Pappus Alexandrinus

folio (304 x 204mm.), woodcut printer's device on title-page, woodcut initials and headpieces, with blank leaf +4, woodcut diagrams and illustrations, a few manuscript annotations (some comparing Commandino's text with the original Greek), nineteenth-century calf, occasional foxing, binding rubbed

institutional ownership inscription on title-page (erased)

Censimento 16 CNCE 58382; Riccardi i, 364

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."

FIRST EDITION, containing books 3-8 of Pappus's text, in Commandino's Latin translation; the Greek text was not published in full until the nineteenth century but manuscript copies circulated in the sixteenth century. This is one of many Greek mathematicians translated by Commandino, who, while in the entourage of Cardinal Ranuccio Farnese, gained access to Cardinal Bessarion's Greek manuscripts in Venice. Commandino died in 1575, but his translation of Pappus was edited for the press by one of his former pupils, Guidobaldo dal Monte. The dedication, to Francesco Maria II della Rovere, duke of Urbino, is by Commandino's son-in-law, Valerio Spaccioli.