Vergilius, Opera, Venice, Aldo Manuzio, 1505, printed on vellum, eighteenth-/nineteenth-century English red morocco

Vergilius Maro, Publius. Vergilius. Venice: Aldo Manuzio, December 1505

The exceptionally rare 1505 Aldine Virgil, printed on vellum. No copies of this edition, vellum or paper issue, are recorded in Rare Book Hub.

This copy lacks the final two quires, containing the register, errata, and the appendix of Carmina Priapea: erotic poems which Aldo himself—in the short preface on the verso of the title-page—suggested could be suppressed from the works of Virgil.

Van Praet cites only two others on vellum: Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode (1730–1799)—British Library (C.19.f.8.; also wanting the Priapea) and Gaetano Melzi (1783–1851)—Chantilly, Bibliothèque du Château (XII E 9). Van Praet also records a copy in the collection of George John, 2^nd Earl Spencer (now John Rylands Library), but that is an error.

8vo (150 x 92 mm). Italic type, 30 lines plus headline. collation: a–z⁸ A–I⁸ KK⁸ L–P⁸ (-O1–P8): 288 (of 304) foliated leaves (lacking final two quires). Woodcut Aldine device on title-page, three- four-, and six-line initial spaces with guide letters. (Tear to fore-edge margin of title-page with early mend, a very little marginal soiling or light, natural discoloration to vellum.)

binding: Eighteenth-/nineteenth-century English red morocco (158 x 116 mm), gilt border composed of small individual tools forming interlacing half circles pierced by tridents creating a series of oval cartouches containing two small stars, with finials at top surmounted by star, spine gilt in six compartments, lettered in second, others with thistles emanating from small central circle, marbled endpapers, paper flyleaves, gilt edges. (Rebacked, with original spine laid down and a bit darkened, extremities rubbed.) Marbled slipcase.

provenance: Baldwin Hamey (1600–1676), signature on title-page — John Horne Tooke (1736–1812), signature on title-page

— Richard Sharp (1759–1835), autograph note on flyleaf facing title recording gift from Horne Tooke, dated 15 April 1807 — Henri, Comte Chandon de Briailles (1898–1937); by descent to — François, Comte Chandon de Briailles (1892–1953), bookplate — Maurice Rheims & Jacqueline Vidal-Mégret, Paris, 17–18 February 1955, lot 131; purchased by — unidentified owner (FF 25,000) — Jacques Lacan (1901–1981) — Librairie Thomas-Scheler, Paris. acquisition: Purchased from Librairie Thomas-Scheler, Paris, 2008. references: UCLA 94; Aldo Manuzio tipografo 96; Edit16 55860; Renouard 50/7; USTC 862686; Van Praet, Catalogue des livres imprimés sur vélin, qui se trouvent dans des bibliothèques tant publiques que particulières II:92