Catalogue 203: New Arrivals

Kraus, Hans. Peter (October 12, 1907 – November 1, 1988). Catalogue 203: New Arrivals. Small 4to; 126 pp. (1996) Illustrated printed wrappers, 4 colour plates. 240 items. Contents include: Africa Americana Archaeology Architecture Astrology Astronomy Bee-keeping Bindings Classics Costume Cryptography Dance Dictionaries Emblem Books England Festivities France Geography Heraldry History Horse Illustration Ireland Judaica Law Literature Manuscripts Marriage Medicine Military Science Music Natural History Numismatics Papacy Philology Philosophy Portugal Prayer Books Printers Psychology Reformation Russia Spain Spiders Sweden Theology Turkey Witchcraft Women et alia. Indexed.

Hans Peter Kraus, also known as H. P. Kraus or HPK, was an Austrian-born book dealer described as "without doubt the most successful and dominant rare book dealer in the world in the second half of the 20th century" and in a league with other rare book dealers such as Bernard Quaritch, Guillaume de Bure and A.S.W. Rosenbach. Kraus specialized in medieval illuminated manuscripts, incunables (books printed before 1501), and rare books of the 16th and 17th centuries, but would purchase and sell almost any book that came his way that was rare, valuable and important. He prided himself in being "the only bookseller in history...to have owned a Gutenberg Bible and the Psalters of 1457 and 1459 simultaneously," stressing that "'own' here is the correct word, as they were bought not for a client's account but for stock." -wiki