Diogenes Laertius

4to (190 x 136mm.), woodcut printer's device on title-page and final verso, woodcut initials and headpieces, eighteenth-century calf, spine gilt in compartments with red morocco lettering-piece, red speckled edges, K2, P1-3 and aa4 stained, occasional light damp-staining

IA 153.807; VD16 D1836

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."

EDITIO PRINCEPS. Diogenes Laertius compiled his lives and sayings of Greek philosophers in the early third century AD; it is considered the earliest extant history of Greek philosophy and an important source for Epicurus. It is now considered that this edition was based on an inferior fifteenth-century manuscript in the library of Bohuslav Hasištein z Lobkovic (Boldan and Urbánková, Rekonstrukce knihovny Bohuslava Hasišteijnkého z Lobkovic, Prague, 2009, p.643). The manuscript came to Basel through the agency of Matthaeus Aurogallus, a Greek scholar at Wittenberg, where Bohuslav's nephew and heir was rector. Aurogallus is mentioned in the preface to this edition, and he also supplied other manuscripts from Bohuslav's collection to be printed by Froben.