Gronovius Jacobus.

Ibid. Animadversio in recentem ab Oxonio Scylacis editionem et dissertationis de Scylacis aetate examen. [Leiden: Jordan Luchtmans, 1697], 4to (217 x 167mm.), unbound, with a small portfolio of loose sheets containing scholarly manuscript notes in a number of hands, some directly related to the gronovius family



Together housed in a custom made green morocco-backed box, box broken, lacking lower edge

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Jacobus Gronovius (1645-1716) studied in Leiden, Oxford and Cambridge. Having travelled through France and Italy, where he taught at the university in Pisa, he returned to the Netherlands. In 1679 he became professor of Greek at Leiden University. His best known work is Thesaurus graecarum antiquitatum (1697-1702).

An inscription affixed to the pastedown references the Catalogus Bibliothecae Abrahami Gronovii (Leiden, 1785) which contained, as number 577 on page 54, a copy of Geographica antiqua "cum annot. mss Abr. Gronovii". It appears quite probable that this is the volume referred to in that catalogue. Abraham Gronovius (1695-1775) was, like his father and grandfather, a notable scholar and was professor of Classical Philology at Leiden. The annotations are largely additions to and amplifications of the literary references. The handwriting of the author of the majority of the annotations shares a number of traits with that of Abraham Gronovius's formal hand but it has not been possible to make a definite attribution.

There are a number of hands in evidence, both in the annotations and the loose sheets. The bulk of the latter (on a number of subjects but with two main sections: an index of Greek words in an unnamed work and some notes for various chapters of an academic work) is in a hand different to that of the principal annotator of the Geographica antiqua. Indeed the chapter notes are headed, in a different hand to the text, "Jacobi Gronovii", implying that they are by Jacobus Gronovius himself. There are also copies of a number of letters from Jacobus Gronovius. The evidence would suggest that the present copy of Geographica antiqua was the author's own, which was later inherited by his scholarly son who has added his own notes.