Plinius Caecilius Secundus, Epistolarum libri decem, Venice, Aldo Manuzio, November 1508, nineteenth-century vellum armorial binding

Plinius Caecilius Secundus, Gaius. Epistolarum libri decem in quibus multae habentur epistolae non ante impressae. Tum graeca correcta, et suis locis restituta, atque reiectis adulterinis, uera reposita. Item fragmentatae epistolae, integrae factae. In medio etiam epistolae libri octaui de Clitumno fonte non solum uertici calx additus, et calci uertex, sed decem quoque epistolae interpositae … Eiusdem Panegyricus Traiano … Eiusdem De viris illustribus in re militari, et in administranda rep. Suetonii Tranquilli De claris grammaticis et rhetorib. Iulii Obsequentis Prodigiorum liber. Epistolae decimi libri ad Traianum probantur esse Plinii in sequenti epistola. Inibi etiam liber de viris illustribus, non Tranquilli, sed Plinii esse… Venice: Aldo Manuzio, November 1508

First complete edition of Pliny’s letters, many printed here for the first time.

Daniel Karner, the earliest known owner of this volume, matriculated at Heidelberg University on 5 October 1496. A total of 32 volumes are recorded with the same inscription this work bears: “Quis mihi sit Dominus lector si forte requiris, Ingolstattensis Carnerius Daniel.” If the dates accompanying these inscriptions denote their dates of acquisition, Karner built his library between 1495 and 1521.

8vo (163 x 93 mm). Italic type, 30 lines plus headline. collation: *⁸ **⁴ a-z⁸ aa-kk⁸ (lacking **4, a blank): 275 (of 276) leaves. Rubricated in red and blue throughout, initials in red and blue, woodcut Aldine device on final verso. (Scattered foxing.)

binding: Nineteenth-century vellum (170 x 105 mm), armorial binding for Gerald Poynton Mander in black on upper cover, marbled endpapers. (Minor toning and soiling.)

provenance: Daniel Karner, inscription to title "Quis mihi sit Dominus lector si forte requiris: Ingolstattensis Carnerius Daniel M*D*VIII*" — armorial stamp "sénestrochère tenant hallebarde, soutenu d'un mont, accompagné d'une étoile" on endleaf — Archibald Acheson, 3^rd Earl of Gosford (1806-1864), ex libris with motto "Vigilantibus" — Archibald Philip Primrose, 5^th Earl of Rosebery (1847-1929), booklabel to front pastedown — P.M. Barnard, Catalogue 36 (Tunbridge Wells 1916), item 86 (£2 12s) — Gerald Poynton Mander (1885-1951), supralibros; ex libris; his sale, Sotheby's London, 22-24 February 1954, lot 1 — Horace G. Commin, Bournemouth, purchased in previous sale (£5 10s). acquisition: Purchased from Hamill & Barker, Chicago, 1969. references: UCLA 100; Renouard 53/3; Edit16 37420; USTC 849906; Robin Halwas, "Daniel Karner’s Library" (https://www.robinhalwas.com/n41-daniel-karners-library)