ATHENEA. The Fifteen books of the Deipnosophists... Lot 13

ATHENEA. The Fifteen books of the Deipnosophists of Athenaeus of the city of Naucrates of Egypt, writer of a consummate erudition, & almost the most scavant of the Greeks. Delightful work. Paris, Jacques Langlois, 1680. in-4, red morocco, triple fillet, spine with ornamented nerves, brown morocco title-piece, interior roulette, gilt edges on marbling (18th c. binding). Title, (3) ff. pp. ix to lxxii, 1090 pp. First edition of the first French translation of the rare Banquet des Savants, given by Michel de Marolles, abbot of Villeloin. Divided into 15 books - of which only the first three have come down to us complete (we have only an abridged version of the last two) - this work was written by Athenaeus, a rhetorician and grammarian born in Egypt in the 3rd century. The only transmitter of Greek cuisine, he cites about 700 authors' names and recalls 1500 lost works. He wrote these Deipnosophists in Greek, compiling elements from his readings: in the form of a dialogue between Athenaeus and his friend Timocrates, the work offers multiple observations on wine (I and II), fruits and shellfish (III), dishes (VI), famous cooks and gourmets such as Archestratus or Apicius (IX and X), etc. In the first book, "the ways of drinking and the different wines are described in detail: wines of Italy, of Chios and Lesbos, of Egypt, etc. The second book begins with a detailed description of the origin, nature, properties and main effects of wine" (Simon). It also gives recipes of all kinds, deals with the organization of the table and the subjects of conversation to be had, and approaches sciences, poetry, the manners, civil uses, religious customs, festivals, music, perfumes, toilets, dance, clothing... Thus, the treaty of Athenaeus is the richest encyclopedia of antiquity. A superb copy in red morocco of the period. Ex-libris Thomas Dampier. Ex-libris Chatsworth. Vicaire announces a portrait engraved by Nanteuil which is not in this copy. Rare foxing. Slight rubbing, small scratches. Vicaire, 51.