Hugo (Herman, S.J.) De Prima Scribendi Origine et Universa rei literariae antiquitate..., first edition, engraved device to title, early ink ownership inscription to title, full page engraved illustration, engraved printer's device to final leaf, bookplate, lacking E8, occasional spotting, some light uniform browning, some splitting to gutter, contemporary vellum, chip and tear at spine foot, [Bonacini, 831], small 8vo, Antwerp, Jan Moretus, 1617.

⁂ Important work by the Jesuit scholar Herman Hugo on the history of writing - one of the first on the topic - including the origin of various scripts, writing utensils and the invention of printing. Bookplate from library of Emmaus Monastery, Prague; founded 1347 the only Benedictine monastery in Slavic Europe, the monks from which were sent to Dachau concentration camp, and the buildings of which were destroyed by a U.S. air raid on Prague in February 1945.