- Hardcover
- Used
Seller: Sokol Books Ltd. ABA ILAB, London, United KingdomSokol Books Ltd. ABA ILAB
AbeBooks seller since March 8, 2005
Condition: Used - Very good
£ 4,250.00
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
FIRST EDITION. 24mo, pp. (xxxii) 635 [misnumbered 633] (v), missing a1 blank. Roman, Italic and Greek letter, woodcut headpieces and ornaments. Age yellowing, small tear from outer blank margin of one fol., occasional light soiling mainly marginal. A very good copy in contemporary French calf ‘a la cire’, covers double gilt ruled, inner panel with gilt interlaced strapwork design, partly infilled in black, gilt pointille tools. Spine with gilt raised bands, double gilt ruled compartments with gilt flower at centres, tiny repair to one corner, a.e.g. Contemporary ms. index to last leaf. First edition of this pocket collection of ‘sententiae’ and proverbs from the Greek and Latin comic authors, edited by Henri Estienne. The volume is in a lovely contemporary painted strapwork binding, probably from a Lyonese or Parisian workshop, the principal sources of production of these charming bindings around the mid 16th century. Although the technical procedure of gilding and painting had been developed in Italy, similar ‘relieures à la cire’ with coloured or uncoloured geometrical interlacings quickly came to typify the elegance of the French Renaissance binders. Enamelled onlays and fine gilt borders were particularly appreciated by the grandest patrons of the day - Grolier, Henry II, Catherine de Medici - and realised only by a handful of skilled ‘doreurs sur cire’. The main feature of these bindings is that each one is unique: this is a simple and elegant example, with a peculiar three dots pattern filling in the spaces of the design instead of the more common dense single dots pattern. ‘Comicorum Graecorum Sententiae’ is an entertaining anthology of Greek aphorisms (‘sententiae’ in Laitn, ‘gnomai’ in Greek), selected, translated and commented on by Henri Estienne. This is one of Estienne’s tiniest books, defined ‘pusillus’ (i.e. very little) in the dedication to the Duke of Bavaria. It begins with a short introductory treatise by Estienne on aphorisms, outlining what they are and how to select them. Then, a few chapters are dedicated to Greek New Comedy playwrights in alphabetical order (e.g. Apollodorus, Antiphanes, Diphilus, Menander, etc), containing a list of their ‘sententiae’ with a Latin translation and a brief explanation. Another series of chapters contains aphorisms, mainly from Menander, organised by subject, e.g. on “the future”, “friends”, “drunkenness”, “luck”, “wealth”, “anger”, “laughter”. At the end, a separate section not indicated in the title page contains a similar collection derived from Latin authors (including Naevius, Ennius, Terence, Plautus etc.), including a selection of Publius Syrus’ sententiae with a commentary by Erasmus. “These sorts of compilations were very popular in their day, and Henri Estienne may have issued them as ‘bread-and-butter’ publications, in order to raise the capital (which he had lost with the patronage of Fugger) necessary to meet the printing and publication costs of his magnum opus now nearing completion: the Thesaurus Graecae Linguae” (Schreiber). Interestingly, several pages were deliberately left blank to allow for the reader’s notes: in this copy, the last blank leaf is annotated in a contemporary hand, and it contains an index of contents from page 190 to 271. USTC 450582; BM STC Fr. C16 Supplement, p. 32; Brunet II, p. 1080; Graesse II, p. 508; Renouard 132:3; Schreiber 175.…
Seller Inventory # L3877
Bibliographic details
- Title
- ESTIENNE, Henri.
- Author
- Comicorum Graecorum Sententiae
- Publisher
- Henri II Estienne
- Publication year
- 1569
- Condition
- Very Good
- Binding
- Hardcover
Sokol Books Ltd. ABA ILAB
London, United Kingdom
Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.
| Item | 7 to 20 business days | 5 to 10 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 42.00 | £ 57.00 |
Payment methods
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Store description
We are antiquarian and rare booksellers based in central London. We have been established for forty years and specialise in English and Continental books printed before and up to the mid 1600s, as well as medieval and renaissance manuscripts. All of our stock can be viewed on our website: https://www.sokol.co.uk . Our shop is based in Chelsea at 239A Fulham Road, London, SW3 6HY. It is open Tuesday to Saturday 11AM-7PM. You are always welcome to visit.
Specialty
English STC books (printed before 1640), Continental printed books before and up to the mid 1600s and medieval and renaissance manuscripts, both decorative and textual.Association member
Seller's business information
Sokol Books Ltd
27 Charles Street
London, United Kingdom W1J 5DT
Terms of sale
We observe the following terms for all sales:
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You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
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If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
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We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to Sokol Books Ltd. ABA ILAB, London, United Kingdom, +44 2074995571, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
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Shipping terms
Orders usually ship within 2 business days. Shipping costs are based on books weighing 2.2 LB, or 1 KG. If your book order is heavy or oversized, we may contact you to let you know extra shipping is required.
Sokol Books Ltd is a limited business. Our head office is at 27 Charles Street, London, W1J 5DT, and our shop is at 239a Fulham Road, London, SW3 6HY.
Our email is books@sokol.co.uk
Our phone 0207 499 5571 or 0207 351 5119
Our VAT number is 390 0083 77.
Our company representative is Grant McClean.