Alciati, Livret des emblemes, Paris, 1536, annotated, later vellum

ALCIATI, ANDREA. Livret des Emblemes de maistre Andre Alciat, mis en rime francoyse et presente a mon seigneur Ladmiral de France. Paris: Chrétien Wechel, 1536

First French translation, a free verse version by Jehan le Fèvre, a canon of Langres, and one of two such editions printed in the same year by Wechel (distinguishable by the use of lower case, as here, or upper case letters for the date; Adams, Rawles and Saunders state that the first issue has the date in lower case, Landwehr states the opposite, and Mortimer does not give priority to either). This edition contains 113 emblems and the woodcuts by Jean Jollat are reused from the 1534 Wechel edition of the Latin text.

This copy contains numerous additional verses relevant to a particular device taken from other writers both classical and more modern, including Ovid, Aesop, Cicero, Galen, Boccaccio and others.

8vo (142 x 95 mm). Lettres bâtardes and italic type, parallel text in French and Latin. Collation: A-P⁸ Q⁴: 124 leaves. Woodcut printer's device on title-page and final leaf (otherwise blank), woodcut illustrations and initials. Numerous annotations throughout in an early hand with quotes and references, mostly in Latin. (Occasional light foxing, some annotations trimmed or cropped.)

Binding: Later vellum (153 x 101 mm), flat spine with gilt lettering, red edges. (Text block starting to split between A6-7.)

Provenance: "ad usum F. Benedicti [--]", inscription on title-page. Acquisition: Purchased in 1991 from E.P. Goldschmidt, London. References: Adams, Rawles and Saunders F.005; Green, Alciati 10; Landwehr, Romanic Emblem Books 18; Mortimer, Harvard French 14; USTC 1057