1554 La Declaration de L'instrument de Seb. (Sebastian) Munster

1554 French edition of Sebastian Munster's description of how to use his sun instrument, this copy from the library of Harvard professor, astronomer and author Owen Gingerich; Munster's sun instrument was a broadside, with five volvelles, first printed in 1525 (per Munster, but no 1525 copy exists), that could be used to calculate time (by sun and moon), determine latitude, determine distances, calculate eclipses, predict moon phases, and calculate Easter's date.

Due to the physical nature of the broadside (single printed sheet), there is one well-known existing copy, a 1528 printing, and the volvelles pieces are not present; the verifiable copy resides in the Universitatsbibliothek Basel (shelfmark Km XI 13:3).

I found a high-quality photo of the existing instrument, and printed it on acid-free paper, measuring 8.5"x14" (that I folded and placed inside the front cover), to provide the next owner context.

This 1554 edition is the second French edition, which means the broadsides' market had expanded into France. The work was first printed in German, the first extant edition in 1528 (although rumors of a 1525 edition persist), matching the printing date of the only known instrument.

The illustrations in this 1554 edition are of note. The illustration on the title page is attributed to Hans Holbein the Younger, showing Ptolemy and an astronomer (possibly Munster) engaged in discussion. Also, the Ursa Major illustration is a reproduction of the volvelle part for the night (upper right volvelle of the broadside).

The waste vellum that was used to make this copy's binding has layers of writing on it. An earlier layer of writing, better visible under black light, contains a simple math equation showing decimal use (front cover, near the bottom); this could be an example of early decimal point use if the binding is contemporary to the printing. The Smithsonian published an article, The Decimal Point is 150 Years Older than Previously Thought... (Feb 19, 2024, Sarah Kuta), noting that Giovanni Bianchini used the decimal point between 1441 and 1450. But, the vellum could have been added to this book later, or written on later, so there's really no definitive proof of the time the decimal was written.

Provenance -

There's a number of older provenance marks, on the binding, title page and in the margins, but I've been unable to successfully relate them to a known individual.

The front pastedown has the ex libris ticket of Owen Gingerich, Harvard professor, astronomer, historian, author, bibliophile, etc.

Bibliographic Details -

Universal Short Title Catalogue (USTC) number 29700, 13 copies recorded in the world's libraries (no copies in North America).

Pettegree, Walsby and Wilkinson, French Vernacular Books - reference 38860

About Sebastian Munster-

Sebastian Munster (1488-1552) was a German cartographer and cosmographer. He also was a Christian Hebraist scholar who taught as a professor at the University of Basel. His well-known work, the highly accurate world map, Cosmographia, sold well and went through 24 editions. Its influence was widely spread by a production of woodcuts created of it by a variety of artists.

Physical Attributes -

Measures approx. 20.5 x 16 x 1 cm. Vellum wrapper made of binder's waste with expired ties. Title page with illustration. Decorative and inhabited initials. Nine illustrations.

Pages - not paginated

Collation - A-M4. Collates complete.

Condition -

See pictures. Vellum is heavily used, used for notes before being a binding; evidence of restoration, with fresh spine ties and pastedowns. Still, a little wavy, much toned, even having stitched repair on the front board. Fore-edge of rear board with nibbles from edge. Ex libris ticket on pastedown. "1412" written on flyleaf.

Throughout text block some toning, thumbing, occasional page edge chip, dog eared corner, old annotations (perhaps writing practice), etc. Title page with toning, repairs, ex libris marks, etc. Funny face drawn in shield on A2. Leashed bird drawing at chapter one, and large ink initials. Occasional corner and page edge repair throughout. Starting at H gathering, there is a moisture mark in the fore-edge margin. Light annotations on the bear engraving. Larger repairs to fore-edges margins at rear.