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Aldus Manutius, 1502
Details
Lucan's Pharsalia
Aldus Manutius, 1502
LUCANUS, Marcus Annaeus (39-65). Bellum civilis. Venice: Aldus Manutius, April 1502.
The first Aldine edition of Lucan's great poem of the Roman civil wars. The Boutourlin copy. This is an early entry in Aldus's series of elegant octavo editions of the Classics. Indeed, in the preface he notes that the smallness of its size makes this edition "commodius in manibus"—more convenient to hold in the hands! It is dedicated to Marco Antonio Mauriceno, who provided the exemplar manuscript upon which this edition is based. Lucan's poem, also known as the Pharsalia, "relates the story of the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, sparked by Caesar's violation of Roman law by bringing his armies across the Rubicon and into Rome" (Clemons and Fletcher). UCLA 56; Clemons and Fletcher, Aldus Manutius, A Legacy More Lasting than Bronze 35.
Octavo (160 x 92mm). (A little dustsoiled mostly at ends.) Later stiff vellum with morocco title pieces, gauffered gilt edges (one title piece chipped). Provenance: Comte Dmitry Petrovich Boutourlin, 1763-1829, military historian and librarian of the Imperial Russian library (bookplate, his sale part 2, Silvestre, 16 November 1840, lot 28).
Aldus Manutius, 1502
LUCANUS, Marcus Annaeus (39-65). Bellum civilis. Venice: Aldus Manutius, April 1502.
The first Aldine edition of Lucan's great poem of the Roman civil wars. The Boutourlin copy. This is an early entry in Aldus's series of elegant octavo editions of the Classics. Indeed, in the preface he notes that the smallness of its size makes this edition "commodius in manibus"—more convenient to hold in the hands! It is dedicated to Marco Antonio Mauriceno, who provided the exemplar manuscript upon which this edition is based. Lucan's poem, also known as the Pharsalia, "relates the story of the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, sparked by Caesar's violation of Roman law by bringing his armies across the Rubicon and into Rome" (Clemons and Fletcher). UCLA 56; Clemons and Fletcher, Aldus Manutius, A Legacy More Lasting than Bronze 35.
Octavo (160 x 92mm). (A little dustsoiled mostly at ends.) Later stiff vellum with morocco title pieces, gauffered gilt edges (one title piece chipped). Provenance: Comte Dmitry Petrovich Boutourlin, 1763-1829, military historian and librarian of the Imperial Russian library (bookplate, his sale part 2, Silvestre, 16 November 1840, lot 28).
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