Bidspirit auction | Hebraicarum Institutionum – First Edition

Hebraicarum Institutionum – First Edition – Basel, 1518 – Hebrew Grammar by Wolfgang Capito (With Konrad Pellikan) - Hebraicarum Institutionum Libri Duo, fundamentals of the Hebrew language in two books, by Wolfgang Fabricius Capito. Basel: Johann Froben, 1518 (printing details in colophon). First edition. Latin and Hebrew. Hebrew grammar by Hebraist and reformer Wolfgang Fabricius Capito, in cooperation with Protestant theologian Konrad Pellikan. Two parts: phonology, roots and abbreviations; and noun and verb morphology, with declension charts. Decorated title page with woodcut frame by artist Hans Holbein the Younger. The bottom depicts Gaius Mucius Scaevola demonstrating his courage to King Porsena. Printer's device on last page; decorated initial panels (woodcuts). Many glosses and inscriptions in early handwriting to first thirty leaves of book (most in German); early owner's signatures on title page. The author, Wolfgang Fabricius Capito (1478-1541), was a German theologian and mystic, and an early Protestant reformer in Basel and Strasbourg. He taught philosophy at the University of Basel, and was a humanist with ties to Erasmus. Capito was known for his defense of the Jews, and had a close relationship with advocate R. Yosef of Rosheim, and in 1547 he even provided him with a letter of recommendation for Martin Luther to enable him to stop the expulsion of the Jews from Saxony. [58 leaves; 72 leaves (=130 leaves)], fine copy with wide margins. Approx. 20 cm. Good condition. Minor stains. New binding (covered with leaf from a Christian prayer book, ca. 16th century, printed in black and red); with new parchment binding.