Mela, Iulius Solinus, Venice, Heirs of Aldo & Torresano, 1518, contemporary French brown calf, presentation inscription of Maternus Hattenus from Speyer to Nicolaus Gerbelius

Mela, Pomponius. Pomponius Mela. Iulius Solinus. Itinerarium Antonini Aug. Vibius Sequester. P. Victor de regionibus urbis Romae. Dionysius Afer de situ orbis Prisciano interprete. Venice: Heirs of Aldo Manuzio & Andrea Torresano, October 1518

The only Aldine edition of this ancient geographical handbook. With the presentation inscription of Matern Hatten to Nikolaus Gerbel, the present copy also marks a link between two important humanists. Hatten served as vicar of the cathedral of Speyer, canon of St Thomas, Strasbourg, and was a prominent figure in intellectual circles of the period. Gerbel was a student of Celtis and friend of Melanchton.

8vo (165 x 102 mm). Italic type, 30 lines plus headline. collation: a-z⁸ A-F⁸ G⁴: 236 leaves, foliated. Woodcut Aldine device on title-page and verso of final leaf, early manuscript annotations. (Stray foxing and staining.)

binding: Contemporary brown calf (170 x 108 mm), possibly French, border of blind knotwork roll flanked by four blind fillets, inner rectangle of blind roll consisting of fleur-de-lis inside lozenge, four blind fillets forming inner rectangle and surrounding two vertical rolls, one with a winged heart in a square, the other a heart pierced by two arrows in a square, slightly different arrangement on lower cover, spine with raised bands in four compartments with horizontal rows of blind tooled flowers, remnants of two pars of clasps. (Worn, splits to spine with loss at head and foot, loss to corners.)

provenance: Maternus Hatten (d. 1546), vicar of the cathedral of Speyer (1514-1515), canon of St Thomas, Strasbourg (1527) — Nikolaus Gerbel (1485?-1560), German humanist, scholar and author of works on ancient Greek geography, inscription, "Pro Matterno Hatteno Spirensi. Ego Maternus Hattenus hunc Libellum dono dedi, meo Amiciss(imo) Amico, D(omi)no Doctori Nicolao Gerbelio, Anno 1544," on front pastedown — Kaspar von Barth (1587-1658), inscription on lower pastedown — "Boineberg" inscription on title-page (possibly one of the Counts of Boineburg). acquisition: Purchased from Ludwig Rosenthal's Antiquariaat, Hilversum, 1979, item 347. references: UCLA 171; Renouard 83/6; Edit16 46864; USTC 841939