Educational sammelband circa late 17th century

This article describes the provenance, contents, and provides selected transcriptions from the manuscript portions of this collection--the Visus Libelli. For further details, please consult this item's Hamnet record V.a.615.

Provenance

Like many early modern manuscripts, the provenance of this sammelband is unknown. But, it is an excellent example of learning practices of the time. The one name that does appear is that of Sir William Waller (c. 1639-1699), who was a politician who took his own Grand Tour during 1656. Waller's name appears on the final leaf of the Farnaby text bound in this work.

About the sammelband

Visus Libelli contains printed extracts from at least sixteen printed educational titles, mostly in Latin, which are then framed by manuscript prefatory and postscript material, curricula, and a table of contents. Its size was one of its chief assets. Instead of having to travel with an entire library of text books devoted to mathematics, medicine, languages, theology, and astronomy, a tutor could carry a single, very rotund, duodecimo. The compiler provides a unique window into the intended use of his work, and into the needs of tutors on the Grand Tour, which had its beginnings in England at the time that he compiled the book.

For a fuller description of this work, see its featured post on the Folger blog, The Collation.

To view high-resolution images of the binding, view this item on LUNA.

Selected manuscript transcriptions

Title

Visus Libelli

This Vade-Mecum Memorial Ma=

nual of Muses, or Compleate Compen=

dious Complexe and Companion, of

Learned Languages Sciences,

Scarcely another to be seen so short,

small and full, is most fitt and servicea=

ble

(folio 1r)

Selected alternate titles

I. Or a Travelling Tutor

and Disciple abroad, or

else much rising and walking

at home. 1. Because this Little

Library of Learnings and lan=

guages saves the troubles and

paines of carrying and turning

great many book-baggages.

(folio 1r)

7. Makes at last a full Treasure of

heart, mind, memory and iudgement,

without whimsing and confounded

Quack cawdle or hotch-potch:

all in a due Right nature and Or-

der of things, both Old and New

Rarities, by a full heart, and

Ingenious exercised iudgement, not

by a pocked paper, and cunning

Coucheon Copy-hold, or a babbling

Quack spirit.

(folios 1v-2r)

[II.] 5. The young Scholar alone, or

with his more or less Learned Com=

panion, may turn, talk, or Con=

verse together, in and with this

Little Library Companion: till

the Book once will be well

wasted, far above the money-

worth.

(folio 2r)

Notes

Identifier/extract item title	Source	Pages	Signatures	Edition	Notes
Manuscript introduction
	Gautruche, Pierre. Mathematicae Totius	"Mathematica" plate		1663 or 1668 English edition?
Geometriam	Alsted, Johann. Methodus admirandorum mathematicorum novem libris...	p. 92-144	[D?-first 3 leaves], E-F12
Tabula Ia, Iia, IIIa, IIII, V, VI	Gautruche, Pierre. Mathematicae totius			Wing G382? [1668 English edition? (plates V and VI not in 1663 edition)]
Geometriam	Alsted, Johann. Methodus admirandorum mathematicorum novem libris...	p. 145-168	G1-G12		Error in foliation between 45 and 50; extra leaf
[A Catalogue of all the eclipses of [the] sun and moon, which will be visible in Eng. From the year 1677 to the year 1700]	Seller, John. Atlas cellestis			1677 (Wing S2463)	Error in foliation between 45 and 50; extra leaf
De mundo tab. I, Tabula II, III, IIII, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, Pro Musica	Gautruche, Pierre. Mathematicus totius				Error in foliation between 45 and 50; extra leaf
	Alsted, Johann. Methodus admirandorum mathematicorum novem libris...	p. 169-247	H-K12, L4
[Frontispiece plate]	Moore, Jonas. Modern fortification: or, Elements of military architecture			Wing M2577 (i.e. 1689) or Wing M2576 (1673)
Figure 32 [top of Plate V; trimmed]	Moore, Jonas. Modern fortification: or, Elements of military architecture			Wing M2577 (i.e. 1689) or Wing M2576 (1673)
Plate V	Moore, Jonas. Modern fortification: or, Elements of military architecture			Wing M2577 (i.e. 1689) or Wing M2576 (1673)
Fig. 31, 30, 29 [bottom of Plate VI; plate numbering trimmed away]	Moore, Jonas. Modern fortification: or, Elements of military architecture			Wing M2577 (i.e. 1689) or Wing M2576 (1673)
[Plate VII]	Moore, Jonas. Modern fortification: or, Elements of military architecture			Wing M2577 (i.e. 1689) or Wing M2576 (1673)
Pl. II	Moore, Jonas. Modern fortification: or, Elements of military architecture			Wing M2577 (i.e. 1689) or Wing M2576 (1673)
Pl. III	Moore, Jonas. Modern fortification: or, Elements of military architecture			Wing M2577 (i.e. 1689) or Wing M2576 (1673)
Pl. VIII	Moore, Jonas. Modern fortification: or, Elements of military architecture			Wing M2577 (i.e. 1689) or Wing M2576 (1673)
[Pl. IX]	Moore, Jonas. Modern fortification: or, Elements of military architecture			Wing M2577 (i.e. 1689) or Wing M2576 (1673)
"Fig. I for Neparies Rods"	[Possibly from A mathematical compendium?]
"Decimall Tables"	Moore, Jonas. A mathematical compendium...			Wing M2573 (1681)
	Moore, Jonas. A mathematical compendium...	p. 1-120 [most page numbers trimmed away; some lost text]		Wing M2573 (1681)