Penn in Hand: Selected Manuscripts

Porphyry, ca. 234-ca. 305.

Eis ta Harmonika Ptolemaiou hypomnēma [manuscript].

[Spain or Italy, between 1560 and 1580?]

242 leaves : paper ; 291 x 196 (213 x 95) mm. bound to 294 x 210 mm.

Greek.

Porphyry's commentary on about half of Ptolemy's treatise Harmonics, focusing on harmonics and acoustics.

Formerly owned by J. H. de Speyr-Passavant (Basel); perhaps his no. 5 (label on upper cover, inscription inside upper cover); probably sold at auction as part of his collection at R. E. Evans, 27 Apr. 1836.

Formerly owned by Sir Thomas Phillipps, ms. 3877 (spine label, later inscription in pencil inside upper cover); sold at auction as part of his collection at Sotheby's, 8 Jul. 1975, lot 3404.

Formerly in the collection of The Garden Ltd.; sold at auction as part of that collection at Sotheby's (New York), 9 Nov. 1989, lot 65.

Sold at auction at Sotheby's, 17 June 1997, lot 47, to Lawrence J. Schoenberg.

Gift of Lawrence J. Schoenberg and Barbara Brizdle, 2011.

Darmarios, Andreas, associated name.

Speyr Passavant, J. H. de, former owner.

Phillipps, Thomas, Sir, 1792-1872, former owner.

Schoenberg, Lawrence J., former owner.

Ptolemy, 2nd cent. Harmonics.

Music theory - Early works to 1800.

Codices.

Commentaries.

Diagrams.

Manuscripts, Greek - 16th century.

Manuscripts, Renaissance.

Ms. codex.

Title from caption title (f. 1r).

Collation: Paper, i + 242; 1-11¹⁰ 12⁴ 13-20⁸ 21¹⁰ 22-27⁸ 28⁸(-2); [1-242]; modern foliation in pencil, lower right recto. Horizontal catchwords on the last verso of gatherings 1-12; gatherings 13-28 signed 16-31 in Greek numerals, lower center of first recto.

Layout: Written in 20 long lines.

Script: Written in a cursive script.

Decoration: 8 diagrams in brown or brown and red ink (f. 223v-241r); rubrics, decorative initials, and occasional words in red.

Binding: Contemporary 16th-century blind-stamped and roll-tooled tanned leather over wooden boards; rebacked with old spine laid down.

Origin: Written in Spain or Italy, probably between 1560 and 1580, under the direction of the 16th-century scribe and dealer Andreas Darmarios (inscription, inside upper cover) but not in his hand.

Described in Transformation of knowledge: early manuscripts from the collection of Lawrence J. Schoenberg (London: Paul Holberton, 2006), p. 27 (LJS 97).

UPenn LJS 97

Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts University of Pennsylvania LJS 97