Kempis (Thomas a)

Opuscula venerabilis Thomae de Kempis canonici regularis, 2 vol., woodcut vignette on title of vol. 1, and woodcut device on last verso, occasional spotting, scribble on title, early annotations on free endpaper in vol. 2, later speckled calf, a little worming, [Adams K-17; STC Italian (BL London) 323], 24mo bound in 8, Bernardino Stagnino da Trino, Venice, 1536.

*** Collected edition of the treatises and sermons of Thomas a Kempis. The work showcases the typical features of the typographic masterpieces in small format produced during the first decades of printing. Stagnino was the first of the well-known Giolito De Ferrari family from Trino (Monferrato) to practice the art of printing; but he always subscribed to his editions with the nickname Stagnino. He published works on law and medicine, works by Aristotle (1498), as well as liturgical texts, and illustrated copies of Virgil (1507), Dante (1512, 1520, 1536) and Petrarch (1513, 1519, 1522). Stagnino used a letterpress brand with the initials B. S.; then, from 1498, he adopted the banner of S. Bernardino of Siena.