HYPNEROTOMACHIA POLIPHILI
by Colonna, Francesco
- Used
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
New Castle, Delaware, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
This copy is in the original setting as called for by Neil Harris (Gutenberg Jarbuch, 2006), except the last few leaves which were substituted for the 2nd edition (E1-F3). Hand-corrected letters "AM" in the second title (a1r). (Saneque en Sanequam). The phallic woodcuts 'Sacrifice to Priapus' on m6r and the woodcut on x8v, are not mutilated in this folio, unlike the majority of copies. Vellum binding lightly age-darkened, with minor spotting to the rear cover. Natural creasing to the vellum covers. The textblock has separated along the front hinge but is still attached along the spine. Rear hinge cracked between the rear cover and F3. Paper spine label chipped with some loss. Lacking the front pastedown. Title page (A1) has become separated from the textblock, but is present in this copy. The last eleven (11) leaves in this copy are from the 2nd edition (1545, France), substituted most likely during the 16th century. There are 34 (of 39) woodcut initials present, as the last five were in the last eleven leaves of the first edition. Lacking the last leaf (errata and colophon). Very minor spotting / foxing to preliminary pages. Spotting / minor dampstaining to the very top edge of q8v-r4r. Dampstaining only affecting leaves C8-D8. A small ink-spot affecting the edges of the pages around r4-r6. The preserved state of the textblock, which contains the revolutionary typography and visually-stunning wood engravings, is remarkable.
Considered the "masterpiece of the classic style in Venetian illustration" (Albert Ilg, Ueber den Kunsthistorischen Werth der H. P., 1872), the tome was printed with 172 remarkable woodcuts commonly attributed to the Paduan miniature painter Benedetto Berdone (c.1455/6 - 1530). Regardless of the anonymity of the illustrator, the beauty of the engravings transport the reader into a world where Polipho's dream becomes a reality.
George D. Painter, Keeper in charge of Incunabula of the British Museum, stated in the foreword of his Hypnerotomachia Poliphili of 1499 (Eugrammia Press, 1963) that "Gutenberg's Forty-Two-Line Bible of 1455 and the Hypnerotomachia of 1499 confront one another from opposite ends of the incunable period with equal and contrasting pre-eminence. The Gutenberg Bible is sombrely and sternly German, Gothic, Christian and mediaeval; the Hypnerotomachia is radiantly and graciously Italian, classic, pagan, and renascent. These are the two supreme masterpieces of the art of printing, and stand at the two poles of human endeavour and desire."
The book is written in a Latinized version of Italian, offering a unique challenge to readers, as one must be near fluent in both Latin and Italian. Also contained in the text are various examples of Greek, which Manutius was very fond of, as well as early examples of Hebrew. One of the earliest documented cases of COMPLETE words in Arabic published in the entire world which can be found on the illustrated wood engraving of the three doors of the realm of Queen Telosia (h8r), perhaps one of the most important aspects about the Hypnerotomachia. This precedes the first book printed entirely in Arabic, which is The Kitab Salat al i (1514, Fano, Italy).
The book contains two main stories in the text: one from our hero, Poliphilo, which was written around 1490, and one from his lover, Polia, which was written c.1467. There are numerous passages in Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, and Egyptian hieroglyphics, as well as mathematical notes, geometric and architectural construction plans, and more, perhaps inspired by Colonna's teachings of rhetoric at Treviso and Padua. A second edition published in France appeared in 1545.
Kallendorf 29; Goff C-767; HC * 5501; GW 7223; ISTC ic00767000; BMC V, 561 (IB 24500); IGI 3062; Essling 1198; BSB C-471.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Oak Knoll Books/Oak Knoll Press (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 138928
- Title
- HYPNEROTOMACHIA POLIPHILI
- Author
- Colonna, Francesco
- Illustrator
- Aldine Press
- Format/Binding
- Early limp vellum, yap edges, paper spine label with title and date
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- in aedibus Aldi Manutii (Aldus Manutius) for Leonardus Crassus
- Place of Publication
- Venetiis (Venice)
- Date Published
- 1499
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
Terms of Sale
Oak Knoll Books/Oak Knoll Press
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About the Seller
Oak Knoll Books/Oak Knoll Press
About Oak Knoll Books/Oak Knoll Press
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
- Folio
- A folio usually indicates a large book size of 15" in height or larger when used in the context of a book description. Further,...
- Cracked
- In reference to a hinge or a book's binding, means that the glue which holds the opposing leaves has allowed them to separate,...
- Vellum
- Vellum is a sheet of specialty prepared skin of lamb, calf, or goat kid used for binding a book or for printing and writing. ...
- Miniature
- A book that is less then 3 inches in width and ...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Spine Label
- The paper or leather descriptive tag attached to the spine of the book, most commonly providing the title and author of the...
- Hinge
- The portion of the book closest to the spine that allows the book to be opened and closed.
- Incunabula
- Incunabula (incunable or incunabulum) refers to a book printed before 1501 - a pamphlet, a book or document that was not...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...