APIANUS, Petrus and AMANTIUS, Bartholomaeus. Inscriptiones sacrosanctae vetustatis non illae quidem romanae, sed totius fere orbis summo ac maximis impensis mariq[ue] conquisitae feliciter incipiunt ... Ingolstadt, in aedibus P. Apiani, 1534.
Folio, pp. [40], CCCCCXII, [8], title-page printed in red and black and with a large woodcut by Hans Brosamer after Dürer, dedication leaf with large woodcut arms of Raimund Fugger by Michael Ostendorfer, more than 180 woodcuts in the text, some nearly full-page, most text pages enclosed by ever changing woodcut borders made up from four blocks, 7 large historiated woodcut intials with mathematical and astronomical subject matters; a very good, clean and fresh copy in a contemporary blindstamped pigskin binding, in the early 17th century a previous owner added his initials 'E.G.' and the date '1606' to the front cover in gilt and possibly repaired the left corner of the lower cover, some scratching, clasps missing.
First edition of the 'first world-corpus of classical inscriptions' (Mandowsky & Mitchell). The work was financed by the Augsburg banker Raimund Fugger (1489-1535), from whose collection a large number of the inscriptions were taken. Apianus printed it at his own press in his house in Ingolstadt.Petrus Apianus (1495-1552) was professor of mathematics at the University of Ingolstadt. He was 'a pioneer in astronomical and geographical instrumentation, and one of the most successful popularizers of these subjects during te 16th century' (DSB); the author of the Cosmographia (1524), one of the most popular texts of its time; an instrument maker and first observer of what was later known as Halley's comet; and a printer who published most of his own books but also those of others like Johann von Eck. In the present work he assembled together with Amantius the first corpus of classical Greek and Latin inscription from throughout the ancient world, including the Middle East and North Africa. The book included inscriptions found on buildings, sculpture, vases, etc.
Cicognara 3095; Orbroy, Bibliographie des oeuvres de Pierre Apian, 109.
£4850
This item is listed on Bibliopoly by Bernard Quaritch Ltd.; click here for further details.