Krakow 1851/ in University Printing House (Jagiellonian University)/13.5x19cm/s.75+ 16 plates after the text/ 56 color illustrations depicting captured Teutonic banners and 136 illustrations depicting coats of arms of the nobility/ bookbinding, half canvass, exlibris of Rotmistrz Stanisław Gepner on the pastedown/ good condition, rubbing of binding edges, minor losses of canvas on the spine, cracks along the pastedowns, ownership entries and a stamp on the title page, minor foxing on the surface of individual pages. Text in very good condition, names of all coats of arms described in pencil by previous owner. Great rarity.
The first Polish study of ,,Banderia Prutenorum'' or the oldest book of flags in Europe, which is also the first historical work of Jan Długosz. Compilation made by Jozef Muczkowski professor of Jagiellonian University. The text is written in medieval Latin with footnotes in Polish. After the text, on the plates color illustrations of the captured flags, preserved in the layout according to the original Dlugosz.
Along with , "Banderyi", the author of the study published , "Insygnia Seu Clenodia Regni Poloniae" (called Długosz's Jewels), the oldest known local description of Polish coats of arms. This edition is a compilation of a manuscript from the Ossoliński library ( dated to the end of the 15th century) and a manuscript belonging to Bishop Ludwik Łętowski ( dated to around 1570).
To complete the edition of this coat of arms, the author included imprints of coats of arms that were not in the collection of the university library.
The Piece comes from the collection of the rt . Stanislaw Gepner, an outstanding expert on historical uniforms and armaments.