This work is the first listed in all bibliographies under Louis Elzevir’s press at Amsterdam. In fact both the Elzevir edition of 1638 and this have the same colophon: “Lugduni-Batavorum: Typis Georgii Abrahami vander Marse, MDCXXXVIII.” And both collate the same, the only difference being the printer’s device and imprint information on the title-page.

Uncommon: Searches of OCLC, RLIN, & NUC locate fewer than ten copies in U.S. libraries.

Provenance: The Rev. Edward A. Dalrymple (Baltimore collector, mid–19th century); his collection given to the Maryland Diocesan Library; that library sold in 2006.

•  Rahir 1876; Willems 961 note. Contemporary vellum over light boards; spine delicately and lightly tooled in gilt. Ex–Maryland Episcopal Diocesan Library with stamp on front pastedown. One natural paper flaw; occasional early underlining.

The Scottish-born Buchanan was a historian and poet who served as tutor to James VI; Allibone calls him “one of the most famous scholars whom the world has ever seen.”

•  Willems 292; Graesse 562; Brunet, I, 1367; Allibone 274.   Recent calf, framed and tooled in blind, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label and raised bands edged in blind with tooling extending onto covers. Light touches of waterstaining to some leaves. A handsome little book.  (24909)

The engraved portrait of Queen Elizabeth was done by C. van Queboren.

•  Willems 227; Copinger 759.   Period-style calf framed and panelled in gilt fillets embellished with blind rolls and gilt-stamped corner fleurons, spine with gilt-stamped title, gilt-decorated raised bands, and blind-tooled patterned bands in compartments; binding signed G.B. (Grace Bindings) in blind at inner area of rear cover, lower turn-in. Pages age-toned. Title-page with inked numeral in upper outer corner; pages with scattered instances of early inked underlining and bracketing. Approximately 50 leaves with light to faint waterstaining in outer portions, extending into text; one leaf with tear from upper margin, extending through first paragraph.  (18995)

•  Willems 490; Copinger 5255; Palau 376807–8; DeBacker-Sommervogel, VIII, 1339.   Contemporary vellum, covers framed in blind with blind-tooled central medallion, spine with early hand-inked title; vellum lightly soiled overall, upper outer front corner bumped, splits in spine vellum repaired with Japanese paper and minor (expert) repair to joints. Upper outer corner of title-page with early inked ownership inscription in both Persian and English, possibly by orientalist Henry Pitts Forster (1766–1815); title-page with shadows of other annotations. Pages age-toned, with upper portions darkened; scattered light spotting towards back of volume. Eleven leaves with small spots of worming, affecting a few letters without loss of sense; light to moderate waterstaining to portions of leaves towards back of volume. Last leaf with small tear without loss. One page with pencilled annotations.  (25957)

This edition opens with a copper-engraved added title-page signed by J. Padebrugge; the main title-page bears the Elzevir sphere mark. Willems notes that it is “une copie exacte et ligne pour ligne de celle [the Elzevir edition] de 1672, dont en effect Moetjens s'était rendu adjudicataire, mais c'est positivement une réimpression.” It is, in effect, aline-for-line piracy, and a handsome one faithful to its original's good qualities.

Uncommon: OCLC and NUC Pre-1956 locate only eight U.S. holdings.

Provenance:  Front pastedown with bookplate of collector Robert J. Hayhurst.

•  Brunet, III, 1309; Willems 1472.   Contemporary vellum, spine with early inked title; vellum remarkably clean. Original blue silk place marker present and intact. Front free endpaper with upper outer corner excised, mostly removing an early inked ownership inscription; title-page with early inked inscriptions lined through; back free endpaper with recent pencilled purchase record. One leaf with short tear from outer margin, just touching text without loss. Pages clean. A nice book.  (25561)

Click the interior image for an enlargement.

The author was the cosmographer and historiographer of the Dutch East India Company as well as the Dutch royal family's official translator.

This is one of the scarcest volumes in commerce of the Elzevirs' series of histories in the Respublica series. It is only the third copy we have had in our 30+ years in the antiquarian book business.

•  Willems 313; Rahir 284; European Americana 629/79; Palau 129562; Sabin 38560; Borba de Moraes (2nd ed.), Bibliographia brasiliana, I, 450.   Recased in contemporary Dutch vellum over paste boards. Red leather spine label, abraded and sunned. Tiny pin-type wormhole in margin of first three leaves, and silverfish damage to final blank and rear privilege leaf, costing a few letters of the privilege, but not impairing sense. Ownership inscription at base of title-page has been inked through. A clean decent copy of this nice little book.  (24335)

This first edition has a title-page in black and red with the printer’s device of the Amsterdam Elzevirs, “Ne Extra Oleas”—showing Minerva with owl and shield next to an olive tree—and it is printed in two columns in roman, italic, Greek, and Hebrew, ornamented with woodcut initials.

•  Willems, Les Elzevier, 1295. On the Vossius, father and son, see: Sandys, History of Classical Scholarship, 307–309 and 322–23. Contemporary English calf ruled in blind, bumped and abraded with a little loss on corners and edges; joints fully open at base and some chipping at head and foot of spine. Paper, ink-lettered spine label; inked call number and date on title-page. Pastedowns entirely gone and remnants of a manuscript used as binder’s waste visible at gutters, inside covers; due to the pastedowns’ removal, much of the binder’s construction can readily be examined here. A little light waterstaining and browning to first and last leaves (only). All edges red.