Labacco, Antonio and Giovanni Battista Montano

MONTANO, Giovanni Battista. Tabernacoli diversi novamente inventati... dati in luce da Giovanbatista Soria. Rome, 1628, etched title-page, etched dedication leaf, etched portrait of Montana, etched leaf "ai lettori" with portrait of Soria, additional engraved plate depicting S. Filippo Benizzi (with the imprint Paris, la veuve Moncornet), etched plates of altars and altar decorations numbered 5-27, title-page partly laid down with blank section at foot excised, several plates with small holes

LABACCO, Antonio. Libro... appartenente a l'architettura nel quale si figurano alcune notabili antiquita di Roma. [Rome: Giovanni Battista de' Rossi, 1640-1672], etched title-page, 29 etched plates (7 double-page) numbered 2-36, plates 2-4, 7-10, 23-24, 29-31 and the letterpress text numbered 32 bound at end of volume, lacking plate 13



MONTANO, Giovanni Battista. Libro primo. Scielta d[i] varii tempietti antichi... date in luce per Giova. Bat[is]ta Soria. Rome: Soria, 1624, etched title-page, etched leaf with portrait of Soria and text "alli lettori", etched dedication by Soria dated 1624 (addressed to Cardinal Borghese), etched portrait of Montano (dedication and portrait bound after the Labacco title-page), 66 etched plates, two plates browned, one plate with marginal tear



3 works in one volume, folio (375 x 250mm.), early nineteenth-century half calf, some staining throughout, binding worn; sold as a collection of plates, not subject to return

Luigi Bardet de Villanova, inscription on first title-page

Labacco: cf. BAL RIBA 1703; Thomas Ashby, "Il libro d'Antonio Labacco" (La Bibliofilia, 1914, pp. 289-307), 11

Montano: Rossetti 7148, parts 1 and 3; Tabernacoli: BAL RIBA 2176; cf. Fowler 200 (works of 1638, book four); Scielta: Fowler 198; cf. BAL RIBA 2171 (works of 1684, part two)

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."

Labacco's work was first printed in 1552, and regularly reprinted with varying numbers of plates. Giovanni Battista de' Rossi reprinted Labacco in 1640-1672 (Ashby 11), and his reprint had 75 lines of text on the text leaf (numbered 32), as here, and the paper has a watermark of an anchor with the letters M and L within a circle (close to Heawood 5 and 6; Heawood 5 was used by de' Rossi).

FIRST EDITION of Montano's book on antique temples. It was posthumously seen through the press by Soria, who claimed to be a pupil of Montano. All the plates are thought to have been etched by Jérôme David, whose monogram appears on some of them.

This is probably the third issue of Montano's plates on altars, according to BAL RIBA, as it contains 27 plates; the first issue had only 25.