Michele de Carcano - [Incunable] Sermonarium - 1495

MONT OF PIETY TO FIGHT USURY: A RARE INCUNABLE EDITION OF ETHICAL FINANCE
Rarest incunabular edition of one of the most influential works of Franciscan preaching in the fifteenth century. Michele de Carcano was the great preacher who turned the struggle against usury from a simple moral theme into a concrete project of economic and social reform.
A rubricated exemplar with initials filigree in a contemporary hand.
These sermons contributed directly to the birth of the Monti di Pietà, institutions designed to provide credit to the poorest as a Christian alternative to usury, profoundly transforming the economic life of Italian cities. Printed in Milan in 1495 by the famous printer Ulderico Scinzenzeler for Raffaele Peregalli, this volume constitutes one of the most important testimonies of religious culture of the early Renaissance. The refined Gothic layout, the incipit in red, the initials filigree and the rubrication in an ancient hand, make the exemplar also a splendid document of Italian typographic art among incunabula.

WHY TO BUY
• Work that contributed to the birth of the Monti di Pietà.
• Exemplar rubricated with initials filigree in an ancient hand.
• Fundamental for the history of economy, finance and Christian social doctrine.
• Rare Milanese incunabula edition from 1495.
• Printed by Ulderico Scinzenzeler, one of the major Milanese printers of the fifteenth century.

MARKET VALUE
Incunabula by Michele de Carcano are rarely available on the international market and are sought after by both religious book collectors and scholars of European economic history. The Milan editions by Scinzenzeler, especially when they preserve the original rubrication and are in good condition, normally command prices between €8,000 and €10,000.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Later full parchment binding, smooth spine. Ex libris Terrosi Vagnoli. Text in Gothic type laid out in two columns. Incipit printed in red. Large initials filigree twelve lines in red and blue. Paragraph initials alternating in red and blue and rubricated in red for the entire volume. Ancient ownership notes on the flyleaf. Modest staining along the upper margin of the first and last leaves and sporadic signs of use. In old books, by their nature and centuries-long history, small imperfections may be present and not always expressly noted. Collation: (2), 265, (4).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Sermonarium de commendatione virtutum et detestatione vitiorum.
Milano, Uldericus Scinzenzeler, per Raphael Peregallus, 1495.
Michele de Carcano.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
From the second half of the fifteenth century to the early sixteenth, the observant Franciscan preaching was one of the most powerful instruments for transforming Italian society. Michele de Carcano was among its foremost interpreters, addressing from the pulpits issues we would today define as economic and social: credit, debt, commerce, poverty, justice in economic relations, and the moral responsibility of wealth. His tireless campaign against usury fostered the foundation of the Monti di Pietà, institutions that allowed common people to obtain small loans on pledge without turning to usurers. This volume documents a moment when theological reflection left the universities to concretely shape the economic organization of Italian cities, anticipating themes destined to remain central in European history.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Michele de Carcano was born near Como around 1427 and joined the Order of Friars Minor Observants at a very young age. Considered one of the greatest preachers of his time, he traversed much of northern and central Italy delivering sermons that addressed both spiritual life and the economic problems of urban society. He collaborated with the leading figures of the Franciscan Observance and energetically supported the creation of the Monti di Pietà, contributing to their rapid diffusion. He died in 1484, leaving a body of sermons that continued to be printed throughout the Renaissance.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
This rare edition was printed in Milan in 1495 by Ulderico Scinzenzeler for bookseller-publisher Raffaele Peregalli. Scinzenzeler is regarded as one of the most important printers active in northern Italy at the end of the fifteenth century and played a decisive role in the diffusion of Lombard religious and humanist culture. The works of Michele de Carcano were frequently read and used by preachers and religious figures, but the survival of incunable editions today is limited. The rubricated exemplars, complete with decorated initials and in good condition, are particularly sought after in specialized Italian incunabula collections.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
ISTC im00121000.
GW M12089.
Hain-Copinger 4481.
Goff M121.
IGI VI, 6579.
BMC VI, p. 776.
Bod-Inc M-045.
IBE 3908.
OCLC / WorldCat.
ICCU – OPAC SBN.
Franco Mormando, The Preacher's Demons: Bernardino of Siena and the Social Underworld of Early Renaissance Italy.
Giacomo Todeschini, I mercanti e il tempio.
Maria Giuseppina Muzzarelli, Il denaro e la salvezza. L'invenzione del Monte di Pietà.
Treccani, entry "Michele Carcano".