VITRUVE. Lot n° 47

Vitruvius iterum et Frontinus à Jocundo revisi repurgatique quantum ex collatione licuit. Florence, Filippo Giunta, 1513. In-8, red morocco, small gilt lace, ornate spine, inside roulette wheel, marbled edges (18th century binding). First pocket edition and the second one given by fra Giocondo, illustrated with figures from the 1511 Venetian folio edition, in reduced format, and 4 new woods. Entirely printed in italics, this precious edition includes an attractive title frame, the printer's mark on the last page and 140 woodwinds in the text. It was reprinted in Roman characters in 1522. The Architecture of Vitruvius is followed, under separate pagination, by the short treatise by Consul Frontin on the Roman aqueducts. Frontin was the first author to quote Vitruvius, and this reference is a major proof of the historical existence of Vitruvius outside his treatise. Thanks to its handy format, this small manual, fundamental for the builders of the time, could be consulted on building sites by architects; hence, without doubt, the rarity of well-preserved copies. Copy placed in its binding. Title frame slightly trimmed by the bookbinder; repair on f. Y5. Restored binding, small cut at the corner of a flyleaf, one white flyleaf almost detached, rare foxing. Delfiol-Camerini, I, n°45 - Cicognara, n°697 - Berlin Kat., n°1799 - Fowler, n°394 (ex. incomplete) - Brunet, V, 1327 - Graesse, VII, 375.