Joannes Philoponus, Eis tà ystera analytika Aristotelous ypomnema, Venice, Paolo Manuzio & Heirs of Torresano, 1534, nineteenth-century French green morocco by Simier, large paper copy

Joannes Philoponus. In posteriora resolutoria Aristotelis commentarium, incerti authoris in eadem. Eustratii in eadem [Latin and Greek]. (Venice: Paolo Manuzio & Heirs of Andrea Torresano, December 1534)

A spectacular and exceptionally rare large-paper copy of the second Aldine edition of John the Grammarian's important commentary on Artistotle's Analytica Posteriora. This work was first published by Aldo in 1504, but the present edition has been supplemented by two additional commentaries on the same work, one by an unknown author, the second by Eustratius of Nicaea. A Neo-Platonic Christian philosopher associated with the school of Alexandria, John of Philoponus was one of the earliest and most significant critics of Aristotelian thought.

The type area of the edition is 240 x 140 mm, while the leaf size of this issue is 415 x 265 mm.

Super-Royal folio (415 x 265 mm). Greek types, 54 lines plus headline. collation: a-p⁸ q⁴ aa-hh⁸ ii⁴: 192 leaves. Woodcut Aldine device on title-page and ii4v, one large woodcut foliated initial, woodcut knotwork headpiece, a few woodcut diagrams, initial spaces with guide-letters. (A few wormholes at front and back, scattered light browning and foxing.)

binding: Nineteenth-century straight-grained French dark blue morocco (430 x 283 mm) by Simier, signed at foot of spine, gilt rule border framing an alternating series of gilt spike shaped tools and bell-like tools, inner frame of double gilt fillets containing a roll of semi-circles over a humped-shaped shrub tool, spine in seven compartments with six full bands, compartments decorated with an elaborate gilt ornament, 4-line title in second compartment, and "ALDVS, 1534" in lower half compartment, turn ins with gilt triangular tools, marbled endpapers, gilt edges. (Extremities and joints rubbed.)

provenance: Possibly Étienne Pierre, Comte Méjan (1766-1846); T. Müller, Verzeichniss von Incunabeln, Aldinen, Etiennes, Elzeviren und andern werthvollen Werken der älteren und neueren Litteratur aus der Königlichen und der Mejan'schen Bibliothek, Berlin, 28 July 1851, lot 37 (from the preface: "Half of the early printed books, part of the Aldines, about half of the classical and modern books and almost all of the Etienne's and Elzevire's [sic] belonged to the library of Count Mejan, whose books were justly renowned for the choice and perfect preservation of the copies and the elegant and costly binding executed by the first Parisian and other masters.") — Nicolas Yemeniz (1783-1871), bookplate; Delbergue-Cormont & Librairie Bachelin-Deflorenne, La bibliothèque de M. N. Yemeniz, Paris, 9-31 May 1867, lot 479; purchased by — unidentified owner (FF 125) — Libreria antiquaria Hoepli, Manoscritti, incunabuli e libri figurati del secolo XVI, Milan, 18 June 1930, lot 134; purchased by — unidentified owner — Gabriel Cognacq (1880-1951); Alphonse Bellier, Étienne Ader, François Thullier & Librairie Giraud-Badin, Bibliothèque Gabriel Cognacq, Paris, 19-20 May 1952, lot 67; purchased by — unidentified owner (FF 28,000) — Benjamin Spademan, Paris. acquisition: Purchased from Benjamin Spademan, Paris, 2015. references: UCLA 276; Adams P1044; Cataldi Palau 139; Edit16 27216; Renouard 113/9; USTC 836417