MS. Canon. Misc. 176

Binding

A composite binding, with part of an early wrapper preserved inside the 18th-century binding:

15th century, by or before 1451, Italian, Venice?: fol. 76, a thick parchment leaf now serving an end flyleaf, was very likely the lower cover of a medieval wrapper – the top, fore-edge and bottom edges with any folds now trimmed away, but retaining a vertical fold from a former spine-edge. Positioned at what might have been approx. the centre of this outside back cover, fol. 76v, is an inscription in neat humanistic capitals, ‘.FORT.RED.’ ( ‘Fortuna redux’ or ‘Fortunae reduci’), a standard classical motto for Fortune bringing a happy return. Fol. 76r has a note by Bernardo Bembo with date recording the book’s purchase for three gold ducats on 18 Dec. 1450/51. 279–80 × c. 215 × c. 16–18 mm. (thickness of text-block without covers).

(current binding) 18th century, Italian, Venice, a standard style of Jacopo Soranzo’s collection: pasteboards; parchment, here without turn-in flaps; covers undecorated; two gilt red-leather title-labels on spine; no ties or clasps; edges plain, discoloured; paste-downs and flyleaves of carta bassanese, designed with a background grid or trellis of broad red horizontal lines, overlaid with a bold pattern of flowers and large acanthus-like leaves in blue, red and ochre-yellow. 289–90 × 221–5 × c. 24–26 mm. (book closed).