VILLENA Henrique de Aragón Arte cisoria, o tratado del arte del cortar del cuchillo… La da a la luz (…) la bibliotheca real de San Lorenzo del Escorial.

Vicaire, 864 ; Simon, 1578 ; Palau, 369.452 ; Salvá, 4069 ; Oberlé, Fastes, 557.

First edition of the first printed Spanish work on the art of carving.

“Enrique de Villena (1384-1434) was a Spanish nobleman whose interest in science and arcane knowledge led him to write several works, some of which were burned as heretical. Among the survivors ar the Arte de trouar, the earliest Spanish study of the rules of poetry, and a treatise on astrology. His Arte Cisoria, or the Art of Carving, is the first book written in Spanish about how to carve and serve at a nobleman’s table. This kind of didactic was not uncommon in the Middle Ages and there are similar works in English. The single surviving manuscript was printed in 1766. The Arte Cisoria’s twenty chapters cover aspects of the carving profession from the kinds of knives to be used and the comportment of servants to precise, detailed instructions of how to carve specific birds, fish, fruits and so forth” (David M. Gitlitz, Linda Kay Davidson, in: A Drizzle of honey, The Life and Recipes of Spain’s Secret Jews).

“Precioso monumento del lenguaje de principios del siglo XV, en el cual los aficionados a los libros de cetreria y caza encontrarán abundante mies de nombres de animales terrestres y aves. Várgas Ponce dice en su Delamacion contra los abusos introducidos en el castellano, que si el Libro de los guisados, manjares y potages de Ruperto Nola es un classico testimonio de la gula de aquella edad, el Arte Cisoria de E. de Villena denota el primor y ciencia con que se satisfacia” (Salvá).

The nine wood-cuts in the book depict knives and forks, printed within pages surrounded by typographical borders.

Very good, broad margined copy .

Provenance: 19^th century ownership marks on title, book-plate and ex-dono in ink on last fly-leaf (respectively dated 1837 and 1875).