Inscriptiones sacrosanctae vetustatis: non illae quidem Romanae, sed totius fere orbis summo studio... conquistae

Inscriptiones sacrosanctae vetustatis: non illae quidem Romanae, sed totius fere orbis summo studio... conquistae

Ingolstadt: Petrus Apianus, 1534

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.

$7,500

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Essai sur L'Étude de la Littérature

FIRST EDITION of Gibbon’s first published work (preceding the English edition by 3 years).“I was delighted by the copious extracts, the warm commendations, and the flattering predictions of the Journals of France and Holland: and the next year (1762) a new edition (I believe at Geneva) extended the fame, or at least the circulation, of the work. In England it was received with cold indifference, little read, and speedily forgotten...” –The Autobiography and Correspondence of Edward Gibbon Small octavo (11x17cm). Full contemporary calf skillfully rebacked. Some minor rubbing to extremities, front hinge repaired. Occasional foxing; a clean and very attractive copy of this scarce title.

$2,000

Antiquarum statuarum urbis Romae, primus et secundus liber

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.

$3,750

Histoire De l'Art Chez Les Anciens

FIRST EDITION IN FRENCH of this most important work in art history and criticism.“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. ButlerOctavo.Two volumes bound as one. Recent crushed morocco, rebacked with the original spine laid down, marbled endpaper. Illustrated throughout. A handsome copy.

$1,000

Roma Sotterranea or some Account of the Roman Catacomb especially of the Cemetery of San Callisto

First Edition. This work is based on De Rossi's celebrated Roma Sotterranea (1864-77). Octavo. Original blind stamped purple cloth with gilt decoration to front board and spine. Spine quite faded with minor wear at head and heal; Bookplate to front pastedown. Text clean and complete with folding atlas inserted in pocket at rear; 20 chromolithographs and numerous woodcut text illustrations. An attractive, solid copy.

$650

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The New and Complete Book of Martyrs, Now Revised, Corrected and Improved By Paul Wright

Folio. Full blind-paneled reversed calf, 6 raised bands on spine, hinges weak, engraved frontispiece, 81 fine engraved plates, subscriber's list, double-column text, clean and tight.

$1,250

Observations upon the prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John

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.

$5,000

Poema aureum eiusdemque epistole

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.

$12,000

An Examination of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Chapters of Mr. Gibbon's History, BOUND WITH: Gibbon's A Vindication Bound w/Davis' "Reply"

FIRST EDITION. With 'Advertisement' after the title page. BOUND WITH: Davis, Henry Edwards. A Reply to Mr. Gibbon's Vindication of Some Passages in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Chapters of "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." London: J.Dodsley, 1779. First edition. Octavo, bound in recent 3/4 calf over marbled boards preserving early spine. Internally clean and sound throughout; a very attractive volume of this rare edition. In 1778 three people, including Henry Edwards Davis, a tutor of Balliol College, Oxford, wrote treatises publicly attacking Gibbon in hysterical terms for the anti-Christian remarks in the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of his 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire', which contain remarks condemning the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. The philosopher David Hume had warned Gibbon that this might happen. It gave Gibbon the opportunity to overmatch Davis with a public reply (here included) which was quite devastating in its superior learning, and its contrasting coolness. Gibbon had it printed in octavo so that it could not be bound with his (quarto) 'History'. Davis' further reply is also included here.

$3,500

The History of the Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards

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).

$4,000

Admiranda Romanarum antiquitatum ac veteris sculpturae vestigia

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.

$5,000

Nouveaux voyages de Mr. le Baron de Lahontan, dans l'Amerique Septentrionale

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.

$12,000

APIANUS, PETRUS & BARTHOLOMEUS AMANTIUS