Description: M. T. Ciceronis Epistolarum ad Atticum, ad Brutum, ad Quintum Fratrem, libri xx. [Venice, in the house of Aldus and Andrea Torresano, January 31, 1521] 8v0 (150 x 100 mm). 16 unnumbered and 331 numbered leaves (complete). Woodcut Aldine device to titlepage and colophon. Roman, italic and Greek type. 18th century crushed red Morocco, boards with double gilt-ruled fillet, spine with raised bands in six compartments, ruled and lettered direct in gilt in second compartment, all edges gilt. Gilt-tooled inner dentelles, marbled endpapers. Spine darkened, corners bumped, minor rubbing to boards, minor repair to title page, not affecting text. 2rd Aldine edition, after the first of 1513, including Aldus’ dedication to Filippo Csulai Móré, Hungarian ambassador to Venice. The rediscovery of Cicero’s Letters to Atticus by Petrarch in the Chapter Library of Verona in 1345 was—with the benefit of hindsight—a critical moment in the nascent Italian renaissance. Cicero was already a mainstay of the Classics in the West, but this was largely due to his philosophical legacy. His forensic oratory—legal speeches—and letters had long since fallen by the wayside during the long years of the Middle Ages. But the renaissance saw a complete inversion of this, and Cicero’s legal speeches, with their immediacy and topical connection to the political life of Rome, were increasingly popular. The discovery of Cicero’s Letters was thus a sensation, and quickly became one of the most popular texts amongst Italian humanists. Aldus Manutius (1449/52–1515) was, in turn, the greatest of the scholar-printers of the high renaissance, and over a thirty-odd year period from 1492–1515 Aldus, with his father in law Andrea Torresano, published numerous editions of Greek and Latin texts, including many edition principes (first printed editions) of Greek texts, including Plato and Aristotle. After Aldus’ death in 1515, Andrea continued printing new texts, as well as reissues of editions printed in Aldus’ lifetime, often with improved readings and errors corrected. Thus in the present charming copy of Cicero’s letters, we have one of the most important texts from the Italian renaissance printed by the most important printer of the renaissance. Adams C-1909; Renouard 93.15
Price: 2200 USD
Location: New York, New York
End Time: 2024-09-24T07:00:35.000Z
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Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Binding: Leather
Place of Publication: Venice
Signed: No
Publisher: Aldus Manutius
Subject: History
Original/Facsimile: Original
Year Printed: 1521
Language: Latin
Special Attributes: Renaissance Printing
Author: Cicero
Region: Europe
Personalized: No
Topic: Renaissance
Country/Region of Manufacture: Italy