Vitruvius, De architectura libri decem, Lyon, 1552, contemporary German navy(?) morocco gilt

Vitruvius Pollio, Marcus. De architectura libri decem ad Caesarem Augustum, omnibus omnium editionibus longe emendatiores, collatis veteribus exemplis. Accesserunt, Gulielmi Philandri Castilionii, civis Romani annotationes castigatiores, et plus tertia parte locupletiores. Adiecta est epitome in omnes Georgii Agricolae de mensuris & ponderibus libros, eodem autore. Lyon: Jean de Tournes, 1552

This first de Tournes edition of Vitruvius uses Philandrier's commentary, with new woodcut illustrations based on the 1544 Philandrier edition (lots 581-582). Additionally the text is supplemented by Philandrier's adaptation of Georg Agricola's work on weights and measures.

4to (242 x 162 mm). Roman type, with Philandrier's annotations in italic, 41 lines plus headline. collation: πA⁴ 2πA⁴ a-z⁴ A-Z⁴ aa-rr⁴: 260 leaves. Woodcut headpieces and initials, 84 woodcut illustrations, medallion portrait of Philandrier with hand-colour, and woodcut on p.26 with a brown wash, folding letterpress plate bound after z4. (h2 with small rust hole at inner margin (just touching text), some marginal browning.)

binding: Contemporary German faded navy(?) morocco (250 x 176 mm), two frames of gilt fillets with gilt fleur-de-lys at corners, in the centre a gilt flower stamp, traces of 4 pairs of alternating blue and yellow fabric ties, plain spine with later paper title label in top compartment, edges gilt and gauffered, endleaves watermarked with three hats within a shield [Briquet 1113, dated to Bavaria, 1559-1564]. (Binding somewhat rubbed, slight worming along joints and in boards, bookplate removed from front pastedown.)

provenance: Ouswauldi de Egks, obscured inscription at foot of title-page (very plausibly Oswald von Eck, d.1573, German humanist, and rector of the University of Ingolstadt), and manuscript armorial at foot of p.2 — Ernst Kyriss (1881-1974, the binding historian), small circular stamp with initials "EK", sale, Karl & Faber, 16 January 1941 — pencil collation on front free endpaper by Helmuth Domizlaff (1902-1983), Munich bookseller — Karl Hartung (1914-2012), initials KH on upper pastedown — sale, Hartung & Hartung, Munich, 7 May 2018, lot 240. acquisition: Purchased at the preceding sale. references: BAL RIBA 3497; Mortimer, Harvard French 550