Iamblichus, Venice, Aldus, 1497, later vellum

Iamblichus

De mysteriis Aegyptiorum, Chaldaeorum, Assyriorum [translated by Marsilius Ficinus]. Proclus: In Platonicum Alcibiadem; De sacrificio et magia. Porphyrius: De divinis et daemonibus [and other works]. Venice: Aldus Manutius, September 1497

Super-Chancery folio (307 x 198mm.), 138 leaves (of 186), a-i⁸ k⁴; L-M⁶; N-O p-q R-Z⁸ &¹⁰, 37 lines plus headline, roman type, leaf a2 incorrectly signed a3, incorrect catchword on K1v, last word on K2r "absente", old limp vellum, lacking 48 leaves (quires N-O p-q R-S⁸; see footnote), lacking 2 pairs of ties

FIRST EDITION of this collection of Neoplatonic works, translated from the Greek by Marsilio Ficino, and probably financed by Girolamo Biondo, a Florentine merchant-printer working in Venice. Ficino's preface is addressed to the young Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici.

The missing quires contain the text of Psellus, De Daemonibus, Priscian and Ficino's commentary on Theophrastus, De sensu phantasia et intellectu, which were presumably not wanted by an early owner.

LITERATURE:

ISTC ij00216000; Aldo Manuzio tipografo 17; Renouard 13/6; UCLA 17

PROVENANCE:

Peruzzi, armorial bookplate