Complete Works of Pliny the Elder by Pliny the Elder

Pliny the Younger, his nephew, wrote of him in a letter to the historian Tacitus:įor my part I deem those blessed to whom, by favour of the gods, it has been granted either to do what is worth writing of, or to write what is worth reading above measure blessed those on whom both gifts have been conferred. Spending most of his spare time studying, writing or investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field, he wrote an encyclopedic work, Naturalis Historia (Natural History), which became a model for all other encyclopedias. 1485 coat of arms painted into illuminated border) – early marginalia and manicules.Gaius Plinius Secundus (23-August 25, 79), better known as Pliny the Elder (/ˈplɪni/), was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian. Provenance: Counts of Ottoni, possibly Alessandro Ottoni (d.

17th-century Italian brown morocco, covers elaborately gilt with empty shield at center (lacking ties, subtle repairs to spine). 23 37 illuminated white vine initials (first 3 leaves with inner margins repaired, occasional minimal spots, final leaf with some worming). Painted white vine-stem border with coat of arms and heightened in gold on f. Numerous initials and rubrics supplied in red & blue alternately. 358 leaves (of 360 without first and last blanks). Pliny, an enthusiastic student of nature unto death, ultimately perished while observing the eruption of Vesuvius. Another early owner has left marginalia and manicules, with special attention to sections on the wonders of India and referencing the Hieroglyphica of Piero Valeriano. The Ottoni coat of arms indicates that this copy was illuminated for that family, possible Count Alessandro Ottoni.

Historia naturalis is also the most important early source on the history of art, outlining not just the history of ancient painting but the materials and techniques of the visual arts-including those used in the decoration of this book.

This copy is illuminated with 37 fine burnished gold initials and a full-page white vine-stem border introducing the beginning of Pliny’s text. This sixth Latin edition is one of the finest specimens from the press of Michael Manzolus. When it was first published in Venice in 1469, this work marked the first appearance of any scientific text in print. Treviso: Michael Manzolus, 1479.Ī beautifully illuminated incunable edition of Pliny ’s “encyclopedia of all the knowledge of the ancient world” ( PMM). Beautifully illuminated incunable of the Natural History

Complete Works of Pliny the Elder by Pliny the Elder