Lot 04

Zacharias Ursinus (1534 - 1583) COMPENDIUM OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE

The small-format book with a blue trim period bound in a polished parchment binding with five bindings and four leather bindings represents an exceptionally well-preserved example of a late-Renaissance non-frequented book. On the title page on the right is a period inscription in April ink, size approx. 3 x 4 cm "Ex libris Vuenceslaj Budowetz i Budowa" with the attached signature of the owner. It is therefore beyond all doubt a specimen from the property of Václav Budovec from Budov (1551-1621), a Czech politician, diplomat and writer, executed in the Old Town Square on 12 June 1621. According to the signature, the inscription is apparently from the hand of Budovec himself. In any case, this is unprecedented bohemianism, transcending the boundaries of Czech book culture. Book contains (12) sheets, 902 pages, (1) sheet. Furthermore, woodcut publisher's signature on the title page, woodcut initials with floral decoration, lines, marginalia. Reformation theologian Zacharias Ursinus (1534-1583), born in Wrocław, studied in Wittenberg with Philip Melanchthon. In 1561, he graduated as a doctor of theology in Heidelberg, and on his travels he also visited John Calvin in Geneva. His main contribution was the creation of a new Protestant catechism, which was certainly close to the famous owner of this copy, so it is only logical that it ended up in his library.