OVIDE. Lot n° 38

Habebis candide lector Metamorphosin castigatissimam cum Raphaelis Regii commentariis. Parma, Francesco Mazzali, 1505. In-folio, hard vellum (modern binding). Second edition printed in Parma of Ovid's Metamorphoses, with the commentary by Raffaele Reggio (1449-1520). It is rare and sought-after. Splendid illustration including a diagram and 59 large woodcut figures, reproducing those of the Rosso-Giunta edition published in Venice in 1497. "These illustrations for Ovid are among the best examples of the 'classic' style influenced by Andrea Mantegna, as discussed by Hind. He considers the possibility that the 'ia' is a signature of the block cutter Jacob of Strassburg, known to have been working at Venice about 1500... Subsequent editions of Ovid were heavily dependent on these blocks" (Mortimer). Beautiful copy with large margins and well preserved. Old marginal annotations (some erased). Essling, 226 - Sander, II, 5315 - Adams, O-471 - Mortimer, 333.