Following on from last week’s 19th and 20th century literature round-up, this second selection focuses on earlier works sold in London and New York during the summer.
“A well travelled book with an extensive provenance” was how Sotheby’s (25/20/12.9% buyer’s premium) described a copy of the Commentarii of Julius Caesar sold for £19,000 on July 3.
Issued only two years later than the Sweynheym & Pannartz editio princeps, this Venetian edition of 1471 (a folio pictured right) was printed by Nicolas Jenson, the French engraver and type designer whose Roman typefaces have remained so influential over the centuries. In a fine 18th century Harleian style binding of red morocco gilt by Christopher Chapman, this copy was first noted in an 1806 Leiden auction of the library of the philologist Matthias Rover.