Celsus, Medicinae libri VIII, Venice, Aldus, 1528, French red morocco richly gilt

Celsus, Aulus Cornelius. In hoc volumine haec continentur. Aurelii Cornelii Celsii Medicinae libri. VIII. Quam emendatissimi, Graecis etiam omnibus dictionibus restitutis. Quinti Sereni Liber de medicina et ipse castigatiss. Accedit index in Celsum, et Serenum sane quam copiosus. (Venice: in the house of Aldo Manuzio & Andrea Torresano, March 1528)

The text was prepared by Giovanni Battista Egnazio, who had resumed working for the Aldine printshop after an absence of more than a decade. The source for the text was a manuscript belonging to Ercole Gonzaga, the dedicatee, which contained both Celsus and Serenus, hence the appearance of both texts in this volume.

The date of the elegant binding is recorded in Esmérian, who lists the tools from the workshop with the date "vers 1652" (Bibliothèque Raphaël Esmerian, deuxième partie, Paris, 1972, Annexe A - VII, listing six bindings with these tools).

4to (195 x 123 mm). Italic type, 40 lines plus headline. collation: *⁸ a-x⁸: 172 leaves (t4 blank). Woodcut Aldine device on title-page and final verso. (Title-page slightly soiled, occasional light foxing or damp-staining, small stain on o5-p7, small repair to final leaf.)

binding: Seventeenth-century French red morocco richly gilt to a fanfare design (202 x 137 mm), by the Atelier des Caumartin ca. 1652, spine similarly gilt with a small fleur-de-lys tool, yellow edges. (Binding slightly rubbed, particularly at corners and along joints.)

provenance: Placidus Müller (of Neustadt?), seventeenth-century inscription on title-page stating it was a gift from Dominus Heigl — Adrien Jean Baptiste, Comte de Lannoy de Clervaux (1729-1797), armorial bookplate — Peter Smithers (1913-2006), sale, Sotheby's, 5-6 February 1973, lot 169, £80, to Francis Edwards. acquisition: Purchased at preceding sale via Francis Edwards. references: UCLA 250; Cataldi Palau 113; Edit16 10745; Renouard 105/1