Autores Historiae Ecclesiasticae Eusebii Pamphili Caesariensis episcopi libri IX. [...]. Basel: Froben [Hieronymus & Nikolaus Froben], 1544, folio.
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A very rare Froben edition of Eusebius, representing the Latin ecclesiastical historical tradition at its humanist height, printed in the same year as Estienne's Greek editio princeps. A handsome copy in contemporary blindstamped vellum.
This is a finely produced Froben imprint of the Historia Ecclesiastica of Eusebius of Caesarea, here presented not in the original Greek but in the influential Latin translation of Rufinus of Aquileia, together with Rufinus’ continuation, and the Historia Tripartita, the great Western compendium of ecclesiastical history derived from Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Sozomen, and Socrates Scholasticus, abridged by Cassiodorus and translated by Epiphanius Scholasticus.
RARE. We could not trace another example in commerce of this edition; it is a genuine rarity. VD16 records 13 copies held institutionally. The USTC records more copies, finding a total of 27 copies, accounting for the overlap with VD16.
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Size: 215 x 321 mm (approx.)
Condition:
Contemporary (original) blindstamped vellum binding over wooden boards, very attractive indeed, some mild discolouration and rubbing, but generally a very handsome copy. Boards securely attached, binding secure, lacks clasps. Lacks one gathering (pp.205-216) else collates as complete, including the 6 leaves of preliminaries and 18 leaf index with the printer's device at the end. Various inscriptions to ffep verso, contemporary marginalia throughout with underlining and marginal notes, endpapers toned. Generally clean throughout the text block, some mild/light spotting.
A handsome copy.
[VD16 E 4277; USTC 613982].
