Macrobius, In Somnium Scipionis, Florence, Giunta, 1515, Florentine brown morocco, early 1520s

Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius. Hoc volumine continentur. Macrobij Interpretatio in Somnium Scipionis à Cicerone confictum. Eiusdem Saturnaliorum libri septem. Haec omnia Nicolaus Angelius uir apprime eruditus summa diligentia correxit, imprimique curauit. Florence: Filippo I Giunta, July 1515

First edition, with the woodcut map of the world by Andreas Torresano.

The map shows a spherical world with wind heads in each corner. Macrobius’s geographic model includes the inhabited northern hemisphere, balanced by an unknown southern continent (Temperata Antipodum Nobis Incognita), separated by a vast ocean. He also divided the earth into climate zones, with three deemed uninhabitable: two being the polar regions, too cold for life, and the Equator, too hot. This concept of antipodean balance and landmass equivalence fascinated medieval thinkers, keeping Macrobius’s otherwise outdated geographical ideas relevant.

8vo (162 x 100 mm). Italic type, 31 lines plus headline. collation: +¹² a-z⁸ [&]⁸ [cum]⁸ [R with cross stroke]⁸ A-I⁸: 292 leaves. 6 woodcuts (including world map) and device at end. (Intermittent dampstaining.)

binding: Florentine, early 1520s (166 x 99 mm), brown morocco over thin wooden boards, richly blind tooled, multiple fillets around sides, border of repeated flower and vine tool flanked by blind fillets, central panel contains two squares with borders of four-petaled flower and tendrils flanked by two blind fillets, palmette in corners, knotwork tool in center with circular punches at ordinal points, between two squares is a narrow rectangular frame containing MACROBII, spine with three bands, compartments diapered with rosettes in interstices, traces of four pairs of fabric ties alternating green and yellow, plain edges speckled red and brown. (MACROBII apparently in a low-grade gold now oxidized, joints beginning to crease, lacking ties, some minor unobtrusive restoration.)

provenance: Early ownership inscriptions — unidentified owner, inscription, "Philippus de Grassis," possibly "Philippus de Grassis Presbyt Messan. Sac. Theol. Doctore," author of Somnus Vigil, oratio habita … coram Urbano VIII (Rome 1636). acquisition: Purchased from E.K. Schreiber, New York, 1993. references: Renouard XXXIX/65; Edit16 28733; USTC 839410; Decia & Delfiol p. 89, no. 70