Vegetius, Vier Bücher, 1529; Fronsberger, Funff Bücher von Kriegs Regiment, 1555; contemporary pigskin

VEGETIUS, FRONSBERGER AND FRONTINUS

Three German editions in one volume, comprising:

i. Vegetius Renatus, Flavius. Vier bücher von Ritterschaft. (Augsburg: Heinrich Steiner), 1529, woodcut on title-page, full-page woodcut illustrations, lacking K1 (with 2 woodcuts, no text) and final blank, small stain on A3, small tear on B4

ii. Fronsberger, Leonhardt. Fünff Bücher von Kriegs Regiment und Ordnung. (Frankfurt: David Zöpfel), 1555, woodcut on title-page, woodcut initials and illustrations, with final blank, a few small marginal tears

iii. Frontinus, Sextus Julius. Kriegsanschlege [translated by Marcus Tatius Alpinus]. [Ingolstadt: Alexander Weissenhorn], 1542, woodcut on title-page, with blank Q4, lacking Q3 (containing device and colophon only)

3 works in one volume (Fronsberger bound first), folio (293 x 195mm.), contemporary blind-stamped pigskin over wooden boards [EBDB w004422, on a 1549 Basel Livy in Munich bound in 1553], two clasps, lacking both straps

The first German translation of Vegetius to be published was that of Ludwig Hohenwang in 1475; this is a different translation though the illustrations are based on those of the Erfurt edition of 1511 (see lot 445). Marcus Tatius, the translator of Frontinus, was a poet laureate under Charles V and a prolific translator.

LITERATURE:

VD16 V 466, F 3138, F3140; Vegetius: Fairfax Murray, German 420; Fronsberger: Cockle 531

PROVENANCE:

Thomas Francis Fremantle, armorial bookplate, purchased from Pickering & Chatto, 2 August 1901, £5-10s