Hereditas Antikvárium

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12. Könyvárverés

(Frankfurt am Main, 1659. Thomas-Matthias Götz.) (8)+165p.+1pl(s). With large engraved vignette on title page. One leaf (preface) missing.
A variant of the third edition of the first independent work published about the Hungarian Holy Crown with an unknown title page. It was first published in 1613 in Augsburg, and the second time in Vienna in 1652. The author was a crown guard between 1608 and 1622. He is mentioned as a follower of Justus Lipsius and the first – and also the most original – Hungarian representative of the order-oriented political theory of the state based upon social hierarchy. The work's popularity is indicated by its several editions, even in the 19th century. From the point of view of cultural history, the description of the crown makes it remarkable. Indeed, Révay thought he had discovered the figure of the Virgin Mary on one of the plates, but in 1790, István Weszprémi described the figure of the Byzantine ruler, Mihály Dukász – still visible today – in the same place. For that reason, those who believe that the entire crown was donated by Pope Sylvester II to Saint Stephen, Révay is considered a reference. Supporters of the position that prevails today – that the crown was created by uniting two independent parts – believe that the conclusion of the crown guard was incorrect. On the decorative, full-page copper engraving, a four-line inscription can be read below the depiction of the crown.
Our title page does not include the imprint, and the text is also different (Nádasdy's name is not indicated either). However, the rest of the book is entirely identical to the previously known version.
20th-century half leather. Spine slightly worn.
Poss.: With ex libris of János Török.
Apponyi: 854., RMK III 2058., VD17 23:230438Y.