wherein is breefely set foorth the art of Limming, which teacheth the order in drawing and tracing of leters, Vinets, Flowers, Armes, and Imagerye, and the maner how to make sundry syses or groundes to lay Silver or Gold upon, and how silver or Golde shall be layed or limmed upon the syse, and the waye to temper Gold and Silver and other mettals and diverse kindes of colours to write or to limme withall uppon Velym, Parchment or Paper, and how to lay them uppon the worke which thou intendest to make, and how to vernish it when thou hast done, with divers other thinges verye meete and necessary to be knowne to all such Gentlemen, and other persons as doe delight in Limming, painting or in tricking of Armes in their colours, and therefore a woorke very meete to be adjoyning to the bookes of Armes

Typographical device on title. Printed throughout in black letter. 11, [1] leaves. Small 4to, fine modern blue morocco, dentelles gilt, a.e.g. London: T. Purfoote, the assigne of R. Tottill, 1588.Fourth edition of one of the earliest English books of "secrets," or manual of practical arts; this text appears to be entirely of English origins. It was first published in 1573 and reprinted in 1581 and 1583; there were also editions of 1596 and 1605. All editions are very scarce; of this printing the NSTC (24255) records five copies: L18, O; F, PN, NY Metropolitan Museum. This is a very early English manual of instructions for painting and illuminating ("limming," or "limning"), particularly books and manuscripts. The following recipes are characteristic: "to temper golde or silver wherewith you may write with a pen or paint with a pencil"; "to temper Brasill wherewith to write, florish, or rule bookes"; "to make a kind of colouring called vernix, wherewith you may vernish gold, silver, and other colour or paintings, be it upon velim, paper, timber, stone, leade, copper, glasse, &c." The last leaf contains on the recto "the names of all such colours and other thinges as are mentioned and contayned in this present booke of limming, and are for the moste parte to bee solde at the apothecaries," and on the verso is an index to the various recipes. A fine copy. Books of this sort are perishable by nature and copies seldom appear on the market; many of those which do survive in institutional libraries are in less than perfect condition. (Inventory #: 100)