Boccaccio, Giovanni (1313-1375).

folio (286 x 189mm.), ff. [6], 220, title-page printed in red and black, illustration: title within woodcut border, woodcut illustrations, woodcut initials, binding: seventeenth-century French red morocco, gilt triple-fillet border, Foucault arms gilt on covers, spine gilt in compartments, edges gilt, marbled endpapers, C4 torn with marginal loss, cropped with slight loss to a few headlines, light marginal staining, binding slightly rubbed

Nicolas-Joseph Foucault, bookplate and arms on binding

IA 120.270

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."

Laurent de Premierfait (c. 1380-1418), the translator of this version of De casibus virorum illustribus ("On the Fates of Famous Men"), was perhaps the most significant French translator of the first half of the fifteenth century. In addition to Boccaccio (he also translated his Decameron), he rendered works by such classical luminaries as Aristotle and Cicero into the vernacular.

He translated De casibus virorum illustribus twice, in 1400 and 1409. The latter translation, represented here, is a considered and considerable amplification of the original, adding extra detail to Boccaccio's literary and geographic landscape and indulging in some anti-war moralising.

The work was widely disseminated amongst the upper classes and proved popular. Sixty-five manuscripts survive (see Patricia M. Gathercole, "The manuscripts of Laurent de Premierfait's 'Du cas des nobles', Italica 32.1, March 1955, 14-21). The first printed edition of the 1400 translation appeared in 1476. Four editions, all Parisian and beginning with Jean de Pre's of 1483, predated that of Nicolas Couteau which in its turn was printed for numerous Parisian booksellers.