Petrus de Natalibus - [Post Incunable] Catalogus Sanctorum - 1508

THE SAINTS OF CHRISTIANITY IN A MAGNIFICENT MONASTIC BINDING ON 1508 WOODEN PLATES
Post-Incunabula. Extraordinary Lyonese edition of 1508 of the famous Catalogus sanctorum by Pietro de’ Natali, one of the most widespread hagiographic works of the entire Western Christian tradition. If the text constitutes a true universal encyclopedia of holiness, the exemplar stands out above all for an element of exceptional collecting interest: the splendid contemporary monastic binding in pigskin leather stamped in blind on sturdy wooden boards, preserved in unusually fresh and authentic conditions. This imposing monastic cover, surviving for over five centuries with the remains of the original fittings, transforms the volume into a material testimony of extraordinary evocative power, capable of transporting the collector into the convent libraries of Renaissance Europe. The rich woodcut apparatus, the large decorative borders, and the figured initials complete a set of exceptional historical and visual charm.
REASONS FOR COLLECTING
• Magnificent contemporary monastic binding in pigskin leather on wooden boards.
• exceptionally fresh preservation of the original structure.
• One of the most important hagiographic encylopedias of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
• Grand decorative woodcut apparatus in Lyonese style.

MARKET VALUE
Illustrated editions of the Catalogus sanctorum are valued by collectors of religious history and Renaissance typography. However, in this exemplar the main added-value element is the preservation of the original monastic binding in pigskin leather on wooden boards, a feature that is now very rare. Full and well-preserved exemplars can reach values between €3,000 and €8,000; copies preserved in their original sixteenth-century binding and structurally integral may attract significantly higher interest from collectors specialized in historical bindings.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
In-folio. Pagination: (2), 680 pp.

Exceptional contemporary monastic binding in pigskin leather stamped in blind on thick wooden boards, preserved in notably fresh and authentic conditions. Remains of the original metal clasps. The binding structure still appears solid and perfectly legible in its Renaissance construction features, constituting one of the main strengths of the exemplar.
Frontispiece missing with the first four preliminaries ([*]1-4) and page p3. Text set in two columns. First pages printed in red and black. Magnificent decorative apparatus composed of large illustrated woodcut borders, numerous figured initials and ornamental elements. Ancient and modern marginal annotations present. Some passages crossed out in antiquity but still legible. Small wormholes, mainly on the final leaves and on the rear flyleaf. Sporadic damage and modest signs of use. Paper overall well preserved with uniform light browning.
The overall impression is that of a volume that has surprisingly retained much of its original character as a conventual book from the early Cinquecento.
In old books with multi-century histories, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Petrus de Natalibus.
Catalogus sanctorum et gestorum eorum ex diversis voluminibus collectus.
Lugduni, impressum per Claudium Davost pro Stephano Gueynard, 1508.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The Catalogus sanctorum represents one of the most extensive and influential hagiographic collections of the Latin tradition. Composed at the end of the 14th century, it gathers hundreds of lives of saints, martyrs, confessors, bishops and virgins, organized according to the liturgical calendar and providing preachers with a practically inexhaustible repertoire of moral and spiritual examples.

The work had extraordinary diffusion because it offered a systematic synthesis of the entire universe of Christian holiness. For generations of religious, it was a daily tool of study, consultation, and sermon preparation.

The 1508 edition belongs to the most refined period of Lyonese typography, when French workshops developed a decorative language of exceptional richness. The large illustrated woodcut borders and the illuminated initials confer upon the volume a visual quality that still echoes the aesthetics of late medieval illuminated codices.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Pietro de’ Natali (Petrus de Natalibus, circa 1320–1405), bishop of Equilio near Venice, was one of the leading hagiographic compilers of the late Middle Ages. His Catalogus sanctorum quickly became one of Europe’s most widespread religious works, circulating first in manuscript and later through numerous printed editions. His work decisively contributed to the preservation and transmission of medieval hagiographic traditions.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The edition was printed in Lyon in 1508 by Claude Davost for the famous bookseller-publisher Étienne Gueynard. In those years Lyon was one of the most important European printing centers, able to compete with Venice, Basel, and Paris in the production of religious and humanist books.

Surviving copies preserved in their original bindings are today particularly sought after, as they document not only the dissemination of the work but also the material culture of monastic and convent libraries of the early Cinquecento.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE WORK
More than a simple collection of lives of saints, the Catalogus sanctorum constitutes a true encyclopedia of the medieval European religious memory. Apostles, martyrs, Fathers of the Church, hermits, monks, bishops, and medieval saints coexist in an immense repertoire that helped shape Western spirituality.

For over two centuries the work was used daily in monasteries, convents, and ecclesiastical studies, becoming one of the main instruments for transmitting Christian religious culture.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Baudrier, Bibliographie Lyonnaise, XI, pp. 211–213.
USTC, Lyon edition 1508.
ICCU / OPAC SBN, censuses of the edition.
WorldCat, Catalogus sanctorum et gestorum eorum.
British Library, General Catalogue, Petrus de Natalibus.
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Catalogue Général, Lyonese edition of 1508.
Adams, Catalogue of Books Printed on the Continent of Europe, Petrus de Natalibus section.
CERL Heritage of the Printed Book Database, Petrus de Natalibus.
Baudrier, Bibliographie Lyonnaise, vol. XI, Claude Davost and Étienne Gueynard.
Universal Short Title Catalogue, bibliographic record of the edition.
Library of Congress, Rare Book Division, censuses of the work.
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, digital catalogs of Petrus de Natalibus editions.
Scholderer, Studies in Early French Printing, sections on Lyonese production of the early Cinquecento.
Pettegree & Walsby, French Vernacular Books and Early Printing Studies, chapters related to Lyonese religious publishing.