Lucanus. Venice: Aldus Manutius, 1502, 8vo.
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A fresh and well preserved copy of the first Aldine Press edition of Lucan's Pharsalia which is frequently cited as the greatest ancient epic poem after the Aeneid concerning the Roman civil war between Pompey and Caesar. Aldine's edition of Lucan is largely based off of a Venetian edition of 1493, but was improved by Aldus through his consultation of an early manuscript. This was one of the final works from the Aldine Press prior to the introduction of their famous printer's device which appeared for the first time in June 1502, just a few months following the printing of this title.
This is one of the earliest titles in Aldus Manutius' famous and important series of classics printed in the portable and convenient octavo format ("commodius in manibus"), being printed right at the start of the post-incunable period, delineating the great typographical shift which was pioneered by Aldus.
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Provenance:
Bookplate of Thomas Ashby to front pastedown.
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Size: 100 x 157 mm (approx.)
Condition:
[(1), a-r8, s4, (1)]
18th century full vellum, both boards securely attached, binding secure, stands without shelf lean. Tooled labels to spine giving the author, title, date, and the name of Aldus. Collates as complete sans the original blanks. No printer's device leaves are called for in this edition. Very minor loss at bottom blank margin of gatherings p-s (last few leaves of the text). Title leaf extant with some spotting and staining as pictured, else generally very bright and fresh throughout the text block, a very well preserved copy, some very minor worming in the gutter of a few leaves (not extensive).
[Brunet III, 1198].
