Dioscorides and Nicander

Super-Chancery folio (305 x 203mm.), 173 leaves (of 174, without π10 blank), *6 α-ο⁸ π¹⁰ Α-Δ⁸ E⁶, 40 lines plus headline, Greek type, 5- to 7-line initial spaces, bound with final quire (T⁸) of Scriptores astronomici veteres (containing Proclus, Sphaera) at front, eighteenth-century calf, gilt edges, some annotations washed resulting in some browning in Nicander, small inkstain on μ4v-5r, binding rubbed, joints cracked

Earl of Sunderland, removed from Blenheim Palace, without bookplate but old shelfmark on inside front cover, sale, Puttick and Simpson, December 1881, lot 3980, £9-5s, to J. Rimell; Sir Edward Sullivan (without his bookplate), sale, Sotheby's, 19 May 1890, lot 231 (described as "Proclus" with no mention of Dioscorides), 2s, to Ridler, with his price code for 2s (a/") on flyleaf; price £1-18-0 in pencil on flyleaf; William O'Brien, bequest booklabel dated 1899

Goff D260; HC 6257; BMC v 560; BSB-Ink D-183; Bod-inc D-103; GW 8435; Grosjean & O'Connell 103 & 49; Aldo Manuzio tipografo 33; Renouard 21/4; Texas 28; UCLA 31

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. Dioscorides' pharmacological text, including descriptions of around 600 plants and their uses, was later adapted by Mattioli in the mid-sixteenth century to become a popular illustrated herbal. The poetic works by Nicander are on venomous animals, poisons and antidotes.

This work was unusual in Aldus's publication programme as it is not a work of literature. It was, however, of interest to the contemporary controversies around the text of Pliny, which included Niccolò Leoniceno, one of Aldus's editors and a practising physician; rather than inveighing against the poor editing of the text for printed editions of the Historia naturalis, Leoniceno held that many of the errors in the text were in fact Pliny's, in his misunderstanding of authors such as Dioscorides. Leoniceno's concern was that reliance on Pliny's text led to the misuse of medicines in a practical sense, and Aldus's edition could help clarify problems.