Cicero, Orationum volumen tertium, Venice, Aldus, 1519, Bolognese morocco gilt for Gerhard Aich

Cicero, Marcus Tullius. M. T. Ciceronis Orationum volumen tertium. (Venice: in the house of Aldo Manuzio & Andrea Torresano, August 1519)

One of two known bindings made for Gerhard Aich, the son of the mayor of Cologne, who was a law student in Bologna between 1533 and 1543. Similar arabesque panel stamps were in use in Bologna in the second quarter of the sixteenth century.

The other known binding (volume I of this set of Cicero’s Orations, acquired in 1882 by the Victoria & Albert Museum, now National Art Library, Drawer 51; Weale no. 239) was discussed by E.P. Goldschmidt, who recognised it as a binding made in Bologna for a German student, but failed to decipher the monogram and identify its owner (“Die Einbände für deutsche Studenten an ausländischen Universitäten im 16. Jahrhundert” in Zeitschrift für Bücherfreunde 21, 1929, p.85 & Pl. 4). In 1960, it was described and illustrated by Tammaro De Marinis, crediting Ilse Schunke for interpreting the monogram vADRI as “Aich Dr utriusque iuris” (La Legatura artistica in Italia, Florence 1960, no. 1315 & Pl. 224). On both volumes, the center of the upper covers has been cut out and patched with leather.

8vo (161 x 98 mm). Italic type, 31 lines plus headline. collation: aaa¹² bbb-zzz⁸ AAA-MMM⁸: 284 leaves (aaa6 and lll2-3 blank except for signature, ttt8 and MMM6-7 blank). Woodcut Aldine device on title-page, a few annotations, ink drawing of the instruments of the Passion at end. (Lacking final leaf with device only, first quire stained, slight damp-staining towards end.)

binding: Contemporary Bolognese brown morocco gilt for Gerhard Aich (165 x 108mm), possibly by the German Student's Binder and dated to the 1530s, covers with arabesque panel stamp with central roundel containing the title in a circle, M.T.C. ORATIONUM VOLUM III, with a small circle of leather added to the center of the circle later, lower cover with Aich's monogram ADRvI in center, spine with single gilt fillets around each band, edges gilt and gauffered, stubs from four pairs of ties. (Ends of spine and corners repaired, a few wormholes in binding, front pastedown stained.)

provenance: Gerhard Aich (d. 1583, who matriculated from Bologna in 1533, monogram on binding) — Dominicus [--], Franciscus [--] (various obscured inscriptions on title-page) — Effisio Paoletti of Recanati and Rome (inscriptions on final leaf) — [Renzo Salvadè, listed as owner in Hobson and Quaquarelli, Legature bolognesi del Rinascimento, no. 46]. acquisition: Purchased from Libreria Docet, Bologna. references: UCLA 180.5; Cataldi Palau 44 (all three volumes); Edit16 12211 (all three volumes); Renouard 86/3 (first state with first quire aaa⁸)