Beinecke MS 457               Venice, 1575
Mores Italiae

Album of 105 water-color drawings of Italian costumes and scenes of daily life,
including two maps of Venice.
Paper, 105 ff., 280 x 218 mm.; water-color drawings:  185 x 130 mm.; mounted,
framed by narrow gold strips.
Binding:  s. xix.  Red, straight-grained goatskin, gold-tooled, with light blue,
watered silk doublures and flyleaves.  Possibly bound by one of the Bozerians
(Paris, 1793-1817), but the foot of the spine where their signature usually
appears was destroyed in rebacking.  Gilt edges.

     For each drawing we give in square brackets, following the folio reference,
the number written on the painting (presumably its placement in a series before
the mounting in present album), the title in Italian, when present, and a brief
description of the subject:

f. 1:  [3] portrait of a member of the de la Houssaye de la Morandais family of
Brittany, with the inscription "Anchora. H.M." and two anchors, and the
date 1575;
f. 2:  [2?] arms of the de la Houssaye de la Morandais family:  chequy argent
and azure; crest:  on a tower argent and azure a head proper with a cardinal's
hat proper, with one tassel  (cf. J.B. Rietstap, Armorial General,
[Baltimore, 1972] v. 1, p. 994);
f. 3:  "Il Ritratto De la Ragusea [?] in Venetia," portrait of a Venetian
courtesan;
f. 4:  [title illegible], masked carnival revelers and street jugglers during
Mardi Gras;
f. 5:  a lady in a horse-drawn carriage;
f. 6:  "Veronica Franca," portrait of a lady, naked;
f. 7:  [93?] "Una galea con schiavi," a galley with slaves;
f. 8:  [9] "Una Sposa Genouese," a Genovese bride;
f. 9:  [69] "Una Corregiana Gentildona di Cocho," a lady from Corregio in a
horse-drawn carriage;
f. 10:  [19] gentleman in a black robe;
f. 11:  dueling bravoes, with spectators on horses;
f. 12:  [116] "Una Gentildona Bolognese," a gentlewoman from Bologna;
f. 13:  [39] "Il Patriarcha da Venetia," the Patriarch of Venice, with two
acolytes;
f. 14:  [36?] the Bucentaur of the Doge of Venice;
f. 15:  [160] a horseman [Hungarian?] in a hooded cloak;
f. 16:  [112] "Una Cittadina," a townswoman;
f. 17:  a courtesan and a visitor in her chamber;
f. 18:  [22] "Un Gentiluomo da duolo," a gentleman in mourning,
dressed in black;
f. 19:  [96] "Una Donzella Ferrarese," a maiden from Ferrara;
f. 20:  "Una Gentildona Morta," a dead gentlewoman on a funeral bier, carried by
the Poor Clairs;
f. 21:  [65] a prostitute leaning from a window of her chamber addressing two
men;
f. 22:  [137] "Un Bascia," a man wearing a turban;
f. 23:  [26] "Un Zarlatano in banco," fiddling street peddlars on a table;
f. 24:  [50] a courtesan;
f. 25:  [28] "Gli Orfanelli de Padoua," the orphans of Padua;
f. 26:  [35] "Un Frate di S. Giorgio in Alga," a canon;
f. 27:  a prostitute leaning from a window, with a gentleman at the door
below;
f. 28:  [61] "Una Gentildona Maritata Padouana," a married gentlewoman from
Padua;
f. 29:  a view of Venice, in pen and ink;
f. 30:  [109] "Un Battuto," a flagellant in black monastic robe;
f. 31:  a herd of donkeys and their keeper;
f. 32:  [115] "Una Gentildonna Fiorentina," a Florentine gentlewoman;
f. 33:  [74] "Cocho Napolitano," a Neapolitan carriage with woman descending;
f. 34:  [60] "Una Vedova Padouana," a widow from Padua in black;
f. 35:  a hunter on horseback with two dogs;
f. 36:  two men carrying fishing nets, observed by five cats;
f. 37:  [51 changed to 44?] "Una Donzella Venetiana," a Venetian maiden,
robed completely in black;
f. 38:  [94] "Una Galea con Soldati," a galley with soldiers;
f. 39:  a council member [?] in a red robe with fur trim;
f. 40:  [111] "Una Cortegiana Romana," a Roman courtesan;
f. 41:  [165] "Un Frate de l'ordine de S. Jeronimo," a monk of the order of
St. Jerome;
f. 42:  a group of young people playing games in the countryside,
with men caught by women in an animal trap [?];
f. 43:  a Doctor of Medicine in a black robe, perhaps a university professor;
f. 44:  the Grand Council of Venice, in pen and ink;
f. 45:  [ 32] "Un Frate de S. Antonio de Padoua," a monk of St. Antony
of Padua;
f. 46:  [50 changed to 46?] "Una Cor. Venetiana in Strada," a Venetian courtesan
     in the street;
f. 47:  [97] "Un Cortigiano Ferrarese," a courtier from Ferrara on horseback;
f. 48:  a gentleman in a red robe;
f. 49:  [52 changed to 48] "Una Gentildona Venetiana," a gentlewoman from
Venice;
f. 50:  six hooded members of a religious fraternity, in white, black, grey and
blue robes;
f. 51:  a flock of goats with their shepherd near Roman ruins;
f. 52:  a bishop in purple robe and wearing a black hat lined with green,
on a mule;
f. 53:  [100] "Una Cortegiana Senese," a Sienese courtesan;.
f. 54:  [20 changed to 25] "Cosi se porta il Vino in Padoua," two peasant men
carrying a barrel of wine;
f. 55:  a view of Venice, in pen and ink;
f. 56:  [2?] "Un Gentiluomo Padouano," a gentleman from Padua;
f. 57:  [99] "Una Gentildonna Sanese," a Sienese gentlewoman;
f. 58:  "Contadini [che] uanno [al] mercato," three peasants on their way to the
market;
f. 59:  [107] a bishop in blue and white robe (choir dress) with black hat;
f. 60:  [56] "Una Donzella Padouana," a maiden from Padua, with black veil;
f. 61:  [38] "La Processione del Santo in Padoua," religious procession for St.
Antony in Padua;
f. 62:  [110] "Un Altro," a hooded flagellant in white monastic robe;
f. 63:  a courtesan receiving a guest [?];
f. 64:  [15] a gentleman in an elaborately embroidered robe;
f. 65:  "Gentildonna Romana maritata," a married gentlewoman from Rome;
f. 66:  four men (including a clergyman and a Turk) dining under a tree
with canopy;
f. 67:  [8] city official in a blue robe with white fur trim;
f. 68:  [123] "Una Cittadina Napolitana," a townswoman from Naples;
f. 69:  an aristocratic lady peering from a sedan-chair;
f. 70:  [18] "Il Decurio," a decurion;
f. 71:  [66?] Dogana in a red dress and golden robe;
f. 72:  a prostitute leaning from a window and two gentlemen below;
f. 73:  [47 changed to 45] "Una Ruffiana Francescana [?]," an almswoman with
knotted cord [?];
f. 74:  two bird catchers;
f. 75:  "Un Capitano de Citta," a mayor in red robe;
f. 76:  [5?] "Una Venetiana da Duolo," a Venetian lady in mourning;
f. 77:  Senator in a red robe with embroidered gold sash;
f. 78:  [46 changed to 43] "Un Forastiere," a lady and a foreigner;
f. 79:  [132?] "Una Nave grossa," a large sailing ship;
f. 80:  [83] "Una altra Cittadina," a townswoman in a green dress;
f. 81:  [16] Professor in a maroon robe with embroidered gold sash;
f. 82:  [63] "Una Padouana da Duolo," a lady from Padua in mourning;
f. 83:  "Un Officiale da Venetia," a city official of Venice;
f. 84:  [57; title trimmed] a bride [?];
f. 85:  [167] "Capuzini," two Capucian monks in severely patched robes;
f. 86:  "Una Vedoua Bolognese," a widow from Bologna;
f. 87:  a horseman tipping his hat;
f. 88:  [166] "Un Frate de S. Michel in Bosco fuora le mura De Bologna,"
an aged monk of St. Michael in Bosco outside the walls of Bologna,
wearing glasses;
f. 89:  [125] "Una Cortegiana Napolitana," a courtesan from Naples;
f. 90:  a duel with one man stabbed in the mouth;
f. 91:  [32?] "Un Official de Corte de Padoua," an official of Padua;
f. 92:  [122] "Una Altra," a woman in a red and blue dress, with fan;
f. 93:  a horseman with an umbrella;
f. 94:  [25?] "Un Padouano morto," a dead gentleman from Padua carried on a
funeral bier Poor Clairs;
f. 95:  a joust in an enclosed area;
f. 96:  "Il Duca de Genoa," the Duke of Genoa in gold robe;
f. 97:  [21] "Una Gentildona maritata Spagnula," a married gentlewoman from
Spain;
f. 98:  [25] "Un Altro vestito de duolo," a gentleman dressed in white;
f. 99:  [120] "Una Donzella Napolitana," a maiden from Naples;
f. 100:  a cardinal in red robe and hat, apparently the same individual
as f. 103;
f. 101:  "Una Donzella Genouese," a maiden from Genoa;
f. 102:  [156?] "Il Ritratto del Turco Moderno," portrait of a Turk with a large
turban;
f. 103:  [100, title illegible] a cardinal on a mule, apparently the same
individual as f. 100;
f. 104:  [124] "Una Vedoua," a widow in dark green dress and black robe;
f. 105:  a peasant carrying two buckets of wine.

Compiled presumably in Venice in 1575 for an unidentified member of the de la
Houssaye de la Morandais family whose portrait appears on f. 1r and arms on f.
2r; provenance otherwise unknown.  Given to Yale in 1955 by Mrs. Bernard F.
Gimbel.

Bibliography:  T. E. Marston, "The Gimbel Manuscripts," Gazette 30
(1956) p. 152.

Barbara A. Shailor