1716 ❧ BAURENFEIND, MICHAEL. 1680-1753. Vollkommene Wieder-Herstellung, der bissher sehr in Verfall gekommenen gründlich und zierlichen Schreibkunst... Nuremberg: Christoph Weigel, [1716]. Oblong 4to (222 x 342 mm). Engraved title, six engravings in text and letterpress table inserted at page 30. 59 engraved plates, arranged in three suites: 24 plates lettered A-Z; 14 plates numbered 1-14; and 21 plates lettered A-X. plate I in the third suite slightly shorter and on a tab, some browning to the text that is printed on a different stock, some occasional staining. Contemporary German half vellum; morocco-backed box. Front hinge cracked, some rubbing. Provenance: F. Conrad Erker (signature on pastedown); Arthur and Charlotte Vershbow (bookplate, their sale Christie's New York, June 15, 2013, Lot 380). FIRST EDITION of Baurenfeind's manual of the main Latin, German, French, Italian and Dutch cursives, and of Greek, Hebrew and some exotic alphabets. It is dedicated to the citizens of Nuremberg, 14 December 1716, by the author, a fellow citizen and imperial notary. Each of the fifty-nine specimens is discussed in the prefatory text, where the author also gives instructions on the correct position of the hand, the proportions of majuscules and miniscules, height of the script, etc., with several text illustrations. A folding table compares Syria, Chaldaic, Arabic, Aethiopic, and three other alphabets. There were apparently three contemporaneous issues, without priority, differentiated by the tail-piece on page 39. In this copy the tail-piece measures 39 x 76 mm and features a flaming urn. A second volume of Baurenfeind's specimens was published twenty years later. Berlin Kat. 4871; Bonacini 157; Doede, Schreibmeisterbücher 126. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing