Sabellicus, Marcus Antonius

Decades rerum Venetarum. Venice: Andreas Torresanus, 21 May 1487



Super-royal folio (15 1/4 x 10 3/8 in.; 388 x 263 mm). Type 5:111R (errata sheet: 9:93G). 48 lines + headline; printed marginalia; initial spaces with printed guide letters. collation: pi^{6 (table of contents); a8 b–h6 i–k8; l–y6; A–H6 I–M8 N10 O4 (text): 232 leaves, unrubricated; light marginal water stains on a few leaves, but overall very clean. Eighteenth-century tan calf, floral-gilt spine and red leather spine label gilt, edges gilt, marbled endleaves; a few scuffmarks and scratches, corners torn, edges rubbed.}

Clemens Braun (d. 1826), Augustinian canon of Polling and Rottenbuch, with his inscription that he purchased it in Vienna, 1788, with money given to him by his sister Elizabeth ("by whose beneficence I have also acquired other books of the highest quality.") Twelve incunables formerly belonging to Braun are in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich.

Bod-inc. S-1; BMC V 308 (IC.21645); BSB-Ink S-4; Goff S-5; Hain 14053*. For details of Sabellicus's career in Venice see Margaret L. King, Venetian Humanism in an Age of Patrician Dominance (Princeton, 21986), 326–8.

Decades rerum Venetarum. Venice: Andreas Torresanus, 21 May 1487 Super-royal folio (15 1/4 x 10 3/8 in.; 388 x 263 mm). Type 5:111R (errata sheet: 9:93G). 48 lines + headline; printed marginalia; initial spaces with printed guide letters. collation: pi6 (table of contents); a8 b–h6 i–k8; l–y6; A–H6 I–M8 N10 O4 (text): 232 leaves, unrubricated; light marginal water stains on a few leaves, but overall very clean. Eighteenth-century tan calf, floral-gilt spine and red leather spine label gilt, edges gilt, marbled endleaves; a few scuffmarks and scratches, corners torn, edges rubbed.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

First edition. The humanist Sabellicus (ca. 1436–1506) arrived in Venice in the early 1480s. The Decades rerum Venetarum (its title alluding to Livy's history of Rome), dedicated to the doge and senate, was his first major writing. On 1 September 1486 the Venetian senate granted him a privilege to have the work printed, the earliest example of an authorial printing privilege; and he was awarded a substantial pension. This copy does not have the errata sheet in gothic type, apparently printed sometime after publication and present in only a minority of the surviving copies.