Chiromancy.

Opus pulcherrimus chiromantie cu[m] multis additionibus nouiter impressum.

Venice, B. Benalius [1504-15].

Tall 8vo (192 x 130 mm.). Gothic type (88/9 text, 175 title), 34 lines per page, initial guide letters, TWENTY-ONE NEARLY FULL-PAGE WOODCUT ILLUSTRATIONS OF RIGHT PALMS MARKED WITH LINES AND SYMBOLS.

19th-century English gilt- and blind-ruled dark blue calf, lilies in the corners, spine gilt and gilt-lettered, all edges gilt.

            Illustrated anonymous chiromancy manual combining natural science, astrology, medicine, divination and folklore. THIS IS THE ONLY COMPLETE COPY KNOWN AND THE SECOND OVERALL. The edition date rests on typographic evidence.
            12th-century Latin translations of Arabic and Greek philosophical texts encouraged the spread of palm reading in Europe. Linked with astrology, chiromancy became ubiquitous in medical diagnosis, political strategy and fortune-telling by the 15th century.
            The first two chapters and diagrams introduce the principal physical features of the hand, their names and their connection to the seven planets. The following nineteen illustrations include abstract signs representing skin creases and fine lines, which reveal character traits and future events — from stomachache to patricide.
            The balance of the work treats the five principal palm lines and provides interpretations of their definition, color, length, depth, direction and intersections, along with the influence of hand proportions, finger thickness and nail shape. In very good condition, bookplate and signature (1862) of James Carnegie, 9th Earl of Southesk.
¶Sander, Le Livre à figures italien 1943; Baroncelli, Catalogo degli incunabuli della Biblioteca Ugo da Como di Lonato App. I: 1 (the other known copy; lacking title; incorrect text type); IGI VI Aggiunte 125 (after Sander & Baroncelli); ISTC ic00467300 (as IGI); GW 0664210N (title after this copy but incorrect text type); Typenrepertorium der Wiegendrucke ma14012 (Benalius’ 29:88G); see Fürbeth’s “Das Johannes Hartlieb zugeschriebene Buch von der Hand” in Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur 136 (2007) 449-79 and Rapisarda’s Manuali medievali di chiromanzia 14-30.

Item #12020

Price: $28,000.00