Manuscript on paper roll of George Ripley (?), Alchemy, in English verse, with additional verses attributed to Richard Carpenter. With Arnold of Villanova, Visio mystica, anonymously translated into English
Alternative Title:
Ripley Scroll
Description:
In English., Watermark: coat of arms (a bend) surmounted by a large fleur-de-lys, the type of Briquet 995 and Heawood 58-118, but not identical with any of these., Script: Written by an accomplished secretary hand using various forms and sizes of letter, some headings in roman capitals in epigraphic style., Large drawings in ink and watercolor. One large and fine drawing of an alchemist who holds a vessel, in which are eight roundels with brief Latin inscriptions and containing drawings symbolizing alchemical processes, all joined together by chain-links and surrounding a larger roundel to which they are connected by chains emanating from the bosses of a large book in the central roundel, the book being held by two individuals, the one on the left in monk's dress, the one on the right in richer (kingly?) garb. A toad, feathers, and drops of blood arise from the vessel. Another drawing of a tree growing from a well, its leafy top extending upward into the text, its leaves with the legend "Spiritus Anima"; against the tree trunk are a female anthropomorphic figure with the toes of a toad, labeled "Spiritus", and below, a male child labeled "Anima"; vines with grapes twine around the tree trunk, and two nude human figures, male and female, standing in the water grasp the vines and eat the grapes. Around the well are seven towers, in each of which is a robed alchemist holding a flask; the towers have the legend "Prima (-Septima) Imbibissio". In a third large drawing, the sun breaks through clouds and droplets of water fall on an anthropomorphic, crowned human-headed bird (the Phoenix?) which reposes on a brownish ball with a pattern of waves (the sea, as the verses below state); feathers surround the ball. Below is a sort of sunburst with a sphere at center inside of which are three smaller spheres, red, blue, and gray, linked together by chains. Below this is a triple crescent moon of the same colors, with the inscription "Luna cressens" (sic). Below, the snout of a very large dragon intrudes on (bites?) the crescent moon; the dragon is flanked by the legend at the foot of f. 11: The Serpent of Arrabia. The dragon occupies all of f. 12 and reposes on an orb divided into three parts onto which its blood drips. At left of the final folio, there is an excellent drawing of a man, his mouth agape, his left hand raised in a gesture of astonishment. He appears to be dressed in humble attire; he carries a bag over his shoulder, and a sack over his right arm; under the same arm is a curious pole with a shod horse's hoof at one end, a scroll at the pointed upper end, a portion of the scroll streaming out behind him., Paper roll consisted originally of thirteen folio sheets and half-sheets of differing lengths glued together, averaging 540 mm. in width (lateral margins and broad bordering line in black ink partly trimmed away); now cut into thirteen sections measuring about 435 x 540 each, except for the last which measures 625 x 540, each of the sections glued down to a linen backing and the whole folded in-leporello., and Binding: Modern brown suede leather, back and corners of brown niger, gold rules setting off the two leathers on each cover, the upper cover with title lettered in gold, "ASTROLOGICAL SCROLL", probably English, early 20th century.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Ripley, George, d. 1490?
Subject (Topic):
Alchemy, English poetry, Illumination of books and manuscripts, English, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on paper containing 1) Anthony Jenkinson (1529-1610/11), Relation of a travel to Russia and Persia. 2) Anonymous sonnet in praise of Queen Elizabeth I. Probably an autograph. 3) Anonymous treatise in four parts attacking the apology which Cardinal William Allen (1532-1594) published in 1587 for Sir William Stanley's action in the Netherlands in the preceding year. 4) Accounts regarding tenements; one is headed "Lambeth". 5) Account of a journey through the Middle East, made in 1578 and attributed by another hand to an unrecorded Sir Anthony Standen. 6) Definition of terms related to the Turkish empire encountered in art. 5. 7) Description of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany under Francesco Maria de' Medici (1541-1587). 8) Ferdinand Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva (1508-1582), Proposal addressed to King Philip II of Spain regarding the conquest of Portugal, made 25 May 1579, in English translation. 9) Description of the Benedictine convent of Camaldoli near Arezzo. 10) Short description of England and Scotland. 11) Accounts signed William Garnett; the last one is dated from the 33d year of Queen Elizabeth (1591/1592). The upper outer corner of the page is missing, with loss of text. 12) Collection of state letters. 13) Estate accounts partly dating from 1586/1587 and addressed to unknown person
Description:
In English., Script: Part I (between 1550 and 1600): Art. 1, 3 and the group 5-10 are each written by a different scribe, all writing Gothica Cursiva Libraria (Secretary). The quotations and headings in art. 3 are in Humanistica Cursiva. Art. 2 is also written in Humanistica Cursiva. Art. 4 is in Gothica Cursiva Currens (Secretary)., Script: Part II (between 1600 and 1625): Written by one hand in Gothica Cursiva Currens (Secretary), some quotations and headings in Humanistica Cursiva., Script: Part III (between 1575 and 1600): Written by one hand in Gothica Cursiva Formata (Secretary)., and Binding: Seventeenth century (?). Brown (?) sheepskin over pasteboard, rebacked. On the spine the gold-tooled titles (s. XIX-XX) "JENKINSON RELATION 1561" and "STATE PAPERS?? MS.".
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., England, Middle East, Russia, and Great Britain
Subject (Name):
Allen, William, 1532-1594., Jenkinson, Anthony., and Standen, Anthony, Sir.
Subject (Topic):
English poetry, English prose literature, Manuscripts, Medieval, Description and travel, History, and Politics and government
Manuscript, on parchment, in at least two scribal hands, of this narrative poem by John Lydgate. The text was almost certainly originally complete but now lacks the Prologue and the opening stanzas of Book I, opening at the line "For to be crowned in that regeous" and lacking the final few leaves of text as well. There is also a textual lacuna between f92v and f93r, Contemporary textual corrections and insertions marked by red crosses. Occasional pen trials and names in contemporary hands, and Autograph letter signed from Frederic Madden to Lord Braybrooke, 1840 March 9, tipped in at front of volume. The letter contains a description of the manuscript and advises that it be rebound while preserving the initials of Mary Sidney
Description:
In Middle English., Script: anglicana and secretary; in the hands of at least two scribes., Decoration: initials in red and blue, some with marginal scroll decoration., Layout: 56 lines in two columns, 15 stanzas per page. Catchwords., and Binding: 19th-century calf over wood, covers inlaid with fragment of 16th-century binding preseving the initials "M.S." (Mary Sidney).
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Lydgate, John, 1370?-1451?
Subject (Topic):
English literature, English poetry, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Narrative poetry, English (Middle)
Manuscript, on parchment, in a single hand, containing an herbal in prose and verse. The volume opens with two Middle English poems, showing traces of East Anglian dialect, describing a variety of herbs and their medicinal properties, as well as accepted cures and prescriptions for a number of ailments. These are followed by Middle English and Latin prose texts also concerning herbal medicine
Description:
In Middle English and Latin., Laid in: parchment fragment probably recovered from earlier binding., Layout: single columns of 33 lines., Script: English bookhand., Decoration: some initials, headings and words in red ink., and Binding: modern vellum boards.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Topic):
English poetry, English prose literature, Herbals, Herbs, Therapeutic use, Manuscripts, Medieval, Medicine, and Medicine, Medieval
Manuscript, on parchment, in a single hand, of Richard de Caistre's popular hymn
Description:
In Middle English., Bound with Fifteen Joys of Our Lady., Layout: single columns of 20 lines., Script: gothic liturgical script., Decoration: red and blue penwork., and Binding: modern full red morocco.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Richard, of Caistre.
Subject (Topic):
Devotional literature, English (Middle), English literature, English poetry, Hymns, English, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript, on parchment, of Peter Idley's Instructions to his son, an adaptation (ca. 1445-50) of Albertano of Brescia's treatises addressed to his own sons. The manuscript was produced in England at the end of the fifteenth century and is written in anglicana and secretary script
Description:
In Middle English and Latin., Idley's Liber Secundus, a separate poem, follows the Instructions on f. 31v., Fragments of late thirteenth-century graded calendar used as pastedowns., Numerous sixteenth-century ownership inscriptions of Thomas Dowse on flyleaves., Verses from William Warner, Erasmus, and Shakespeare copied on flyleaves in sixteenth-century hands., and Binding: contemporary white leather over wooden boards; spine sewn on five double tawed leather thongs; remnants of clasp (three foliate metal pins) on upper cover.
Subject (Name):
Idley, Peter, d. 1474?
Subject (Topic):
Conduct of life, Didactic poetry, English, English poetry, and Youth
Manuscript on parchment of 1) John Lydgate (ca. 1370-ca. 1451), Life of Our Lady. The beginning is missing (Book I, verses 1-70 ). 2) The Privity of the Passion, an anonymous English translation, here attributed to Walter Hilton (d. 1396), of part of Ps.-Bonaventura, Meditationes vitae Christi
Description:
In Middle English with some Latin., Script: Probably copied by one scribe, writing Gothica Cursiva Libraria (Secretary). The headings in art. 2 are in a larger form of the same script, more close to Anglicana., In art. 2 the scribe left space for 2-line initials (a 3-line initial at the opening) and generally wrote guide-letters, but initials were never added and all other forms of decoration are missing., Low quality parchment, with holes and irregular edges. The upper outer corner of f. 79 is torn away with loss of text., and Binding: Twentieth century. Glossy brown leather over pasteboard, both covers framed with blind-tooled fillets; spine with four raised bands; in the second compartment the gold-tooled inscription "LYDGATE - LIFE OF OUR LADY"; at the bottom: "C. 1450". Sprinkled edges.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Lydgate, John, 1370?-1451?
Subject (Topic):
Devotional literature, English (Middle), English poetry, Literature, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript in Simpson's hand containing fair copies of 26 poems in a variety of genres, many labeled as "Imitations" of published pieces. Titles include "Dedication: To Miss Sally Leaper;" "A Monody in Imitation of Milton's Lycidas;" "The Almshouse: An Elegy in Imitation of Jerningham's Magdalen and Nun;" "A Song Written at School;" "The Servants: A Tale;" "The Degree below Mediocrity;" "To Aurelia--Written Immediately upon Perusal of Pope's Eloisa to Abelard;" "Lorenzo, in Imitation of Parnell's Hermit; and "The Charms of Contentment." "The Happy Quadrumvirate: A Tale" is annotated with the names of the friends described and the comment, "Written when really happy on a suppositious plan of a journey to Oxon." and This group of poems is followed by a short verse and the note: "Stephen Simpson and Miss Sarah Leaper were married in St. Werburgh's by the Revd. Mr. Hope on the 27th of June 1776." The volume concludes with "Edwin," signed and dated "21 April 74."
Description:
Front flyleaf signed, "Ste. Simpson.", Spine title reads "Poems.", and Binding: contemporary (?) full calf; banded and gilt-stamped spine. Red morocco label.
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain., Great Britain, and Coventry (England)
Subject (Topic):
English poetry, Occasional verse, English, Weavers, Working class, Books and reading, and Intellectual life
Caption title., "Price 1d.", Two poems, the first signed: Dr. Barbon., The first poem (left column) begins: "When glorious Anna's happy reign began ...", The second poem (beginning in lower portion of middle column) entitled "The te deum": "To thee, O lord, we chearful praises sing ...", and Sheet trimmed to 44 x 33. For further information, consult library staff.
Publisher:
Printed and are to be sold by E. Mallet next the King's Arms Tavern on the ditch-side near Fleet-Street
Subject (Geographic):
England.
Subject (Name):
Anne, Queen of Great Britain, 1665-1714 and Westminster Abbey,
Subject (Topic):
Coronation, Coronations, Queens, and English poetry
Manuscript, on paper, in several cursive hands, containing a variety of alchemical, medical, and other "scientific" texts in Latin, Middle English, and Anglo-Norman French. Contents include two Middle English poems, one on the four temperments, and the other the alchemical Secrets of the philosophers, attributed to George Ripley. Other contents include a dialogue between Dives and Lazarus; a copy of the Computus manualis; verious medical and alchemical recipes and formulae; and a treatise on snakeskin
Description:
In Latin, Middle English, and Anglo-Norman French. and Binding: contemporary limp vellum.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Topic):
Alchemy, English literature, English poetry, English prose literature, Manuscripts, Medieval, Medicine, and Science
