Ovidius Fastorum 1503 Aldus Aldine Incunabula Binding

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Ovidius Fastorum 1503 Aldus Aldine Incunabula Binding Picture(s) and Description:

Offered is a TRULY UNIQUE COPY OF THE 1503 ALDINE EDITION OF OVIDS FASTORUM, DE TRISTIBUS AND DE PONTO, IN A VENETIAN RENAISSANCE OLIVE MOROCCO ARTISTIC BINDING OVER WOODEN BOARDS, DATING TO THE TIME OF PUBLICATION.

THE ONLY KNOWN EXAMPLE OF A BINDING IN A STYLE SIMILAR TO THIS EXAMPLE IS IN THE VATICAN LIBRARY (ILLUSTRATED IN DE MARINIS LEGATURA ARTISTICA AT CCCLXXIII) UPON A 1502 ALDINE VALERIUS MAXIMUS.

Publii Ovidii Nasonis, Quae hoc in Libello Continentur. / Fastorum. Libri VI. / De Tristibus. Libri V. / De Ponto. Libri IIII.

The present constitutes the third volume of Aldus great edition of Ovid, printed in 1502 and 1503 and, according to Renouard, rarely found together. This is amongst the earliest of the Aldines octavos, the famous libri portatile, which introduced to the world the idea of the pocketbook, revolutionized book buying and printing, made the classics available to all and popularized italic type.

The famous Aldine anchor device is present upon three leaves: the title, the verso of the final leaf of the first part, and the verso of the colophon leaf. The colophon itself reads as follows:

Venetiis in Academia Aldi Mense / Febr. M.DIII [1503]. / Cavimus at siquis nobis non credit avarus / Incidet in cases praeda petita meos.

The binding of the present volume is of the very greatest interest and desirability. It dates from the time of publication and is without question Venetian in origin. Each board is divided into several compartments by gilt and blindstamped borders. The front board bears the letters B A B, which are very likely the initials of the person by whom the binding was originally commissioned (they also appear on the Vatican Library example). Below these are the letters O F, which stand for Ovidius Fastorum; this differs from the Vatican Library example, which appropriately bore the letters V M, standing for Valerius Maximus.

The front board is further decorated by a thick inner border of floral tools. The innermost compartment shows an important symbological motif whose meaning has not yet been entirely deciphered. The motif includes two roses, a long and thin stem, a shorter and thicker stem, and a circle around each stem (the lower circle is filled with a rope work pattern). Within the thicker stem are three flowers and a winged face, which most likely constitutes the effigy of a departed soul.

The rear board shows the same floral border, but the inner compartment shows four large floral cornerpieces and four connected semi circles, with ornate gilt tooling within the semi circles. All edges are gilt and gauffered.

Also of great interest is a very skilful and seemingly contemporary drawing in pencil of a very old man (the exiled Ovid perhaps?), which may be found on the blank leaf following the final leaf of De Fastorum.

The spine has been very sympathetically and skilfully rebacked and is divided by raised bands into 4 compartments. The second and third compartments repeat the same winged face symbol that appears upon the front board. 1.5 centimetres of each board nearest the spine have also been restored with the very highest degree of skill, such that they are essentially indistinguishable from the rest of the board. Finally, a very small section in the upper margin of the front board is very skilfully restored, such that, again, it is hardly noticeable.

The binding and book block are very strong, with minor wear at the corners, and essentially no wear at the hinges. The gilt upon the boards is very fresh and the beautiful designs show very clearly. The volume measures 16.7 cm by 10.8 cm by 3.1 cm; each leaf measures 165 mm by 102 mm.

Internally, the volume is generally quite clean; the print is clear and the margins are ample throughout. The first 8 and final 3 leaves show minor wear and worming (much of it repaired), with the occasional loss of a letter but no loss of sense. This is heaviest upon the first two leaves and the final leaf, each of which has a minor and neatly repaired tear. The anchor on the title is affected very slightly by the worming near its left hook, but not so that the attractiveness of the design is meaningfully impaired. Please see the pictures below.

The volume is complete in all respects, save that leaves nnn1 and nnn8 are lacking. The volume is divided into 3 parts, comprising the Fastorum, the Tristibus, and the Ponto. The 3 parts comprise 86, 60 and 56 leaves respectively, or 202 in total. The volume collates aaa kkk8, lll6; mmm8, nnn6, ooo sss8, ttt6; uuu zzz8, AAA CCC8. Gathering zzz is bound directly before gathering yyy. The volume is printed throughout in the famous italic type of the Aldine Press. The 3 letters for each signature show that this volume was designated by Aldus as the third in his great edition of Ovid (each volume is complete in itself).

Publius Ovidius Naso, known in English as Ovid, is generally acknowledged as the second greatest of the Latin poets, after Virgil. The three works in the present volume are amongst his most significant.

De Fastorum is an extensive treatment on the Roman calendar or Fasti, loosely imitated from the Works and Days by Hesiod. Each of its separate books discusses one month of the Roman calendar, beginning with January. It contains some brief astronomical notes, but its more significant portions discuss the religious festivals of the Roman religion, the rites performed upon them, and their mythological explanations. These explanations preserve much mythological and religious lore that would have otherwise been lost. The poem was written to illustrate theFasti, or almanac and official calendar, published by Julius Caesar after he remodelled the Roman year.

De Tristibus, in five books, comprises Ovids sorrowful reflections upon his exile to Thracian Getae (as far as one might go within the Empire, and away from Rome), addressing his wife, his friends and his false friends. The books describe Ovids journey and his years away, drawing several parallels with Virgil and Homer. Ovid gives the reason for his exile as carmen et error: a poem and a crime. It is thought that Ovids crime might have been to learn of, and perhaps to write of, the adultery of Augustus granddaughter Julia; in any case, the exile seems to have been decreed for political reasons as much as any.

De Ponto, comprises four books and was written by Ovid as a collection of letters from the Black Sea, during the time of his exile. It was to this work that Pushkin responded in To Ovid, during his own exile in Odessa. De Ponto remains a particularly important source for our knowledge of Scythia Minor during Ovids time.

In all, this is an eminently desirable copy of the famous 1502 Aldine Ovid, volume 3, comprising De Fastorum, De Tristibus, and De Ponto, and housed in a stunning early 16th century Venetian Renaissance olive morocco binding over wooden boards, ornately decorated in gilt with symbolically significant designs, matching the binding illustrated by De Marinis and held in the Vatican Library (bound for the same owner), therefore one of two known examples of this important artistic binding, offered at a reasonable reserve.

Please take the time necessary to review the photos below in order to gain a better understanding of the content and condition of the volume. Please also take a moment to view my other auctions of rare and desirable English and Continental printed books dating from the 15th through the 19th century.

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