Venuti, Ridolfino

Folio (10 3/4 x 7 5/8 in.; 273 x 194 mm). Engraved vignette on title-page, engraved frontispiece of Brutus with accoutrement, three engraved plates, engraved initials and head- and tailpieces, smoke-prints of ten of Thomas Hollis's binding tools impressed on front and rear flyleaves, embossed stamp of Venuti's arms surmounted by Cardinal's cap on title-page; some foxing and staining.  Nineteenth-century red-morocco–backed marbled boards; extremities quite rubbed.

acquisition: Bernard Quaritch, 1992

Rothschild Library 2724, cf. II, p. 751; cf. W. H. Bond, Thomas Hollis of Lincoln's Inn: A Whig and his Books (Cambridge University Press, 1990)

Folio (10 3/4 x 7 5/8 in.; 273 x 194 mm). Engraved vignette on title-page, engraved frontispiece of Brutus with accoutrement, 3 engraved plates, engraved initials and head- and tailpieces, smoke-prints of ten of Thomas Hollis's binding tools impressed on front and rear flyleaves; some foxing and staining. Nineteenth-century red-morocco–backed marbled boards; extremities quite 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 of Venuti's dissertation on the goddess Liberty, commissioned by Thomas Hollis and inscribed by him to Horace Walpole on a front flyleaf: "To The Hon. Horace Walpole." The engravings in Venuti's work depict many of the coins that provided sources for Hollis's emblematic binding tools, and smoke prints of ten of Hollis's tools appear in the book. A front flyleaf bears smoke impressions of the cornucopia (2 prints), staff of Hermes (2), palm branch, olive branch, wand of Aesculapius (2), liberty cap, and small star, all above an autograph aphorism by Hollis: "Felicity is freedom & freedom is magnanimity Thucyd." The rear flyleaf bears impressions of seated Britannia, cock, owl, and small star.

De dea libertate is not recorded in A Catalogue of Horace Walpole's Library (ed. Lewis), but two other works by Venuti are: Antiqua numismata maximi moduli (1739) and Collectanea antiqitatum Romanarum (1736). For two other Hollis-related works, see lots 916 and 933.