Thirty-three bindings are known with the supralibros of an unidentified owner: in the centres of the upper covers, a gilt cypher consisting of three Greek letters (Δ-delta, Σ-sigma, Ι-iota); on the lower covers, the entwined gilt Latin letters “D S”. Fourteen of these bindings are of vellum, and display the cyphers within an oval cartouche featuring satyr-heads (at top and bottom) and festoons of fruit. Nineteen bindings are of calfskin, and are decorated by a pair of cartouches, one composed of laurel wreaths, with a tiny palmette placed at right and left, enclosing the Greek cypher (a new stamp), and the other - similar wreaths, but without palmettes - enclosing the cypher “D S” (new stamp). A title usually is lettered directly in the tail compartment of the spine.

The bindings contain altogether fifty books. Apart from a recueil factice of nine tracts in French, all of a reformist slant, printed in 1568-1569 (no. 21 in List below), a volume containing two Venetian editions of Machiavelli, in the original Italian (no. 23), and the scholia (in Greek) of Aristobulus Apostolis on the plays of Euripides (no. 12), the texts are in Latin (several translated from the Greek). The earliest was published in 1544 and the latest in 1572, at Antwerp (5), Basel (15), Cologne (1), Florence (2), Geneva (1), Hagenau (1), Lausanne (1), Lyon (3), Paris (5), Strassburg (2), Venice (4), Wittenberg (1), and nine (in no. 21) without place or printer’s name. The bindings appear to be provincial French, executed ca 1560-1590 (the latest book in a vellum binding was printed in 1572; the latest in a calf binding in 1566). None of the volumes seems to contain any evidence identifying their original owner, “D S”.

Top row Details from no. 3 (image source). Lower row Details from no. 17 (image source)

Joannis Guigard associated bindings decorated by these double cyphers with Denis de Sallo (1626-1669), founder in 1665 of the Journal des Scavans.¹ Guigard reproduces (apparently from volumes he saw in the Marquis de Morante’s library, not identified) the blocks used on the vellum and calf bindings, and a third pair (from a volume in the Bibliothèque nationale, cote 4-M-318) displaying respectively the De Sallo family arms (de gueules, à trois fers de lance mornée d’argent)² and the cypher “D S”. He declares that books decorated by these stamps belonged (“appartenu”) to Denis de Sallo, an assertion repeated by Jacques Charles Wiggishoff,³ also by Olivier, Hermal and Roton,⁴ but often misconstrued as a claim that all such books were bound for Denis de Sallo.

Bindings for Denis de Sallo, in octavo and folio (displaying intermediate and largest versions of his arms stamp)⁵

Denis de Sallo (1626-1669) was the elder son of Jacques de Sallo (d. 1648), seigneur de La Coudraye et de Beauregard, Conseiller au parlement de Paris (1619),⁶ and Marguerite Viole. He was educated at the Collège des Grassins (Collegium Grassinaeum), and in 1653 became Conseiller au parlement de Paris. In 1660, he made a trip to Italy. Denis is said to have assembled two libraries, one in Paris and one at the family estate in Poitou. Many of the books stamped with the De Sallo arms and cypher “D S” contain Denis’ ownership inscription.⁷ Sometime after his death (25 May 1669), a Catalogue des livres de la bibliothèque de feu Monsieur de Sallo was printed, presumably for the purpose of sale.⁸ The library eventually was acquired by Denis’ brother, Claude, who may have sent it to auction.⁹

These thirty-three volumes decorated with Greek and Latin cyphers were manifestly bound decades before Denis de Sallo came of age, so if Guigard should be correct, and Denis indeed owned them, then they must have been purchased or inherited. Supposing the Latin letters “D S” are construed as “de Sallo”, then those composing the Greek cypher (delta, sigma, iota) might signify Denis’ grandfather, Josias, who had graduated baccalaureus in utroque jure and licentiatus at Poitiers in 1587,¹⁰ and in 1593 or 1594 married Marie Brisson, niece of Barnabé Brisson, Premier Président au Parlement de Paris. But would Josias have troubled to collect and bind nine unassuming, polemical pamphlets, dated 1568-1569, from the French Wars of Religion? His father, Jacques (d. 1569), would be a stronger candidate, if only we knew more about him.¹¹

Guigard refers to the Catalogue des livres de la bibliothèque de feu Monsieur de Sallo, so his belief that Denis de Sallo owned the books bearing the double cyphers could be based on his discovery therein of Morante’s volumes (presently unaccounted for). Pending their recovery, or inscriptional evidence in a book thus bound, Guigard’s assertion has to be treated with skepticism. If Denis de Sallo possessed the thirty-three bindings with Greek and Latin cyphers which are listed below, they must have been sold during his lifetime, as none is identifiable in the posthumous Catalogue des livres (see link for the copy in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, DELTA-3511).

list of bindings with delta-sigma-iota and d-s cyphers

(1) Levinus Apollonius, Levini Apollonii, Gandobrvgani, Mittelbvrgensis, De Peruuiae, regionis, inter Noui Orbis prouincias celeberrimae, inuentione: et rebus in eadem gestis, libri V … Breuis, exactáque Noui Orbis, & Peruuiae regionis chorographia (Antwerp: Jean Bellère, 1567)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria, A.M. QQ.6. 26 (opac, [link]) [image courtesy of Federico Macchi]


(2) Athenaeus, Dipnosophistarum sive coenae sapientum libri XV (Lyon: Jacques Faure for Sébastien Honorat, 1556)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● G. Lemallier, Le Correspondant des bibliophiles français et étrangers, No. 359 - octobre 1924 (Paris 1924), item 3578 (FF 150; “Vélin blanc, dos orné, fil. et chiffre sur les plats, tr. dor. Bel exemplaire réglé dans une fraîche reliure de l’époque, avec le chiffre différent sur chaque plat de Denis de Sallo” [link])


(3) Aulus Gellius, Auli Gellii noctium atticarum libri undeviginti (Strassburg: Johann Knoblauch; Mattias Schürer, March 1517)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria, A.V.O.IX.21 (catalogue, [link]) [image courtesy of Federico Macchi]


(4) Bible - O.T. Apocryphes, Testamentum duodecim patriarcharum, filiorum Iacob, per Robertum Lincolinensem episcopum, è graeco in latinum versum (Paris: Martin Le Jeune, 1549), bound with Bible - Testaments of the twelve patriarchs, Les Testaments des douze patriarches enfans de Jacob (Paris: Martin Le Jeune, 1555)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● William Salloch, Ossining, NY; their Catalogue 311: Sixteenth century literature (Ossining 1974), item 205 ($275; “12mo, vellum gilt …The charming little volume has the arms of Denis de Sallo on the covers. Denis de Sallo, Sieur de la Coudraye. counsellor of the Parliament of Paris, who died in 1669, was the founder of the Journal des Savants. See Guigard, Nouvel Armorial du Bibliophile, II, 428”) [RBH 311-205]
● Carlo Alberto Chiesa, Milan (?)
● Librairie Lardanchet, Paris
● T. Kimball Brooker, purchased from the above, 2016 [Bibliotheca Brookeriana #2230; to be offered by Sotheby’s in 2024-2025]


(5) Bible - OT - Pentateuch, Moses Latinus ex Hebraeo factus: et in eundem praefatio, qua multiplex eius doctrina ostenditur: & annotationes, in quibus translationis ratio, sicubi opus est, redditur, & loci difficiliores explicantur. Per Sebastianum Castalionem (Basel: Johann Oporinus, 1546)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● George Dunn (1864-1912)
● Sotheby Wilkinson & Hodge, Catalogue of the valuable and extensive library formed by George Dunn, Esq. (deceased), Woolley Hall, near Maidenhead; sold under the will of the deceased. The third and final portion, London, 22-29 November 1917, lot 1909 (“original limp vellum gilt, with centre ornament enclosing a monogram, g.e. large copy, ruled in red”)
● Bernard Quaritch, London - bought in sale (£5 10s); their Catalogue of English and foreign bookbindings (London 1921), item 214 (“bound in limp vellum, with the monogram of Denis de Sallo, two Σs and two Δs interlaced, within an oval of scroll work with a lion’s head at the top and base, gilt edges” [link])
● John Roland Abbey (1894-1969)
● Sotheby & Co., Catalogue of the celebrated library; the property of Major J.R. Abbey, Part III, London, 19-21 June 1967, lot 1673 (“ruled in red throughout, contemporary French vellum gilt, Greek monogram of Denis de Salbo [sic] within a cartouche on upper cover, Latin monogram on lower, flat spine gilt in compartments, lettered at the foot of the spine”)
● Nico Israel, Amsterdam - bought in sale (£22)
● Amsterdam, University Library, OTM: Band 3 B 6

literature
Universiteit van Amsterdam, Banden Kast Bijzondere Collecties Universiteit van Amsterdam, website [link]


(6) Flavio Biondo, Blondi Flauij Forliuiensis, De Roma triumphante lib. X. priscorum scriptorum lectoribus utilissimi, ad totiusque Romanae antiquitatis cognitionem pernecessarij (Basel: Hieronymus Froben & Nikolaus Episcopius, 1559)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Bologna, Biblioteca Archiginnasio, 5. S*. I. 13 (opac, [link]) [image courtesy of Federico Macchi]


(7) Gaius Iulius Caesar, C. Iulii Caesaris Commentarii : post omnes omnium editiones accurata sedulitate, & summa denuo vigilantia ex multorum tam veterum, quàm neotericorum exemplarium collatione / emendati, & studiosissimè recogniti à Ioanne Rosseto Aurimontano ; hisce, cum locorum, vrbium & populorum nominibus, & expositionibus, ac item rerum, & verborum copiosissimo indice, accessit variarum lectionum libellus perquam vtilis, eodem Rosseto collectore ; caetera sequens indicabit pagina (Lausanne: Jean Le Preux, 1571)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria, A.5. R.4.18/1 (opac, [link]) [image courtesy of Federico Macchi]


(8) Aulus Cornelius Celsus, Aurelii Cor. Celsi De re medica libri octo. Q. Sereni medicinale Poëma. Rhemnii Poëma de Pond. & mensuris. Cum adnotationibus et correctionibus R. Constantini (Lyon: Guillaume Rouillé, 1566)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● unidentified owner, inscription “P: M: Renza [Benca? Benza?] M: D. Liculus [Siculus?]” on title-page (18C)
● Bernard Skalli
● Librairie Paul Jammes, Paris
● T. Kimball Brooker, purchased from the above, 2003 [Bibliotheca Brookeriana #2335; to be offered by Sotheby’s in 2024-2025]


(9) Diodorus Siculus, Diodori sicvli bibliothecae historicae libri xv. hoc est, quotquot Graecè extant de quadraginta. quorum quinque nunc primùm Latinè eduntur… Adiecta his sunt ex iis libris qui non extant, fragmenta quaedan (Basel : Heinrich Petri, August 1559), bound with Quintus Curtius Rufus, Q. Cvrtii historiographi lvcvlentissimi de rebvs gestis Alexandri magni regis macedonvm opvs, ita demvm emendatvm atqve illustratum … (Basel: Hieronymus Froben & Nikolaus Episcopius, March 1545)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Biblioteca Magnani (opac)
● Bologna, Biblioteca Archiginnasio, 5. C. II. 14 op. 1 (opac Pelle su 6 doppi nervi, dorso rinforzato in carta marmorizzata, filetti in oro e fregio in oro al centro dei piatti con iniziali DS sul piatto posteriore, taglio dorato [link]) [image courtesy of Federico Macchi]


(10) Rembert Dodoens, Florum, et coronariarum odoratarumque nonnullarum herbarum historia (Antwerp: Christophe Plantin, 1569), bound with Rembert Dodoens, Historia frumentorum, leguminum, palustrium et aquatilium herbarum (Antwerp: Christophe Plantin, 1569)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● André Alexandre Normandeau, exlibris (Kuyper)
● Jan Meemelink (Kuyper)
● Bubb Kuyper, Auction 71, Haarlem, 26-29 November 2019, lot 2444 (“contemp. gilt vellum, a.e.g. … attractive binding w. the stylized monograms of Denis de Sallo … on both covers (‘[Δ Σ Ι]’ on front cover / ‘DS’ on back cover) and w. contemp. annot. in pen and ink on first free endpaper: ‘a appartenu[?] a Dennis de Sallo/ relie pour lui’”) [RBH 71-2444]
● unidentified owner - bought in sale (€3762)


(11) Paul Eber, Calendarium historicum conscriptum a Paulo Ebero Kitthingensi. Et recens ante obitum ab eodem recognitum plurimisque locis auctum (Wittenberg: Johann Krafft, 1571)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria, A.M.WW.I.56 [image courtesy of Federico Macchi]


(12) Euripides, Scholia in septem Euripidis tragedias, ex antiquis exemplaribus, ab Arsenio archiepiscopo Monembasiae collecta [part II of Opera only] (Basel, Johannes Herwagen, 1544)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Librairie Théophile Belin, Paris; their Livres anciens de provenances historiques. Livres avec armoiries (Paris 1910), item 627 (“in-8, vélin, fil., dos orné de rosaces, tr. dor. (Rel. du temps). 200 fr. Au chiffre curieux de Denis de Sallo)”); Livres des XVe & XVIe siècles dans leurs reliures originales (Paris 1914), item 142 (“in-8, vélin, fil., dos orné de rosaces, tr. dor. (Rel. du temps). Au chiffre de Denis de Sallo”)
● Laure Eugénie (née Pillet) Belin
● René Boisgirard & Louis Giraud-Badin with Charles Bosse, Bibliothèque de Mme Th. Belin: précieux manuscrits à miniatures, livres à figures des XVIe, XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, riches reliures anciennes armoriées, Paris, 19-20 February 1936, lot 60 (“vélin souple, fil., dos orne de rosaces, tr. dor. … Exemplaire réglé, au chiffre de Denis de Sallo”)
● unidentified owner - bought in sale (FF 300)
● J. Irving Davis (1889-1967)
● Sotheby’s, Printed Books comprising Books from the Collection of the late Irving Davis, mainly early Italian and Spanish books, London, 2-3 April 1985, lot 10 (“Greek letter throughout, ruled in red, contemporary French limp vellum, gilt fillet round sides, in the centre of upper cover a design within an oval border, on the lower cover cipher D S within the same border, flat spine panelled in gilt with title, g.e., … The curious design on this binding has so far not been identified; Mr. Davis has suggested Dennis de Sallo”) [RBH Atom-10, as unsold]
● Sotheby’s, Printed books and manuscripts, London, 12-13 November 1985, lot 672 (“Scholia in septem Euripidis tragoedias [part II of Opera only], Greek letter throughout, ruled in red, contemporary French limp vellum, gilt fillet round sides, in the centre of upper cover a design within an oval border, the lower cover with cipher DS (?) within the same border (? bound for Dennis de Sallo), flat spine panelled in gilt with title, g. e.”) [RBH DIAZ-672]
● Pearson - bought in sale (£55)

literature
Manuel de l’amateur de reliures armoriées françaises, compiled by Eugène Olivier, Georges Hermal, Robert De Roton (Paris 1924-1938), Pl. 1535 (Fers 3 and 4 are reproduced from this volume)


(13) Euripides, Euripides poeta tragicorum princeps, in Latinum sermonem conuersus (Basel: Johann Oporinus, March 1562)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Bologna, Biblioteca dell’Archiginnasio, 7.Y.I.9 [image, link]


(14) Paul Fagius, Thargvm, hoc est, paraphrasis onkeli chaldaica in Sacra Biblia, ex chaldaeo in latinvm fidelissime versa, additis in singula ferè capita succinctis annotationibus, avtore pavlo fagio. pentatevchvs. siue Quinque libri Moysi (Strassburg: Georg Messerschmidt, 1546), bound with Jakob Ziegler, Iacobi Ziegleri Landaui Conceptionum in Genesim mundi, & Exodum, Commentarij. Eivsdem, svper Arbitrio humano Exempla & Scripturae. Ex epist. ad Corinthios secunda locus (Basel: Johann Oporinus, March 1548)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Bologna, Biblioteca Archiginnasio, 4. LL. II. 21 op. 1-2 (opac Pelle con sei doppi nervi. Impressioni in oro su dorso e piatti (sul piatto posteriore monogramma DS). Taglio dorato [link]) [image courtesy of Federico Macchi]


(15) Michael Glykas, Annales Michaeli Glycae Siculi, qui lectori praeter alia cognitu iucunda & utilia, Byzantinam historiam universam exhibent nunc primum Latinam in linguam transscripti & editi per Io. Leuvenclaium Ex Io. Sambuci V.C. Bibliotheca Accessit Index geminus locupletiss (Basel: Eusebius Episcopius & Heirs of Nicolaus Episcopius, September 1572)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● unidentified owner, inscription “ex libris Ant. Jos. Girard clerici Aquensis 1755” on title-page
● Librairie Paul Jammes, Paris
● T. Kimball Brooker, purchased from the above, 2002 [Bibliotheca Brookeriana #2363; to be offered by Sotheby’s in 2024-2025]


(16) Hegisippus, Egesippi historiographi inter scriptores ecclesiasticos uetustissimi De rebus a Judaeorum principibus in obsidione fortiter gestis deque excidio Hierosolymorum (Cologne: Jaspar von Gennep, 1544)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria, A.M. C.5.1/1 (opac, [link]) [image courtesy of Federico Macchi]


(17) Horapollo, De sacris apud Aegyptios notis ac caelaturis (Paris: Chrétien Wechel, 1548), bound with Simone Porzio, De coloribus libellus, a Simone Portio Neapolitano Latinitate donatus, et commentarijs illustrates (Florence: Lorenzo Torrentino, 1548)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Giovanni Gancia, Brighton & Paris
● Delbergue-Cormont & Adolphe Labitte, Catalogue des livres et manuscrits rares et précieux composant le cabinet de M. Gancia, Paris, 11-12 April 1872, lot 132 (“veau, ornements sur les plats, avec monogramme entrelacé, tr. dor. et ciselée.” [link])
● British Museum, acquisition datestamp: 3 October [18]90
● London, British Library, C.64.h.14

literature
British Library, Database of bookbindings [image]


(18) Marcus Iunianus Iustinus, Iustini ex Trogo Pompeio historia diligentissime recognita, & ab omnibus, quibus scatebat mendis, collatis ad authorem Gręcis & Latinis Historicis repurgata (Hagenau: Johann Setzer, 1526)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria, A.V. AA. XVI. 7 (catalogue, [link]) [image courtesy of Federico Macchi]


(19) Wolfgang Lazius, De aliquot gentium migrationibus, sedibus fixis, reliquiis, linguarumque, initiis & immutationibus ac dialectis libri XII (Basel: Heir of Johann Oporinus, August 1572)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Bologna, Biblioteca Archiginnasio, 5. G. I. 01² (opac Pelle su legno, con fregi dorati, sei nervature; capitelli ricoperti da filo verde; tagli dorati. Sul dorso autore e titolo impressi in oro [link]) [image courtesy of Federico Macchi]


(20) Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples, Liber trium virorum & trium spiritualium virginum. Hermæ liber vnus. Vguetini liber vnus. F. Roberti libri duo. Hildegardis Sciuias libri tres. Elisabeth virginis libri sex. Mechtildis virgi. Libri quinque (Paris: Jean de Brie; Henri Estienne, [31 May?] 1513)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Bologna, Biblioteca Archiginnasio, 16. h. II.25 (opac Pelle su cartone rigida, con fregi dorati; capitelli ricoperti da cordoncino beige; tagli dorati. Sul dorso titolo impresso in oro [link]) [image courtesy of Federico Macchi]


(21) [Michel de L’Hospital], Discours des raisons et persuasions de la paix. Imprime Nouuellement (S.l.: s.n., 1568), in a recueil factice with eight other tracts printed 1568-1569

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Jean Paul Barbier (1930-2016)

literature
Jean Paul Barbier, Quatrième partie: Contemporains et successeurs de Ronsard, de La Gessée à Malherbe (tome III) (Geneva 2002), p.364 no. 40 (“Reliure en vélin ivoire du temps (haut.: 138mm). Un filet doré encadre les plats, au milieu desquels se trouve un médaillon contenant, le premier, deux S, deux D et deux I entrelacés, le second, deux D et deux S entrelacés. Dos plat à quatre caissons délimités par des doubles jeux de filets, une rosette au milieu des caissons, tranches dorées … Selon Olivier (pl. 1535), ces chiffres sont ceux de Denis de Sallo, sieur de la Coudroye (1626-1660. Comme la dorure semble contemporaine de la reliure, il s’agit peut-être d’un autre membre de cette famille.” [link])


(22) Titus Lucretius Carus, De rerum natura libri sex (Antwerp: Christophe Plantin, 1566), bound with Aristoteles, Paraphrasis in duodecimum Aristotelis librum de prima philosophia (Paris: Nicolas Le Riche, 1547), bound with Thomas Sebillet, Tabula qua totius philosophiae partitiones omniamque illius partium facillimae ac doctissimae explicationes continentur (Lyon: Thibaud Payen, 1560)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Château d’A*** (Alde)
● Alde & Isabelle de Conihout with Pascal Ract-Madoux, Livres anciens - XXe siècle de trois bibliothèques, 12 December 2019, lot 14 (lower cover with DS illustrated, showing false bands, title lettered in bottom compartment; “vélin doré des années 1580 … Exemplaire réglé, vélin doré, titre doré en pied du dos sur 4 lignes, tranches dorées (Reliure des années 1580 … Cet amateur de la fin du XVIe siècle, au double monogramme grec et romain ‘DS’, traditionnellement considéré comme Denis de Sallo (OHR 1535, fers 3 et 4), reste à identifier précisément. Il a pris soin de faire dorer très soigneusement en pied sur 4 lignes les titres des 3 volumes du recueil.” [link]) [RBH 25922-14]
● unidentified owner - bought in sale (€1875)


(23) Niccolò Machiavelli, Discorsi di Nicolo Machiauelli fiorentino, sopra la prima deca di Tito Liuio (Venice: Domenico Giglio, 1554), bound with: Niccolò Machiavelli, Il prencipe di Nicolo Machiauelli, al magnifico Lorenzo di Piero de Medici (Venice: Domenico Giglio, 1554)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Giovanni Gancia, Brighton & Paris
● Delbergue-Cormont & Librairie Bachelin-Deflorenne, Livres et manuscrits rares et précieux composant le cabinet de M. Gancia, Paris, 11-12 April 1872, lot 367 (illustrated on double-page plate bound before lot 1; “in-12, reglé, vel. compart. milieu avec monogr. en or, fil. tr. dor. (Ancienne reliure.) Le monogramme des deux M entrelacés est d’un côté de la reliure, et deux D et deux S de l’autre.” [link; image, link])
● unidentified owner - bought in sale (FF22)
● Librairie Robert D. Valette, Paris (?)


(24) Galeotto Marzio, Galeotti Martii Narniensis, De doctrina promiscua liber, varia multipliciq. eruditione refertus, ac nunc primùm in lucem editus (Florence: Lorenzo Torrentino, 1558)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Sotheby’s, Italian books, 1470-1600, London, 3 October 2002, lot 188 (“ruled in red, contemporary French vellum, upper cover decorated in gilt with geometrical motif set in oval cartouche, lower with gilt monogram in cartouche, edges gilt”) (realised £1792) [RBH L02311-188]
● T. Kimball Brooker, purchased in the above sale [Bibliotheca Brookeriana #2212; to be offered by Sotheby’s in 2024-2025]


(25) Maximus Tyrius, Sermones sive disputationes XLI. Graecè nunc primùm editae [- Ex Cosmi Paccii interpretatione ab Henrico Stephano emendata] ([Geneva]: Henri Estienne, 1557)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● G. Lemallier, Le Correspondant des bibliophiles français et étrangers, No. 345 - avril 1923 (Paris 1923), item 1726 (FF 450; (“Reliure chiffrée en vélin … Bel exemplaire réglé portant sur chaque plat le chiffre différent de Denis de Sallo” [link])
● Comte Henri Chandon de Briailles (1898-1937)
● Comte François Chandon de Briailles (1892-1953)
● Maurice Rheims & Jacqueline Vidal-Mégret, Bibliothèque de M. le comte C. de X… Première partie: Précieuses reliures armoriées ou ornées des XVIe ou XVIIe siècles; manuscrits, Paris, 2-3 December 1954, lot 203 (“vélin souple, monogramme dans un cartouche doré au centre des plats, fil. dor., dos orné, tr. dor … réglé, aux chiffres de Denis de Sallo … son chiffre figure en un double modèle sur les plats, tel que le représente l’Armorial Olivier, p. 1535, nos. 3, 4”)
● unidentified owner - bought in sale (FF 14,200)


(26) Giovanni Nanni, Antiquitatum Italiae ac totius orbis libri quinque (Antwerp: Joannes Grapheus for Joannes Steelsius, 1552)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Ter Lugt Collection, Leiden (?)
● Binoche et Giquello & Benoît Forgeot with Jacques T. Quentin, Curiosités typographiques, Reliures remarquables, Paris, 7 April 2020, lot 6 (illustrated, upper cover; “Exemplaire très pur, en vélin doré, au chiffre et emblème de Denis de Sallo” [link]) [RBH 104180-6]
● unsold - estimate (€1500-2000)
● Catawiki B.V., Auction 471559, 4 May 2021, Lot 47573785 (“period supple vellum binding, gilded fillet frame on the covers, a gilded medallion adorned with scrolls and grotesques with a monogram in the centre, smooth spine adorned with very elegant embossing, title at the tail of the spine, gilded edges … with the cipher of Denis de Sallo”) [RBH 50421-47573785]
● unidentified owner - bought in sale (€545)


(27) Pietro Martire d’Anghiera, Petri Martyris ab Angleria De rebus Oceanicis et orbe novo decades tres (Basel: Johan Bebel, 1533), bound with Celio Augustino Curione, Sarracenicae historiae libri III. In qubis sarracenorum, Turcarum, Aegypti Sultanorum, origines & incrementa, septingentorumque annorum res ab illis gestae, brevissimè explicantur (Basel: Johann Oporinus, 1567)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Joseph Baer, Frankfurt am Main; their Catalogue 600: Americana including scarce and precious books from the collections of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico and Charles Et. Brasseur de Bourbourg, the library of Edward Salomon, late governor of the state of Wisconsin, and other important collections (Frankfurt am Main 1911), item 31 (“Ruled copy, old calf with the monogram of Denis de Sallo on both covers, in Greek (Δ Σ) on the one, in Latin (DS) on the other.” [link])


(28) Onofrio Panvinio, Fasti et triumphi Rom. a Romulo rege vsque ad Carolum V Caes. Aug. siue epitome regum, consulum, dictatorum, magistror. equitum, tribunorum militum consulari potestate, censorum, impp. & aliorum magistratuum Roman. cum Orientalium tum Occidentalium, ex antiquitatum monumentis maxima cum fide ac diligentia desumpta. Onuphrio Panuinio Veronensi f. Augustiniano authore. Additae sunt suis locis impp. et orientalium, et occidentalium uerissimae icones, ex vetustissimis numismatis quam fidelissime delineatae. Ex Musæo Iacobi Stradae Mantuani, ciuis Romani, antiquarij (Venice: Giacomo Strada, 1557)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Biblioteca Magnani, inkstamp on title-page (opac)
● Bologna, Biblioteca Archiginnasio, 5. b. I. 15 (opac Cuoio su legno, sui piatti monogramma n oro; sei nervature; capitelli sovracuciti in filo rosso e bianco; tagli dorati [link]) [image courtesy of Federico Macchi]


(29) Paulus Constantinus Phrygio, Chronicum regum regnorumque omnium catalogum, et perpetuum ab exordio mundi temporum, seculorumque seriem complectens, ex optimis quibusque Hebraeis, Graecis & Latinis autoribus congestum Paulo Constantino Phrygione autore (Basel: Johannes Herwagen, 1534)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria, A.M. C.3.31 (opac, [link]) [image courtesy of Federico Macchi]


(30) Giovanni Gioviano Pontano, Ioannis Iouiani Pontani Opera omnia soluta oratione composita. Nomina librorum, qui in hisce tribus partibus continentur, à tergo huius paginae notata reperiuntur (Venice: Heirs of Aldo Manuzio & Andrea Torresano, June 1518)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Albert Besombes, Paris
● Edmond Petit with R. Boisgirard & Auguste Blaizot with Librairie Giraud-Badin, Livres anciens et modernes provenant de la succession de M. Albert Besombes, Première partie, Paris, 5-7 November 1936, lot 89 (“in-4 réglé, car., ital., veau brun, fil, tr. dor … Sur les plats les deux chiffres de Denis de Sallo.” [hathi, link])
● unidentified owner - bought in sale (FF 40)
● Washington, DC, Folger Library, PA8570 P5 A1 1518 copy 2

literature
Folger Library, Luna database (“Dark brown calfskin … The covers are gilt with a single line fillet border. The front board has a gilt laurel wreath framed with an unidentified symbol. The back cover has a gilt laurel wreath framed monogram of Denis de Sallo. The spine has gilt lines tooled on top of the raised bands and has the author’s name gilt in the second panel.”; “Three blank flyleaves and single paste-down over a recycled illuminated printers waste reinforcing guard and printers waste board liner.” [image, link])


(31) Lodovico Ricchieri, Lectionum antiquarum libri XXX. Recogniti ab auctore, atque ita locupletati, ut tertia plus parte auctiores sint redditi (Basel: Ambrosius Froben & Aurelius Froben, 1566)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Andrea Mazza, monaco cassinense (Macchi)
● Parma, Biblioteca Palatina, DD.III.136 2°

literature
Maurizio Festanti & Federico Macchi, Biblioteca Panizzi, Reggio Emilia: “Antiche legature di pregio” (pdf, [link])


(32) Suidas, Suidae historica, caeteráque omnia que ulla ex parte ad cognitionem rerum spectant, solis verborum explicationibus (Basel: Johann Oporinus & Johannes Herwagen, [1564])

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Reggio Emilia, Biblioteca Panizzi, 13 B 415 (opac, [link]; image, [link])

literature
Maurizio Festanti & Federico Macchi, Biblioteca Panizzi, Reggio Emilia: “Antiche legature di pregio” database (shelfmark 13 B 415 [link])


(33) Widukindus Corbeiensis, Wittichindi Saxonis rerum ab Henrico et Ottone I. impp. gestarum libri III unà cum alijs quibusdam raris & antehac non lectis diuersorum autorum historijs, ab Anno salutis D.CCC. usque ad praesentem aetatem ... Huc accessit rerum scitu dignarum copiosus index (Basel: Johannes Herwagen, March 1532)

provenance
● unidentified owner, supralibros, monogram of pairs of interlaced Δs, Σs and Ιs on upper cover, and Ds and Ss on lower
● Pontificia Biblioteca di Bologna, green inkstamp on title-page (opac)
● Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria, A.5.Tab.2.D.1.3 (opac In pelle marrone, con capitelli in seta verde e tagli dorati … fregi in oro su coperta e dorso [link]) [image courtesy of Federico Macchi]