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Sale 2543 - Lot 285
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Sale 2543 - Lot 285
Estimate: $ 3,000 - $ 5,000
Plato (c. 427-347 BC) Opera Quae Extant Omnia. Three large folio volumes, text printed in double columns in Greek and Latin throughout, large woodcut printer's device to first title, further embellished with woodcut initials and head- and tail-pieces throughout, bound in uniform full modern buckram, some spotting to contents, a few torn corners, generally good, some deckle edges, 15 1/4 x 9 1/2 in. (3) Geneva: Henri Stephanus, 1578.
First edition of the Stephanus Plato, prepared and executed by Henri II (1557-1598), as he scoured Europe for manuscripts, set aside the Latin of Ficino (collaborating instead with Jean de Serres), and embarked on this massive project, fated to bring him closer to bankruptcy, and to fame. Schreiber 201; Renouard 145-146, 1; Moeckli 93; Hoffmann III 119-121; Sandys II, 176.
I: [title]1, **6, ***8, A-Z6, Aa-Xx6, Yy7; II: ¶4, AA-ZZ6 (AA1 blank but for signature mark present), 3A-3Z6, 4A-4Z6, 5A-5N6, 5O4; III: [title]1, 4A-4B6, 4C-4D4, 4E-4Z6, 5A-5L6, 5M8, 5N4, 5O6, 5P-5Z4, a-f4.