Estienne, Henri, editor.

folio (362 x 215mm.), 20, 410, [2 (blank)]; [2 (half-title)], 411-781, [1 (blank)]; 236, 236-489, [2 (blank)]; LXII; LIIII, LVI-LVII pp., Greek text, illustration: engraved frontispiece, 44 (Iliad) + 23 (Odyssey) engraved plates (many remounted to size), woodcut initials, binding: eighteenth-century diced turkey, roll-tooled gilt border, spine gilt in compartments, extremities rubbed

Renouard, Estienne p.126; Schreiber 160

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."

an extra-illustrated copy of Estienne's magisterial compilation of Greek poetry. The plates (for the Iliad and the Odyssey), by Diepenbeeck, Lombart, Caucerck and others, are mostly taken from a seventeenth-century edition of Ogilby's translation of Homer.

This volume has been treated to the type of illustration sometimes afforded to late seventeenth-century editions of Vergil and other poets, where the Ogilby plates have been added to a handsomely printed text. The production of these books was modelled on a French prototype.

Abraham van Diepenbeeck (1596-1675) was a highly productive draughtsman responsible for the Duke of Newcastle's 1657 book on equitation (for the 1737 edition see Macclesfield Applied Arts, lot 3693), written while the Duke was in exile and lodging in Rubens's house in Antwerp. The volume was begun by Clein but he died in 1658, when van Diepenbeeck took over. Hollar is among the engravers.