Aristophanes, Comoediae novem, Venice, Aldus, 1498, later carta rustica

Aristophanes

Comoediae novem [Greek], edited by Marcus Musurus, with the scholia. Venice: Aldus Manutius, 15 July 1498

Super-Chancery folio (320 x 215mm.), 347 leaves (of 348, without final blank), π⁸ α-γ⁸ δ¹⁰ ε-ξ⁸ o¹⁰ π-υ⁸ φ⁶ χ-ω⁸ Α-Ε⁸ Ζ⁶ Η-Λ⁸ Μ⁴ Ν-Ο⁸ Π¹⁰ Ρ-Σ⁸ Τ⁶, Greek type, woodcut initials and headpieces, early annotations in Greek, later carta rustica, occasional light staining, slightly dampstained at foot, a few small marginal wormholes, last leaf defective in gutter, hinges and spine splitting

EDITIO PRINCEPS, a crisp and unsophisticated copy containing nine of the surviving comedies of Aristophanes.

The editor of this Aldine edition, Marcus Musurus, made use of at least four manuscripts for the text, and from which he compiled the scholia. The plays Peace and Ekklesiazousai were added late on in the editorial process, after Musurus managed to obtain the manuscript containing the end of the former and the whole of the latter. Aldus states in his preface that he omitted Lysistrata because he could only find half the full text. Two more plays were published in 1515 by the Giunta in Florence, though the editor, Eufrosino Bonini, failed to use the manuscript of those two plays to improve the remaining text.

LITERATURE:

Aldo Manuzio tipografo 56; ISTC ia00958000; Renouard 16/3; UCLA 25

PROVENANCE:

Του Ελληνικου Φροντιστηριου (belonging to the Greek School), printed paper label pasted to foot of title-page and inscription in Greek at head of title-page; Bonifacio Finetti (OP, 1705-1782, the author of works on language, including Hebrew), presentation inscription dated 1781 to; Marchese Gerolamo Gravisi of Capodistria (1720-1812, who studied Greek and Hebrew at Padua and pursued antiquarian research around Istria); Fratelli Gravisi-Barbabianca, Capodistria, stamp on flyleaf and on title-page