Ferrari, Emendationes in Philippicas Ciceronis, Venice, Sons of Aldo, 1542, contemporary German pigskin

Ferrari, Girolamo. Hieronymi Ferrarii Ad Paulum Manutium Emendationes in Philippicas Ciceronis. Venice: Sons of Aldo Manuzio, March 1542

Very rare, the only Aldine edition of Ferrari’s emendations to Cicero’s Philippics, with interesting provenance. Johannes Caselius (Bracht von Kessel) was born in 1533 at Göttingen, and had a glittering academic foundation, studying at Wittenberg with Melanchthon (Mag. art., 1553), at Leipzig with Camerarius, then at Frankfurt an der Oder (1557), as well as Salerno, Bologna, and Florence (1560-1563). In 1563, he was appointed ducal professor of Greek and Philosophy at Rostock, but soon left to resume studies at Bologna, Florence, and Pisa (Dr. iur., 1566). Caselius returned to his professorship in 1568 (newly ennobled by Maximilian II), and in 1570 was appointed Prinzenlehrer am Hofe (tutor to Prince Johann at Schwerin). On 30 September 1571, he married Mylius’s eldest daughter, Gertrud (1553-1583).

It appears that Caselius routinely gave books to favorite students, fellow scholars, and to his patrons, Herzog Johannes Albrecht and Herzog Johann VII. Some were copies of his own publications, unpretentiously bound with the recipient’s initials and a date stamped on the upper cover; others, like this gift to Mylius, were perhaps drawn from Caselius’ personal library. A project to virtually reconstruct Caselius’s library is underway, based on a post-mortem inventory recording some 300 volumes. It has brought to light in HAB Wolfenbüttel three volumes similarly decorated on the upper covers with the initials M.A.M. (one dated 1572), being books possibly gifted to Caselius by Mylius (though none contains a presentation inscription), or lent to Caselius, or acquired by him after Mylius’s death.

8vo (162 x 95 mm). Roman and italic type, 30 lines plus headline. collation: A¹⁰ B-P⁸ Q⁴: 126 leaves. Woodcut Aldine device on title-page and final verso. (Long closed tear to F2 affecting text, marginal dampstaining to the last two signatures.)

binding: Contemporary German pigskin over pasteboards (170 x 105 mm), covers tooled blind with vases, angelot, medallion heads, and floral bouquets, M.A.M. stamped in black above and 1569 below two vertical central rolls of interlaced stems, forming ovals of a repeated leaf and bud design, two pairs of chamois ties, spine with raised bands in four compartments tooled blind. (Front hinge cracked but holding, a bit rubbed and darkened.) Housed in a blue cloth clamshell box.

provenance: Johannes Caselius (1533-1613), gift inscription on title-page to his father-in-law, Andreas Mylius: “L[arissimo] V[iro] Andreas Mylio Jo. Caselius” — Andreas Mylius (1527-1594), supralibros, letters and date on cover — O’Sullivan, family library (Château de Terdeck et de Meldert), armorial bookplate (deux lions affrontés; Modestia victrix); their sale, Albert Tyman & Edmond Demon, Brussels, 29-31 May 1907, lot 337 — Étude Galateau & Pierre Poulain, Paris, 22 February 2009, lot 231. acquisition: Purchased from Bonnefoi Livres Anciens, Paris, 2010. references: UCLA 307; Renouard 125/5; Edit16 18816; USTC 829188