Φαινόμενα … Phaenomena … Εἰδύλλια — Paris 1559/1561

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Aratus

Ἄρατου Σολέως Φαινόμενα καὶ διοσημεία. Θέωνος σχόλια. Λεοντίνου Μηχανικοῦ Περὶ ἀρατείας σφαίρας.

Parisiis, M.D.LIX. Apud Guil. Morelium, in Graecis typographum Regium. 

[Paris, Guilleaume Morel, 1559]

Followed by:

Aratus

Aratus Solensis Phaenomena, et prognostica, Interpretibus, M Tullio Cicerone. Rufo Festo Avieno. Germanico Caesare, una cum eius commentarijs.

C. Iulii Hygini Astronomicon.

Parisiis, M.D.LIX. Apud Guil. Morelium, in Graecis typographum Regium. [Colophon: Cal. August.].

[Paris, Guilleaume Morel, 1 August 1559]

Bound first:

Theocritus

Θεοκρίτου Εἰδύλλια ἓξ καὶ τριάκοντα. Ἐπιγράμματα ἐννεακαίδεκα. Πέλεκυς καὶ πτερύγιον.

Theocriti Idyllia xxxvi. Epigrammata xix. Bipennis & Ala.

Parisiis, M.D.LXI. Apud Guil. Morelium, in Graecis typographum Regium.

[Paris, Guilleaume Morel, 1561]

 

4to (220 x 159 mm).

Aratus in Greek: *² A-Q⁴ R²: (4), 132 pp. Faint waterstaining to very upper margin of leaves up to B₁. – Adams A-1515; Hoffmann I² 221 („Die beiden genannten Holzschnitte fehlen zuweilen.“) for both editions.

Aratus in Latin: *⁴ A-C⁴ D² E-V⁴ a-f⁴ g,h²: (8), 155, 56 pp. Upper corner with a little paper restauration. Two folded tables with celestial charts. First table with a short tear. – Adams A-1516.

Theocritus: A-L⁴ M² N-P⁴ Q⁶ R⁴: 136 pp. Leaves A₂ to C₃ with brown spot to very outer margin. Ms. line numbering apparently by Du Fresne. – Adams T-167; Hoffmann III² 477. Dibdin: „A very beautiful edition … it is also rare.“

Provenance: 1.) Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, A. Fletcher on rear pastedown. 2.) Du Fresne .1634. on first fly-leaf, his ms. notes on second fly-leaf, and some annotations on Greek & Latin in the text.

Devices: Title-pages of the Greek with the basilisk device of the Royal Greek Printer, the Latin Aratus with Morel’s own device.

Adams gives the tables for both Greek and Latin imprints of Aratus; Hoffmann for the Greek only. The text of the tables is in Greek & Latin, and printed for both editions.

 

Celestial charts: 

In 1532 Johannes Honter of Kronstadt worked in Basel and produced the charts. Because the print intended for this appeared in octavo (Aratus 1535) the charts could not be used for this edition; the separately printed maps have been preserved in the Basel Ptolemy folio edition of 1541 only, in which they were inserted.  

„The wood blocks for Honter’s maps must have passed to Paris where, with new titles and corner decorations, they were reissued at least three times by three different publishers.“ (Warner 123) Jerome de Gourmont printed it for his edition of Postel’s Signorum Coelestium, Paris 1553. Gourmont’s device is printed in the lower right corner of the northern hemisphere; his signature  in the lower right corner of the southern hemisphere: Parisiis, Apud Hieronymum Gourmontium, sub insigni trium coronarum, e regione Collegii Camercasensis. 1553. In the Antarctic circle you can see the unidentified initials L. M. as initials of the engraver, whereas in Honter’s map you read at that place J. H. C. for Johannes Honterus Coronensis.

When the wood blocks were passed to Morel he changed the text, added his own signature, but left Gourmont’s device.

D. J. Warner, The sky explored: celestial cartography, 1500-1800, pp. 123-126.