History

The definitive edition of this key work. The first edition was published in 1673 and was expanded and revised over the years as more fragments from the "Marble Plan" (Forma Urbis Romae) came to light throughout the first half of the 18th century. Elephant folio. Quarter Roan. Engraved title, 26 full-page plates and 37 smaller engravings of ancient coins, vases, reliefs and views of Rome, all by P. S. Bartoli.

FIRST EDITION, 1/500 COPIES SIGNED BY ROBERT GRAVES AND BASIL LIDDELL HART. WITH THE ORIGINAL DUSTJACKETS.  Two volumes. Octavo. Original linen bindings, original dust jackets. Housed in publisher's slipcase. Spines and front panel of jacket for Hart volume somewhat toned; minor wear to slipcase. A handsome set.

Folio (320 x 205mm). Bound in modern calf, with elaborate armorial device of Nicolas Chevalier (1532-1630) inlaid on sides (preserved from the original binding).  Greek type, Estienne’s device on title. A clean, wide-margined copy; the first few leaves skillfully reinforced at inner margins.

FIRST EDITION. An immensely important work in establishing the provenance of antique sculpture and an indispensable companion to the Grand Tour of Renaissance art lovers. Reprinted in many later editions. 100 copper engravings. True first edition. Quarto. (Printed before 1585: date was added to engraved title in 1585.) 17th Century mottled-calf binding, spine in 6 compartments with raised bands, gilt, morocco label. Engraved title and 100 plates detailing antique statues in 16th-century Roman collections. Binding scuffed at extremities; spine ends worn with some loss; evidence of stamp removal (title); generally clean throughout. An attractive copy.

FIRST EDITION of Du Choul's superbly illustrated work on the religious customs, ceremonies and observances of the ancient Romans. Du Choul was one of the first antiquaries to give an interpretation of the images of medals, inscriptions, and bas-reliefs drawing on classical literary sources. “Du Choul ... literally [owned] his evidence, in the form of the coins that his book so lovingly reproduced. These bits of metal, whose exploitation for antiquarian purposes Du Choul was hereby pioneering, revealed to his proprietary gaze a rich religious life that he inevitably came to think of as his own... Du Choul’s interest in pagan survivals, then, reveals him as a true son of the Renaissance in his eagerness to reach across the centuries that separated him from his beloved Romans and to experience an intense feeling of cultural and even spiritual kinship with the classical age.”–David A. Lupher, Romans in a New World: Classical Models in Sixteenth-century Spanish America“It was Guillaume Du Choul... who would open in earnest the era of the study of Roman religion itself, in his Discours de la religion des anciens Romains... Du Choul’s work, which soon achieved notoriety ... made us of figurative sources. In particular, Du Choul analyzed coins, many of which had been brought to him by peasants working on his estates.” –Guy G. Strousma, A new science: the discovery of religion in the Age of Reason Lyon: Guillaume Rouille, 1556. Quarto. Half vellum over paper boards. Roman letter with Italic marginalia, illustrated with woodcut medallions by P. Eskrich in text. Very good overall, occasional light toning, a lovely copy.

THIRD EDITION of William of Auvergne's meditation on the subject of prayer. This work was first published in 1491 and again in 1492.Octavo. 152 printed leaves. Beautifully rebound in (early) printed leaf over boards with vellum manuscript leaves on paste-downs. Printers device on title and verso of final leaf; rubricated in red and blue. Small hole to margin of first few leaves; occasional light dampstaining to margins; a superb and quite desirable copy.

ESTIENNE'S SUPERB 1581 EDITION OF HERODIAN. The second part comprises the editio princeps of the Roman history by Zosimus, an early sixth century historian who wrote in Greek and is a key source for the period 395-410. Zosimus’ original Greek text is accompanied by Estienne’s own Latin version of Zosimus’ text. ‘For this edition of Herodian … Estienne has thoroughly revised, and made additions to, the popular Latin translation of Angelo Poliziano; he prints his corrections, additions, and textual comments in the margins.’ (Schreiber). Quarto. Elegant 18th-century smooth calf, triple gilt fillet, spine gilt, two red morocco spine lables lettered in gilt, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers. Printer’s device on title. Clean throughout, a superb copy.

FIRST EDITION of Cavalieri's Papal portraits. "[Cavalieri] was probably the single most significant figure of the whole sixteenth century to make visually accessible to a wide public throughout Europe the past personalities and glories of his adopted city.” –Francis Haskell Octavo, 19th century half calf over boards. This issue with an additional gathering a4 and engraved arms of Cavalieri on verso of final leaf, engraved title, engraving of St Peter on a8 verso, second engraved title on [A]1 recto, 230 numbered engraved portraits of the popes, no. 112 in facsimile (pasted); tear on 147-156 neatly repaired without loss, a few light stains.

Quarto. Contemporary calf, recently rebacked. Marbled endpapers, bookplates. Engraved allegorical frontispiece, engraved title & 226 engraved vignettes after Lebrun. A clean, wide-margined copy; a few gatherings lighly toned, archivally repaired tear to margin of Xiii. An attractive copy.

1583 edition of Cavalieri's Romanorum Imperatorum Effigies, illustrated with 157 engraved plates. Octavo. Early vellum over boards, early leather spine label. Engraved title, two engraved emblems and 154 Engraved plates (complete totaling 157 including engraved title and emblembs) of all the Roman and Byzantine Emperors from Julius Caesar through the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II. Each plate with a one-page biography by Thomas of Trent, at that time serving in the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere.  Dampstain to first 11 leaves (including engraved title), title reinforced and mounted, significant repair to lower third of the page, otherwise a clean copy in an attractive early binding.

1592 Edition of Cavalieri's Lives of the Roman Emperors, superbly illustrated with 157 engraved portraits (on 152 leaves). Octavo, bound in contemporary vellum. Engraved title within architectural border, crown at top, full-page engraved coat-of-arms of Cavalieri (browned), 157 portraits (on 152 leaves) by Cavalieri, printer's device on verso of final leaf. Early stamp to lower margin of frontispiece. Occasional light to moderate toning. An attractive copy in a lovely vellum binding.

FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH of Antonio Solis' exceedingly popular and quite romantic version of the conquest of Mexico. "It has been translated into the principal languages of Europe; and such is the charm of its composition, and its exquisite finish as a work of art, that it will doubtless be as imperishable as the language in which it is written..." – William H. Prescott. Folio. 18th century panelled calf, elaborately gilt spine in 7 compartments, red spine label. Armorial bookplates on front pastedown. Engraved portrait of Cortes by G. Vertue, 8 engraved plates and maps including the folding panorama of Mexico City. Sabin 86487.Joints cracked but firm; corners lightly bumped. Light paste-action in margins of first and last leaves; engraved portrait lightly toned. A fresh and appealing copy, clean throughout. Provenance: Henry Duke of Kent (bookplate); Thomas Philip Earl de Grey (bookplate).

FIRST ALDINE EDITION. Small quarto. Bound in recent morocco. With Aldine anchor on title-page and verso of final leaf. Printed in italic letter.

FIRST EDITION. "With the publication of his masterpiece, the 'History of the Art of the Ancients', his fame had become widespread. This was indeed the first work in the German language to achieve universal acclaim. Winckelmann had drawn attention for the first time to the importance of Greek ideals for the modern world, and, with his unique acquaintance with the surviving examples of classical art, amplified by wide and specialized reading, his authority was unquestioned" (PMM). “Winckelmann’s History had a remarkable impact for a scholarly antiquarian publication. It presented a comprehensive synthesis of available knowledge about the visual artefacts of the ancient world... Four main sculptural traditions were discussed in detail – the ancient Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek and Roman. What particularly caught the imagination of Winckelmann’s contemporaries, however, and still assures the book a place among the classics of art history, is what Winckelmann himself envisaged as its core, the eloquent and hugely ambitious attempt to redefine the history and aesthetics of the ancient Greek tradition. –Alex Potts, Flesh and the Ideal: Winckelmann and the Origins of the History“[Winckelmann’s] magnum opus is in a class apart, for it completely revolutionized the study of art by treating it organically (Winckelmann was the first to do so) as part of the growth of the human race” –E.M. Butler Quarto. Beautifully bound in recent full sprinkled calf, elaborate gilt tooling to boards, elaborately gilt spine in 6 compartments. Title skillfully mounted, occasional toning and scattered foxing throughout. [With:] Anmerkungen ber die Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums. Dresden: Waltherische Hof-Buchhandlung, 1764 and 1767. 2 works in 4 volumes bound in one. (The text of Anmerkungen ber die Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums is quite toned, much more so than the primary volume.)

EDITIO PRINCEPS of Appian's histories of the various Roman wars from the earliest times to the campaigns of Trajan. Folio. 18th-century calf recently rebacked. Title leaf laid down and repaired; lower blank corners of last four leaves repaired (not affecting text). Greek type; Estienne's basilisk device as Royal Greek Printer on title; foliated and grotesque Greek initials with matching headpieces. An attractive copy.

FIRST EDITION. Folio. Superb retrospective binding in English hand-dyed calfskin, elaboratedly blind-tooled in late 16th century Continental style, 5 raised bands on spine. Title and first leaf expertly remargined; occasional toning throughout, generally a handsome copy.

SECOND EDITION. Oblong folio, 19th-century quarter-roan over boards. Complete with 84 engraved plates including title and dedication. Skillful repair at head of spine, minor rubbing at spine bottom. Uncut, clean throughout. A beautiful copy.

FIRST EDITION of Isaac Newton's posthumously published theological interpretation of the Biblical prophecies."It has generally been assumed that the work was a product of his old age, as the treatise published was. Nevertheless, references to the prophecies filled his early theological notebook. Already in the 1670s, he believed that the essence of the Bible was the prophecy of human history rather than the revelation of truths beyond human reason unto life eternal. Already at that time he believed what he asserted later about Revelation: 'There [is] no book in all the scriptures so much recommended & guarded by providence as this.' He put that belief into practice by composing his earliest theological study. It proved to be more than a passing interest. His first full discourse contains many insertions in later hands, showing that he referred to it frequently. He composed numerous revisions of it, one of which was probably the last thing on which he was at work when he died more than fifty years later." (Richard Westfall, The Life of Sir Isaac Newton). Quarto, period style boards. Uncut, a superb copy.

THE STEPHANUS EDITION OF CICERO. The text of this folio edition is based on the 1543-1544 octavo edition by Robert Estienne. 4 volumes bound in 2. Folio. 18th century calf recently rebacked; double gilt fillets round sides, gilt dentelles; marbled endpapers, armorial bookplate (Edward Wake). Large woodcut device on titles (small device on titles of volumes III & IV), small woodcut arms of the Cardinal of Lorraine, the dedicatee, on title of volume II, with the final errata leaf in volumes II and IV. Title of vol. II repaired at inner margin; occasional light dampstaining. Provenance: Edward Wake (eighteenth-century armorial bookplate). Adams C1647.

FIRST EDITION.Lacking portrait and 2 folding views although that of Paolinxi was apparently never issued.Folio. Jan Nieuhoff (1618-1672) travelled in Brazil, the East Indies and China, and lost his life while on an expedition between Mozambique and Madagascar. His account of China is a famous book and was of enormous value in the dissemination of the knowledge of China throughout late 17th-century Europe. On the expedition Nieuhoff was accompanied by a number of scientists, whose studies of flora and fauna are illustrated in a series of delightful plates, alongside fine views of ports and towns.

FIRST EDITION, illustrated with 208 beautiful copper-plate engravings and numerous in-text illustrations and vignettes.Winckelmann is best known for his monumental Geschichte der Kunst des Altertums (History of the Art of Antiquity, 1764), which enjoyed tremendous popular success and permanently reshaped aesthetic criticism. The Monuments, his last published work, stands by itself as "a masterpiece of interpretation and explanation" and "a pioneering work in the field of archaeological methodology" (Catholic Encyclopedia; Lappmann).  Significantly, it is also the only one of Winckelmann's works published in his lifetime to be extensively illustrated.  Folio, contemporary vellum with original red leather label, decorated endpapers. Two volumes in one. Text in Italian. Bookplates. Light wear to binding, very small library number on dedication leaf, small tear to endpaper. Occasional light foxing. Plates very clean. A superb, wide-margined copy in contemporary vellum of the beautifully-illustrated first edition.

FIRST COMPLETE EDITION OF AESCHYLUS. With the editio princeps of the Agamemnon. “An excellent and beautiful edition... It is a much more valuable impression than either of its precursors.. what enhances the value of the edition is, that the Agamemnon is published in it, for the first time, complete.” -Dibdin, An introduction to the knowledge of rare and valuable editions of the Greek and Latin Classics Quarto. Early full tree-calf skillfully rebacked, spine in six compartments, red leather label. Gilt dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Text generallly clean throughout; repaired tear to the lower portion of title page. A handsome copy of an important and distinguished edition.

FIRST EDITION of Vols II-VI, THIRD EDITION of vol I. This is the first issue of Volume I to set Gibbon's footnotes at page-bottom instead of an the end of the volume, a major iomprovement in readability. "To [his] task Gibbon brought a width of vision and a critical mastery of the available sources which have not been equalled to this day; and the result was clothed in an inimitable prose" (PMM). Six volumes. Quarto. Rebound in period style quarter calf over marbled boards, the spines gilt with red morocco title and volume labels. An attractive and desirable set. Clean throughout.

FIRST EDITION of the first comprehensive collection of Latin inscriptions from the press of Apianus. Inscriptiones Sacrosanctae was commissioned by the German banker Raimund Fugger whose own collection of antiquities, together with the collection of Peutinger, provide the basis of the majority of Apianus's study. This work gathered inscrptions from all over Europe and, for the first time, arranged them geographically. Folio. Contemporary full vellum. Title printed in red & black, with large woodcut after Durer. Woodcut arms of Raimund Fugger (dedicatee), approx. 180 woodcuts in the text, most pages with ornamental woodcut borders, printer's device at back. Elegant early owner inscription on title. A lovely copy with only very minor occasional spotting. Rare.

FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, with plate numbers within the plate lines and the plate at 70-71 uncorrected and reading“Warwick Shire”.“We hope to lay down in one body the whole science of architecture, from its first rudiments to its utmost perfection; and that in a manner which shall render every part of it intelligible to every reader; to acquaint the gentleman with what, on every possible occasion, he should design in his edifice; and to instruct the practical builder in not only what he ought to do, but how he should execute it, to his own credit, and to the advantage of the owner.” –Isaac Ware, Complete Body of Architecture“The modern concept of architecture as a profession was formed after about 1750 ... [the] two major books of English professional architectur- al instruction of the eighteenth century [were] Ware’ Complete Body of Architecture and Sir William Chambers’s Treatise on Civil Architecture” (Studies in Eighteenth-Century British Art and Aesthetics).Folio, full contemporary calf, elaborately gilt spine in seven pan- els. Engraved frontispiece, title in red and black with engraved vignette, engraved head-piece and 114 plates (many of them fold- ing). Boards lightly rubbed, skillful repairs at hinges and spine ends, clean throughout. An excellent copy.

FIRST EDITION. A splendid work beautifully illustrated with 48 superb engravings (on 46 sheets) depicting bas-reliefs of triumphal arches in Rome. Folio. 18th-century calf, spine elaborately gilt with gilt-stamped spine label, marbled endpapers.  Engraved portrait of dedicatee (Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni), 48 engraved plates. Binding lightly rubbed with moderate wear at spine head; clean throughout. A lovely wide margined copy.

FIRST EDITION. COMPLETE WITH 128 engraved plates (including title and dedication). "The Column of Trajan was dedicated on May 18, AD 113, and commemorates a series of militray campaigns waged by the emperor in Dacia between AD 101 and 106... The column itself if composed of 17 separate drums of fine Luna marble, and the carved spiral frieze contains 155 different scenes featuring 2,600 carved figures... the fine details of the carvings... have proven to be of enormous use to historians and archaeologists in reconstructing the particulars of Roman military equipment and tactics, as well as the interactions of the Romans with barbarians."–Gregory S. Aldrete, Daily Life in the Roman CIty: Rome, Pompeii, and Ostia Oblong folio. 128 engraved plates (incl. title & dedication); without the 9 leaves of text (as often). Uncut in 19th century half roan (some light wear to edges, short splits in lower joints, foxing to title & a few other plates, mainly in the margins).

FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE. 4 engraved frontispieces, titles printed in red & black with woodcut vignette on each, 3 engraved maps, including 2 folding, 22 folding plates, later bookplate, contemporary speckled calf, spine gilt compartments within raised gilt bands, a few small abrasions and cracks. 12mo. Two volumes bound in one.

SECOND (FIRST DATED) EDITION OF SIDONIUS, AN EXCELLENT COPY FROM ULRICH SCINZENELER'S MILAN PRESS. Sidonius, a diplomat, poet and bishop, is one of the key sources from 5th-century Gaul. Sidonius married the daughter of the Roman Emperor Avitus. The Golden Poems in this volume were written in honor of the Avitus. He was rewarded with a bronze statue in Tranjan's library. Chancery folio (283 x 194mm.), 144 leaves, 57 lines commentary surrounding text, Roman and Greek letter, woodcut initials. 18th century full-leather binding, expertly rebacked preserving original spine (except for lower spine panel which is done to style), gilt ornaments to boards, spine gilt, marbled endpapers. Bookplates at front pastedown. (Gerald P. Mander, Walter Goldwater). A clean copy with wide margins; light dampstains at lower margin of first 30 leaves, occasional dampstains throughout; repair at lower portion of title page (not affecting text).  This is the first edition with a commentary by Joannes Baptista Pius and the second printed edition, preceded by the exceedingly scarce 1474 edition. Hain Copinger 1287; Goff S 494.

FIRST EDITION. With 200 engraved plates reproducing the superb statuary, painting, bas-reliefs, cameos and gems of Florence. Four volumes. Royal folio. Contemporary morocco over cloth boards.

FIRST EDITION. The Cologne Chronicle is famous for a lengthy passage, on leaf 311 (verso), that provides the first printed account of the development of printing. "There are few ancient books which have been so frequently quoted, yet so rarely seen, as the present Chronicle. The possession of it is, indeed, essential to a Library like the one under description; since there is an important passage in it, relating to the invention of the Art of Printing with Metal Types, which merits very particular attention; and which has been referred to, or quoted, by bibliographers for nearly the two last centuries...  The rarity of this Chronicle is sufficiently attested by bibliographers, even without noticing that Hartz and Buder... who wrote expressly upon German affairs, had no knowledge whatever of it; and Naudaus doubted its existence. I am disposed to think there are not three copies of it in this country..."–Dibdin Folio. Contemporary tooled half-leather over oak boards. 354 (of 368) leaves. This copy lacking first 12 leaves, containing the first title and the register (index). Second title toned and laid down. Some toning and staining. Woodcut illustrations throughout. A sound copy. VERY RARE.

FIRST EDITIONS. "To this task Gibbon brought a width of vision and a critical mastery of the available sources which have not been equalled to this day; and the result was clothed in an inimitable prose" (PMM, 222). Six volumes. Quarto. Contemporary tan calf rebacked with old red and green lettering-pieces laid down, gilt in compartments. Engraved portrait frontispiece in Vol. I, 2 folding maps in Vol. II, 1 folding map in Vol. III, without half-titles in Vols. II and III, others present. Frontispiece slightly foxed as usual, some offsetting, a few gatherings slightly foxed, a very good set. With portrait frontispiece of Gibbon (in vol. I), 1 folding map of Europe adjacent to Constantinople (in vol. II) 1 folding map of the Eastern Roman Empire and 1 folding map of the Western Roman Empire (in vol. III). The portrait of Gibbon "engraved by Joseph Hall from an original picture painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds" published by Strahan and Cadell in 1780 and issued with the second volume, has been moved by the binder to the appropriate place, at the beginning of vol. I. That volume is in the second of two variant states, without the cancels X4 and a4.