OPERA

Amsterdam: Jan Janssonius, 1629. 115 x 55 mm. (4 1/2 x 2 1/8"). 260 pp.; 272 pp.; 304 pp. Three volumes bound in one. Edited by Daniel Heinsius.
VERY APPEALING 17TH CENTURY BROWN MOROCCO, covers panelled with double gilt fillet, ornamental cornerpieces à la Duseuil, upper cover with gilt lettering "Ovidii Opera" at head, lower cover with "Edmundi. de Valentin" stamped in gilt at head, raised bands, spine gilt in compartments with large central fleuron, densely gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Engraved allegorical title page to volume I, printer's device on title pages of volumes II and II. Graesse V, 70. ◆Tiny (what else?), shallow depression at top of spine, other trivial signs of external wear, isolated small spots to leaves, but A FINE AND CHARMING COPY, the text quite fresh and clean, and the lustrous binding with few signs of use.

This is an especially well-preserved copy of a pocket-sized edition of the works of Ovid, edited by the leading scholar of the Dutch Renaissance, Daniel Heinsius, and issued by celebrated Dutch printer Jan Jansson. Heinsius (1580-1655) was a professor of Greek, director of the library at the University of Leyden, and a prolific editor of Greek and Latin classics acclaimed by scholars all over Europe. Best known for his atlases, Jansson (1588-1664) shows himself here to be equally adept at producing well-printed books on a much smaller scale. This edition of Ovid compares favorably to contemporary small Elzevir editions. We have been unable to trace other works with Edmund de Valentin provenance, suggesting that this volume might have been stamped with his name for presentation, perhaps as a prize for scholarship..