Opera, Graece et Latine, ad editionem Tiberii Hemsterhusii et Ioannis Frederici Reitzii accurate expressa cum varietate lectionis et annotationibus... de Lucien of Samosata - 1789-93

10 vols. Bipontinae [Zweibrücken]: ex Typographia Societatis, 1789-93. 10 vols., 8vo. Greek text. Full contemporary mottled calf, backstrip with contrasting morocco labels for titling and volume numbers, blue speckled edges. Minor age-toning, some skillful repairs to joints and headcaps; a very good set. Extensive manuscript and typewritten indices tipped in to volume 10, as well as pencil annotations. Original owner signature has been pasted over by another owner. § “The series known as Editiones Bipontinae, named for the place of publication, was begun in 1789 under the auspices of distinguished scholars such as Schweighauser, Brunck and Croll. The editions were routinely praised for their accuracy and quality of printing. The Bipontine Lucian, issued over a five year period, is ‘a beautiful and justly popular’ printing of the Hemsterhuys-Reitz edition, which according to the nineteenth century bibliographer T. F. Dibdin was itself ‘the most accuarate and complete edition of Lucian that has ever been published,’ and which is still regarded as one of the principal editions (cf. Dibdin, Introduction to Rare and Valuable Editions of the Greek and Latin Classics...). The editors of the Bipont edition also drew upon the Basel edition of 1602, the Saumer edition of 1619, and some previously unpublished Parisian MSS. Lucian himself was a versatile and erudite writer whom satirized most of the popular literary genres of the second century AD. His biting wit has survived the centuries, and his innovative prose narrative A True Story— which features a voyage to the moon and interplanetary warfare—is often described as the world’s first science fiction novel” (from a description by Tim Bryars Ltd.).