Virgilius post omnes omnium editiones accurate emendatus Virgil (Publius Virgilius Maronis, Virgilii, Vergil)

Virgilius : post omnes omnium editiones accurate emendatus (Works of Virgil, accurately corrected from all previous editions.) ***SCARCE: A Highly sought Aldine Press early edition. In beautiful 17th century full calf leather binding. Collated and complete minus leaf 1 - the title page.*** RECENT PROVENANCE: From the Virgil Collection of Craig Kallendorf (1954 - 2023), who owned the largest private collection of Virgil works (1,1150 editions, not including Incunable books) in the world. Only a handful of prominent institutions like the British Library had larger collections. 89 of the books in his collection were the only known surviving copies, 71 only had one other known copy. He worked closely with Princeton University in helping to assemble, supplement and catalog its Junius Spencer Morgan Virgil collection. Craig Kallendorf was Professor of English and Classics at Texas A&M University. He was the author or editor of 27 books and more than 170 articles, book chapters, and reference work entries. Among Kallendorf's groundbreaking monographs on the Virgilian tradition, special note might be made of his Virgil and the Myth of Venice: Books and Readers in the Italian Renaissance (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1999), which shows how the wide reading of the Aeneid, accessed in both Latin and Italian editions, contributed to Venetian ideology and the so-called "myth of Venice." With its publication, according to reviewer Diana Robin (Renaissance Quarterly, 55.4 [2002], p. 1394), Kallendorf is to be recognized as "the leading authority on the Virgilian tradition in early modern print culture in Italy." ABOUT THIS EDITION: Contains the three masterpieces of Virgil: Bucolics, Georgics and The Aeneid. Published in 1545 by the renowned Aldine Press by the descendants of Aldus Manutius (Apud Aldi Filios) in Venice. In Latin using the italics font invented by the press (and copied by printers around the world henceforth.) Text set out in lined columns. Bound in 17th century fine full calf binding: boards with a blind-stamped central medallion encompassing an intricately tooled floral design; double fillet paneling; five compartments with gilt fleurons segmented by four slightly raised spine bands; spine title written in ink by hand; all edges gilt. Verso of page containing the colophon with the famous printer device of the Aldine Press - a dolphin wrapped around an anchor. Octavo (the format invented by the Aldine Press), 6 1/4" x 4", foliated: 220 leaves. Missing title page. CONDITION REPORT: Square spine, firm hinges and joints. Restoration and repair work to heel of spine. The endpapers and the front blank flyleaf were refreshed during the 17th century rebind. Title page is missing. Retains its original blank following leaf 221. Rubbed boards, darkened and cracking spine. Heavily rubbed extremities with some leather loss. Almost all of the spine and cover gilt work has faded away. Fading and rubbing of text block edge gilding. Top edge with an ink stain. Internally: Grubby endpapers. Prolific faded ink underline circa 17th century throughout the entire work with some sparse marginalia. A few instances of 19th century marginalia. Signs of handling- about a dozen bent page corners, some creasing, stains and ink smudges, chiefly along the margins. One leaf with an ink spill partially affecting text readability. FFEP affixed with the ex libris sticker "from the Virgil collection of Craig W. Kallendorf" and some pencil writing in English from a modern hand. An errata section has been handwritten on a rear blank flyleaf. The rear pastedown is torn and mostly missing with the remaining page blanketed in faded 17th century writing in ink. A nice survivor of a scarce edition in beautiful 17th century binding by the famous Aldine Press of Venice.