311
~ One of the masterpieces of French Renaissance prose ~
1220 PLUTARCHUS
- Les oeuvres morales & meslees (...) [rev. trsl. from the Greek Jacques Amyot].
Paris, M. Vascosan (& F. Morel), 1575, folio, old mottled calf (rubbed, sm. def., some corners
bumped), spine on 6 raised bands with gilt labels, sp. edges, [6]-668-[88] ff. (1st ff. marginally
dampstained). Good copy.
€
800/1200
Rev. ed. (1st 1572) of the French trsl. of Plutarch’s philosophical essays by the scholar J. Amyot
(1513-1593), teacher of Charles IX and Henri II, famous as a Greek translator. It is one of the
masterpieces of French Renaissance prose - in fact a greater scholarly performance than the
“Lives”, but less succesful. The printing was done by Vascosan and his son-in-law Morel. Index
in 3 cols. Cont. ownership entries on title of i.a. “Ludovici de Thesut” (1538-1623), author of
“Melanges historiques”, 1589, and of another member of this Châlons family, “Caroli Benigni de
Thesut”. Bookseller’s stamps.
Ref.
Pettegree FB 44127. Dumoulin, Morel 254. Hoffmann III:385.
STCFrench (BL London) 358. Not in Adams.
Joined
:
Idem
- Les vies des hommes illustres Grecs & Romains, comparees l’une avec l’autre
(...) [trsl. from the Greek Jacques Amyot] [and] Les vies de Annibal & de Scipion l’Africain [trsl.
from the Latin Charles de l’Escluse]. Lausanne, Fr. Le Preux, 1574, folio, uniformly bound with
the “Oeuvres morales”, [16]-1336-[44] pp. (title soiled, occ. spotting). Very good copy. New ed.
(1st Paris 1559) of the famous French trsl. of Plutarch’s “Lives” by J. Amyot. Ill. with
50 small
circular woodcut portraits
within a border of type ornaments. It is one of the masterpieces of French
Renaissance prose - Montaigne called it “nostre bréviaire”. Amyot’s French version was translated
into English by Sir Thomas North (1535-1604) and soon became “Shakespeare’s Plutarch”, a major
source for his Roman and Greek plays (Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Timon
of Athens). The present ed. adds 2 similar lives translated from Latin by Carolus Clusius (1526-
1609). Woodcut mark on title and at the end. Provenance identical with the “Oeuvres morales”.
Collector’s stamps and notes Empain Gérard.
Ref.
Pettegree FB 44125. Cp. Adams P-1625 (1575
issue). Not in Hoffmann, STCFrench (BL London), BN Paris. (2 vol.)
1221 [Poitiers imprint]
-
BOICEAU DE LABORDERIE, Jean
- Ad legem regiam Molinaeis habitam,
De abrogata testium, a libra centena, probatione, commentarius. Poitiers, 1582, 4to, 18th-c. catspaw
calf (sl. rubbed), gilt spine, red edges, marbled endpapers, silk marker, [12]-165-[15] pp. (paper
age-toned, some spotting). Good copy.
€
250/400
Very rare Poitiers ed. of a legal commentary by the French lawyer Boiceau de la Borderie (1513-
1591). “Il est connu surtout pour son commentaire sur l’article 54 de l’ordonnance de Moulins
à propos de la preuve testimoniale, paru pour la première fois en latin en 1582. On retrouve des
extraits de cet ouvrage, fréquemment réimprimé avec des additions, dans plusieurs articles du Code
civil français.” (Wikipédia). Woodcut mark (printing press) on title. 18th-c. armorial bookpl. Auda
de Montolieu (Nice). Libr. bookpl. Law Library, Los Angeles Co. Calif.
Ref.
Pettegree FB 58469.
Desgraves (Poitiers) Bouchet 31. Ind. Aur. 121.297. Cioranesco 4244. Not in Adams, STC French
(BL).
1222 [Postincunable - Deventer]
-
BARTHOLOMAEUS COLONIENSIS
- Libellus elegiacus de
septenis doloribus illustrissime ac gloriosissime virginis marie (...). Deventer, Jacobus de Breda, 6
Nov. 1514, 4to, mod. half vellum, [16] ff. (some minor soiling). Very good copy.
€
1000/1500
Rare copy of this Neolatin poetry in praise of the Virgin by B. Coloniensis (d. 1516). On title a
6-line Latin poem by Joannes Murmellius. Large woodcut ill. at end. A few German ms. words on
last page.
Ref.
NKr 241. Pettegree NB 3199. Index Aur. 113.641. Not in Adams, Machiels, BL, BnF,
NUC.
