Hereditas Antikvárium

17. árverés – Miscellanea ex libris Borda Lajos

Sopronii, 1738? Typis Philipp. Joan. Rennauer. 1pl(s). (engraved title page) )+(16)+592+(2)p.+5pl(s).
The publisher of this Catholic prayer book was Count Zsigmond Széchényi, captain of the hussars and royal chamberlain. There are two versions of the title page, one of which includes the year of publication. The owner of the item added several copperplate engravings. The beautiful title page of the 1701 edition of Pázmány's Prayer Book, decorated with an allegorical scene, was placed at the beginning of the volume. In addition, five other images from unknown sources adorn the work, with notes on the back by the book collector, István Nemecskay. The provost of Nagyszombat was a pioneer in the development of the Slovak literary language, and his collecting activities were the subject of much interest. This piece is noteworthy in several respects. In addition to the aforementioned engravings, the notes written on the back are also exciting: there are festive chronicles written for special events, as well as a prayer of thanksgiving written on his 80th birthday. Perhaps even more important than these are his travel notes written on the blank pages at the end of the volume, as these could excite even lovers of travel literature. In addition to several Adriatic voyages, there are also reports from Italy, Germany, and Austria, as well as a trip to the Váh Valley. This is definitely a source worthy of further research.
Gilt, contemporary leather with medallions on covers with the names of Jesus (front) and Mary (back). Inner edges gilt.
Provenance: István Nemecskay.
Reference: Éva Knapp, Egyedivé tett nyomtatványok – Nemecskay István könyvtárának újabb kötete, Könyvtári Figyelő 2018/1, pp. 98–104.