Almanac, 1640 | Verklaringhe vanden almanach

Broer Jansz [drukker]

Almanac, 1640 | Verklaringhe vanden almanach, Aengaende de daghen van yeder Maendt in ‘t iaer, wien en waerom de selvige haer toegeeygent zijn, seer dienstelick en profijtelick om lesen. Mede seer bequaem voor de gene die de laer-merckten hanteren, ende zijn oversulcx hier achter aan gevoeght eenige principale iaer-merckten van verscheyden Provintien. Amsterdam, Broer Jansz, 1640.

Name: Almanac, 1640 | Verklaringhe vanden almanach, Aengaende de daghen van yeder Maendt in 't iaer, wien en waerom de selvige haer toegeeygent zijn, seer dienstelick en profijtelick om lesen. Mede seer bequaem voor de gene die de laer-merckten hanteren, ende zijn oversulcx hier achter aan gevoeght eenige principale iaer-merckten van verscheyden Provintien. Amsterdam, Broer Jansz, 1640.
SKU: BB110138
Price: 4000.00 EUR
Availability: InStock

4°, 53 (5) pp. interleaved w 66 blank pp. bearing extensive manuscript annotations in Latin, French, and Dutch. Bound in plain wrappers and trimmed. Text unaffected, but minor impact on some manuscript notes. Woodcut vignette on title-page. Bookplates of Mr. W.C. Baert de Waarde (1864-1951) and Fritz Michael Meyer (1902-1992) on verso frontwrapper. Back wrapper torn; frontwrapper loose. Lacks final (unnumbered) 7 pp. of the work’s last section, “De principaelste Jaer/Leer/Paerde en Beestemerckten die ghehouden worden in Hollandt, Zeelandt, Vrieslandt, Groeninghen, Gelderlandt ende ‘t Sticht van Utrecht”. Otherwise, a good copy.

A rare copy of an important work in the history of almanacs, with extensive marginalia and manuscript notes ripe with potential for further study.

This edition by the prolific almanac publisher Broer Jansz marked an important step in the movement against judicial astrology. The author, identified only as “I.P.T.F. Medicinae & Astrologiae Doctorem”, declares predictive astrology to be un-Christian and indicative of the genre’s decline. This almanac seeks to rehabilitate the genre by guiding users on the Christian path. Each date, therefore, presents a biblical or historical figure. The owner of this copy clearly studied the text carefully; numerous marginalia associate the almanac’s content with additional saints and martyrs.

The interleaved pages adopt a different focus: the user compiles historical events for each calendar date across various years. For instance, for 12 September the author lists [15]92: the end of the Siege of Coevorden, [16]66: the Great Fire of London, and [16]72 and [16]73: issues relating to the Rampjaar. Dating primarily between the 1300s through the late-1600s, the events extend from Dutch interests (e.g. a speech delivered by Grotius in Amsterdam) to European affairs (e.g. the birth of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V; the death of Henry IV’s confidant and lover Duchess of Beaufort Gabrielle D’Éstrees), to global colonial efforts (e.g. events of the Anglo-Dutch wars in Africa).

Other dates mentioned in manuscript: 24 February 1500 Birth of HRE Charles V
10 April 1599 of Gabrielle DÉstrees, Duchess of Beaufort / confidant and lover of Henry IV
21 April 1666 “Capt. Robert Holmes […] in Africa”
11 July 1302 Franco-Flemish Battle of Courtrai, etc.

SKU: BB110138

The item includes a handmade book cover bearing the ex-libris of Fritz Michael Meyer. The ex-libris design was prepared by famed Dutch artist Anton Pieck (1895-1987), whose signature appears in the lower right corner.

€ 4.360,00 (€ 4.000,00 ex. btw)

In stock