Vitruvius, De architectura traducto in vulgare, Venice, 1524, contemporary Italian morocco

Vitruvius Pollio, Marcus. M.L. Vitruvio Pollione De architectura traducto di Latino in vulgare dal vero exemplare con le figure a li soi loci con mirando ordine insignito: con la sua tabula alphabetica: per la quale potrai facilmente trovare la moltitudine de li vocabuli a li soi loci con summa diligentia expositi… Venice: Giovanni Antonio & Pietro Nicolini da Sabbio, March 1524

This is the first Vitruvius text to be edited by Luci, based on the 1521 Como edition translated by Cesariano but fully revised. Francesco Luci, also known as Durantino, was a humanist scholar from Urbino, producing translations of Frontinus and Donatus, as well as works of political philosophy. Luci adds a substantial alphabetical list of vocabulary taken from Vitruvius which gives detailed explanations of technical terms as well as some of the classical allusions.

Folio (204 x 203 mm). Roman type: 44 lines plus headline. collation: AA-BB⁸ CC⁶ A-N⁸ O⁶: 132 leaves. Title-page printed in red and black, 136 woodcut illustrations, several pen trials in an early modern hand. (Title-page remargined at lower left-hand corner with no loss of text, worming and marginal dampstaining throughout).

binding: Contemporary Italian brown morocco laid down over later wooden boards (313 x 218 mm), outer frame with repeated blind stamp of acorn and oak leaves, inner frame with a repeated stamp of four drawer-handle tools, central panel with stamp of four drawer-handle tools in blind and gilt and fleurons, remains of four clasps, plain edges. (Binding heavily restored, spine creased with slight loss).

provenance: Le Maistre, early inscription on title-page. acquisition: Purchased in 1989 from Librairie Henner, Paris. references: BAL RIBA 3520; Edit16 32343