauser Model 1871 adopted as the Gewehr 71 or Infanterie-Gewehr 71, or "Infantry Rifle 71" ("I.G.Mod.71" was stamped on the rifles themselves) was the first rifle model in a distinguished line designed and manufactured by Paul Mauser and Wilhelm Mauser of the Mauser company and later mass-produced at Spandau arsenal.

Irish Republicans imported some 1,500 single-shot 1871 Mausers in the Howth gun-running for the nationalist militia called the Irish Volunteers in 1914. They were used in action by the Volunteers in the Easter Rising of 1916, the rebellion aimed at ending British rule in Ireland which began the Irish War of Independence. The 1871 Mauser became known in Ireland as the "Howth Mauser"  read more

Code: 24977

A Unique Leaf From The Published Work of Nicolas Jenson Printed in 1472

A single original surviving leaf from one of the earliest and rarest books ever printed. A complete volume of this work, if were ever to be on the open market could be worth well over a million pounds. Nicolas Jensen, who is roundly considered one of history?s greatest printers and typographers, turned out beautiful volumes from his Venetian workshop in the 15th century. There is a similar leaf from Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Philosophers by the Jensen Press, 1475. In resides in the Salisbury House Permanent Collection. A great and incredibly rare treasure from the very earliest days of printed text, with original handwritten annotations. This is a Folio. 6pp plus and original unique leaf from Ambrosius Aurelius Theodosius Macrobius's "In Somnium Scipionis Exposito". In Publisher's wrappers. 1 of only 73 ever published folio's that contained an original unique leaf from the master's great work of 1472. In very good condition. In The Manual Of Linotype Typography, the folio containing the rare single leaf was published in 1923, he clearly regarded him as one of the three greatest master printers of all time, alongside Gutenberg and Aldus. To own an original unique piece of Jenson's work, with annotations may be considered by some as one of the greatest privileges afforded to admirers of the printed word. An entire volume would be priceless, or at the least exceeding a million pounds or considerably more. Some hypothesize that Jenson studied under the tutelage of Gutenberg, the man who printed the rarest and most valuable book of all time, the Gutenberg or Mazarin Bible [one was apparently lost on the Titanic]. Jenson worked before the greatest English printer, the legendary William Caxton, and the very first book ever to be printed in English by Caxton was in 1473, "Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye" Jenson's story; In October 1458, while acting as Master of the French Royal Mint, Jenson was sent to Mainz, by King Charles VII, to study the art of metal movable type. Jenson then went to Mainz to study printing under Johannes Gutenberg. In 1470 he opened a printing shop in Venice, and, in the first work he produced, the printed roman lowercase letter took on the proportions, shapes, and arrangements that marked its transition from an imitation of handwriting to the style that has remained in use throughout subsequent centuries of printing. Jenson also designed Greek-style type and black-letter type. By 1472, Jenson had only been printing for two years. Even so, his roman type quickly became the model for what later came to be called Venetian oldstyle and was widely imitated. Though Jenson's type was soon superceded in popularity by those of Aldus and Garamond, it was revived again by William Morris in the late 19th century and became the model of choice for a number of private press printers.

Twentieth century commercial interpretations include Centaur and Cloister lightface, and most recently, ITC Legacy and Adobe Jenson. The books of Johann and Wendelin de Spira were printed with a new fount, a roman
type; this was a style of type that is familiar to the present day, but was at the time a radical innovation. A year later, in 1470, a new, slightly lighter and more elegant version appeared in books with a new imprint, that of Nicolas Jenson. In the colophons of books
printed from 1470 his name appears along with praise for his typographical skills. It is here that we see for the first time statements that leave no room for doubt. Jenson hasrightly become famous as the designer and cutter of the punches for the new roman typefaces as well as other founts that for a long time were the standard for legal and
theological works. Confirmation of his status as typographer is found in his last will and testament, written in 1480, where he made careful dispositions for what should be done
with his punches, the tangible results of a life?s experience and work that he wished to be protected. All these circumstances together lead to the notion that it was Jenson who improved the production of movable type by cutting excellent punches, a skill that he
had brought from the traditions of the Mint in Paris, and that he may first have applied inMainz to the long-lasting types used by Fust and Schoeffer.It is only in the last ten years of his life that Nicolas Jenson abandoned his anonymity,
and became prominent as a printer of magnificent books. Executed in sober, almost sculptural layouts they became models for centuries of printing. A famous example is the monumental edition of Pliny?s classical encyclopaedic work, his Historia naturalis, published by Jenson in 1472. An Italian translation, also published by Jenson, appeared in 1476 . The translation and printing were commissioned by the Florentine merchant Girolamo Strozzi, who also took care of the marketing.
Following in the tradition of Thomas Jefferson, whose library contained numerous works on European history, politics, and culture, the Library of Congress has many comprehensive European collections. The rarest of these works come to the Rare Book and Special Collections Division.
A special category of the division's European holdings is its collection of incunabula--books printed before 1501. Printed during the first decades of printing with movable type, these very rare and valuable books cover the whole spectrum of classical, medieval, and Renaissance knowledge and represent many of the highlights of the division's European materials. Over its nearly two-hundred-year history the Library of Congress has collected nearly 5,700 fifteenth-century books, the largest collection of incunabula in the western hemisphere. When Congress originally established its Library in 1800 and saw its collections destroyed by fire in 1814, it had no fifteenth-century books. Neither did the collection that Thomas Jefferson sold to Congress in 1815. This is not surprising because the books in the first Library served the need for general literature, and Jefferson primarily collected modern, scholarly editions in handy formats.

For the first fifty years or so after the acquisition of Jefferson's collection, the Library acquired incunabula very sparingly. The 1839 Catalogue of the Library of Congress lists only 2 incunabula: the Chronecken der Sassen (Mainz: Peter Schoeffer, 6 March 1492) and Ranulphus Hidgen's Polychronicon (Westminster: Wynkyn de Worde, 13 April 1495). The earliest incunabulum with a recorded date of acquisition is a 1478 edition of Astesanus de Ast's Summa de casibus conscientiae (Venice: Johannes de Colonia and Johannes Manthen, 18 March 1478).
The date that marks the real beginning of the incunabula collection at the Library of Congress is April 6, 1867, when the last shipment of Peter Force's library was received at the Capitol. His personal library held approximately 22,500 volumes, including 161 incunabula. The collection had some important books. The earliest imprint was Clement V's Constitutiones (Mainz: Peter Schoeffer, 8 October 1467); also included were a copy of Hartmann Schedel's Liber chronicarum (Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 12 July 1493) and Jenson's printing of Pliny's Historia naturalis (Venice: Nicolaus Jenson, 1472).
Gutenberg, Aldus and Jenson  read more

Code: 22403