![SOPHOCLES (c. 496-406 B.C.). Tragoediae Septem. Una cum omnibus Graecis scholiis, in Greek. Commentary by Joachim Camerarius (1500-1574). [Geneva:] Henri Estienne, 1568.](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2016/CKS/2016_CKS_12141_0092_000(sophocles_tragoediae_septem_una_cum_omnibus_graecis_scholiis_in_greek095131).jpg?w=1)
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SOPHOCLES (c. 496-406 B.C.). Tragoediae Septem. Una cum omnibus Graecis scholiis, in Greek. Commentary by Joachim Camerarius (1500-1574). [Geneva:] Henri Estienne, 1568.
The first Estienne edition of Sophocles. The Hoffmann copy, in a contemporary binding.
2 parts in one volume, 4to (270 x 163mm). With the final blank. Greek type; Camerarius’s commentaries mostly in roman. Estienne’s woodcut device on the title [Renouard 10], engraved headpieces and initials (occasional negligible marginal soiling.) Contemporary limp vellum, the sides centred with the Hoffmann arms in white on black and with a scrolling foliate border with corner fleurons, all with traces of gilt, the spine titled in manuscript (lacking the fore edge ties, traces of spine labels, light soiling). Provenance: Ferdinand Hoffmann of Grevenstein (1540-1607, Baron Grünpüchel und Strechau; binding, and his bookplate engraved by Lucas Kilian after Matthäus Gundelach on the verso of the title).
This beautifully printed Estienne edition is also important for the scholia, which include those of Demetrius Triclinius. The Greek text is followed by the commentary of Joachim Camerarius and his Latin versions of ‘Ajax’ (verse) and ‘Electra’ (prose). Ferdinand Hoffmann was a notable 16th-century Austrian bibliophile; Emperor Ferdinand I was his godfather, and he inherited vast holdings in Upper Styria. He lavished much of this wealth on his library, which was eventually absorbed into the Dietrichstein collection at Nikolsburg; when E.P. Goldschmidt visited the latter he estimated that more than ten thousand books and manuscripts had Hoffmann provenance, accounting for about two thirds of the Nikolsburg library. This well-margined copy preserves some deckle edges. Adams S-1448; Brunet I, 356; Renouard I, 102; Schreiber, Estiennes 171.
The first Estienne edition of Sophocles. The Hoffmann copy, in a contemporary binding.
2 parts in one volume, 4to (270 x 163mm). With the final blank. Greek type; Camerarius’s commentaries mostly in roman. Estienne’s woodcut device on the title [Renouard 10], engraved headpieces and initials (occasional negligible marginal soiling.) Contemporary limp vellum, the sides centred with the Hoffmann arms in white on black and with a scrolling foliate border with corner fleurons, all with traces of gilt, the spine titled in manuscript (lacking the fore edge ties, traces of spine labels, light soiling). Provenance: Ferdinand Hoffmann of Grevenstein (1540-1607, Baron Grünpüchel und Strechau; binding, and his bookplate engraved by Lucas Kilian after Matthäus Gundelach on the verso of the title).
This beautifully printed Estienne edition is also important for the scholia, which include those of Demetrius Triclinius. The Greek text is followed by the commentary of Joachim Camerarius and his Latin versions of ‘Ajax’ (verse) and ‘Electra’ (prose). Ferdinand Hoffmann was a notable 16th-century Austrian bibliophile; Emperor Ferdinand I was his godfather, and he inherited vast holdings in Upper Styria. He lavished much of this wealth on his library, which was eventually absorbed into the Dietrichstein collection at Nikolsburg; when E.P. Goldschmidt visited the latter he estimated that more than ten thousand books and manuscripts had Hoffmann provenance, accounting for about two thirds of the Nikolsburg library. This well-margined copy preserves some deckle edges. Adams S-1448; Brunet I, 356; Renouard I, 102; Schreiber, Estiennes 171.
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