HOMER

[The Odyssey] [Odysseia, Batrachomyomachia, Ymnoi 32]. Vlyssea, Batrachomyomachia, Hymni XXXII

[Venice, Aldine Press, 'In aedibus Aldi, et Andreae Asulani soceri', 1524] (third Aldine edition).

Octavo, 248 (of 252) leaves with woodcut printer's device on the title page.

Modern quarter contrasting binder's cloth; all edges gilt; occasional stains internally (generally faint and most confined to the margins); final four leaves lacking (comprising three leaves of the Hymns, the register, and second printer's device); a decent copy.

The second part of the third Aldine edition of Homer, this volume contains the 'Odyssey' (to leaf 213), the 'Batrachomyomachia' ('Battle of the Frogs and Mice', a mock-Homeric epic; leaves 214-218), and the Homeric Hymns. The text is in Greek, and set in the distinctive Aldine cursive typeface. Aldus Manutius' father-in-law Andrea Torresano of Asola continued the press after Aldus's death in 1515.

Provenance: With the early ink ownership details 'Ex lib. Ant. Contii I.C.ti' on the title page, likely Antoine Le Conte (1526-1586), French humanist and jurist. Later ownership details crossed out, but the date 1767 is legible.

Edit16 CNCE 22949 (with the companion 'Iliad').

Item #146508

Price (AUD): $3,500.00
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