M. Porci Catonis de re rustica liber. Fragmenta Qua supersunt. Ausonius Popma Frisius iterum recensuit, & notas addidit. Accesserunt Joannis Meursi ad librum de re rustica, not?, Ausoni Popm? de instrumento fundi liber. Pro Bibliopolio Commeliniano .. by Cato, Marcus Porcius - 1620

Frankerae: Ioannes Lamrinck. Leather. 311, 51pp. 1620. First edition thus. Pro Bibliopolio Commeliniano Sumptibus I, Commlini Vidux. Bound in contemporaneous or near contemporaneous full leather - blind stamped to both the front and rear boards (cross in shield surrounded by wreath). This copy belonged to James St. Clair Erskine the 2nd earl of Rosslyn (1762-1837) - his gilded crest stamped at the head of the spine (probably applied to an earlier binding though I suppose the binding could just be 18th. century) with the motto: 'rinasce piu gloriosa'. A simple leather title block (again later) is simply gilt embossed with the words, 'Cato de rerustica'. There is a charming armorial bookplate pasted into the front paste-down with the motto Fide Sed Pugna and Sinclair below this. Ink numbers to the head and tail of the book plate. A much cruder typed modern bookplate is pasted to the front endpaper with a former owner's ink name (nineteenth century) above this with two sets of numbers. The book itself has a woodcut device to the title page with woodcut headpieces and tail pieces to a number of other pages. Four raised bands to the spine - bound in full leather.. Some loss to the corner of the front endpaper. The upper margin shaved - no loss of text. Some water staining with tide marks to some pages but not heavy - essentially a clean textblock. Some rubbing with slight loss of leather to the board corners and a little rubbing to the joints. Over all a very good minus copy with fascinating provenance of a scarce book. . Very Good. 1620. First Editon Thus.