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[Idyllia] [and other texts]

[Idyllia] [and other texts]

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[Idyllia] [and other texts]

by Theocritus; Hesiod

  • Used
  • first
Condition
Bound in early 18th-century mottled calf, spine in 7 compartments with citron morocco lettering piece in one and ornamental tool
Seller
Seller rating:
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New York, New York, United States
Item Price
$65,000.00
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About This Item

[Venice: Aldus Manutius, 1495. First Aldine edition, and the first complete edition of Theocritus (printing 12 of the 30 Idylls here for the first time); the first edition of HESIOD'S THEOGONY; second edition of his WORKS AND DAYS; and first editions of most of the other minor works (enumerated below); and first setting of quires £I °E F and £K °E G.. Title in Greek and Roman, introduction by Aldus in Latin;, text entirely in Greek. Woodcut decorated initials and floral or strapwork headpieces, ILLUMINATED THROUGHOUT IN COLORS AND GOLD IN A CONTEMPORARY HAND. [140] leaves. 1 vols. Folio, (315 x 210 mm.). Bound in early 18th-century mottled calf, spine in 7 compartments with citron morocco lettering piece in one and ornamental tooling in the rest; title soiled and shaved along fore-edge, extensive neatly penned marginalia in Greek and Latin, in two different hands; gilt edges, gauffered to all-over pattern of intersecting diagonal fillets and fleurons. Bookplate of St. Benedict's Abbey, Fort Augustus, Scotland. First Aldine edition, and the first complete edition of Theocritus (printing 12 of the 30 Idylls here for the first time); the first edition of HESIOD'S THEOGONY; second edition of his WORKS AND DAYS; and first editions of most of the other minor works (enumerated below); and first setting of quires £I °E F and £K °E G. Title in Greek and Roman, introduction by Aldus in Latin;, text entirely in Greek. Woodcut decorated initials and floral or strapwork headpieces, ILLUMINATED THROUGHOUT IN COLORS AND GOLD IN A CONTEMPORARY HAND. [140] leaves. 1 vols. Folio, (315 x 210 mm.). First Complete Theocritus, With Contemporary Illumination and Marginalia. First Aldine and first complete edition of the Idylls of Theocritus, of which 12 appear here for the first time, also including the first edition in the original Greek of Hesiod's Theogony and Shield of Hercules and the elegies of Theognis, as well as the second edition of Hesiod's Works and Days, which were first printed in Milan circa 1480. This is the first setting of gatherings [zeta].F and [theta].G, with the text uncorrected.

Not only is this copy beautifully colored in a contemporary hand (none such appear in ABPC for the last 35 years, and we are unable to find any institutional copies with coloring), but the copy is notable as well for profuse, neat contemporary marginalia, mostly in Latin, but often in Greek, which fill the book.

The marginal annotations are particularly extensive in the first two Idylls, where, typically, underscored words are explained in the margins; occasionally, an interlinear Latin word is provided beneath the Greek in an even smaller, but always clear, hand. The notes themselves are mostly philological in scope, with notations on unusual Doric (Theocritus's dialect) forms (e.g., the Doric form for the preposition 'πpòs' being 'πotì', the identification of parts of speech, and grammatical forms, poetic usage, etc.) Especially notable, too, are frequent comparisons and cross references to passages from Vergil's Eclogues. In the famous Idyll 2 ("Pharmaceutria"), where a spurned maiden utters incantations to bring her man back home, there now seem to be two distinct hands, and the notes are particularly frequent and copious. The first note reads: "Unde sumpta est Verg. Pharmaceutria" [whence Vergil got his Pharmaceutria].

A beautiful copy of a rare and important book, with fascinating early annotations. Renouard, page 5(3); New UCLA 7; Hoffmann III, 473-74; HC 15477*; BMC V, 554-55; Goff T144; ISTC it00144000

Details

Bookseller
James Cummins Bookseller US (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #
259147
Title
[Idyllia] [and other texts]
Author
Theocritus; Hesiod
Format/Binding
Title in Greek and Roman, introduction by Aldus in Latin;, text entirely in Greek. Woodcut decorated initials and floral or stra
Book Condition
Used - Bound in early 18th-century mottled calf, spine in 7 compartments with citron morocco lettering piece in one and ornamental tool
Quantity Available
1
Edition
First Aldine edition, and the first complete edition of Theocrit
Publisher
Aldus Manutius
Place of Publication
[Venice
Date Published
1495
Keywords
Incunabula | Theocritus
Bookseller catalogs
Art, Architecture & Design;

Terms of Sale

James Cummins Bookseller

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About the Seller

James Cummins Bookseller

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2009
New York, New York

About James Cummins Bookseller

Founded in 1978 by James Cummins, the firm has grown to include two New Jersey locations as well as the main store at 699 Madison Avenue (between 62nd and 63rd Streets) in New York City.Hours: Monday - Friday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (During July & August, until 4:00 p.m. on Fridays.)The Madison Avenue store is a seventh-floor oasis for book-lovers, a quiet and pleasantly furnished book room with a carefully chosen, expertly catalogued and broad-based selection of fine and rare books, autographs, manuscripts, and works of art. We have built notable private collections for American and international clients. Our stock is always changing, and our steady input from private buying and public auctions assures our clients of new surprises (and temptations!) at each visit. Our stock covers a wide range of collecting interests, with particular emphasis in the following fields: British and American Literature, Sporting Books, Private Press and Illustrated Books, 19th-Century Color Plate Books, Americana, Travel, Sets and Fine Bindings, History, and Authors' Manuscripts and Letters. Our catalogued inventory exceeds 50,000 titles, much of which can be searched on the internet. In addition, our New Jersey warehouse contains over 400,000 books in all subject areas. We might have the books you're looking for.

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Edges
The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
New
A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
G
Good describes the average used and worn book that has all pages or leaves present. Any defects must be noted. (as defined by AB...
Marginalia
Marginalia, in brief, are notes written in the margins, or beside the text of a book by a previous owner. This is very...
Calf
Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...
Folio
A folio usually indicates a large book size of 15" in height or larger when used in the context of a book description. Further,...
Gilt
The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
Bookplate
Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
Gatherings
A term used in bookbinding, where a gathering of sheets is folded at the middle, then bound into the binding together. The...
Morocco
Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...
Spine
The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
First Edition
In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
Soiled
Generally refers to minor discoloration or staining.
Leaves
Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...

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