Bidspirit auction | Pinto, Hector — IMAGEM DA

Pinto, Hector — IMAGEM DA VIDA CHRISTAM. Lisbon. Printed by António Álvares. At the expense of João de Espanha, bookseller. 1592. [viii], 244 folios. 14.0 cm × 9.5 cm. E. - Seventh edition of the First Part of the Imagem da Vida Christam, the prose masterpiece of the golden age of Portuguese literature. Arranged in six dialogues — on True Philosophy, Religion, Justice, Tribulation, the Solitary Life, and the Remembrance of Death — this is a masterly synthesis of the medieval Christian tradition and the classical erudition of the Renaissance, a work that was translated into Latin, Spanish, French, and Italian. In addition to the six dialogues announced on the title page, it also contains a Summary of a sermon for Ascension Day and an explanation of the Arms of Coimbra. Frei Hector Pinto (Covilhã, 1528 – Toledo, 1584?) was a Hieronymite friar, professor at the University of Coimbra, and one of the foremost biblical exegetes of the sixteenth century. A supporter of the claims of D. António, Prior of Crato, to the Portuguese Crown, he was exiled by order of Philip I to a monastery of his Order in Toledo, where he died. Innocêncio, the ”patron of Portuguese-language antiquarian booksellers”, records this work at III, 175. Copy with ownership signatures from the eighteenth century (Sanches) and the nineteenth century (From Fr. João Lopes de [Maras?.]). Title page detached with loosened reinforcement. Contemporary binding with raised bands and gilt tooling. Crimson-stained edges. Worm holes and wear to the hinges and rear board, with loss of the surface layer of the leather. Worm holes affecting the text in the first 30 leaves and in leaves 155 to 190, without impeding legibility; soiling and minor staining.