Homer, 1512

HOMER (c. 8th century BCE). Homeri poete clarissimi Ilias [The Iliad]. Translated by Lorenzo Valla. Leipzig: Melchior Lotter, 1512.

Scarce early edition of Lorenzo Valla's Latin paraphrase of Homer's Iliad. Valla was a Humanist writer and Hellenist who translated the work of several other important Greek authors into Latin, including Herodotus and Thucydides. The first edition of his Homer was printed in 1474; this early 15th-century edition was published by Melchior Lotter, a prolific Leipzig printer of school texts and, eventually, Reformation literature. No copies are recorded at auction by RBH/ABPC. VD16 H 4661.

Folio (290 x 191mm). 100 leaves. Woodcut initial at beginning of text (a few spots, some faint marginal dampstaining, small edge repair to f. 85, a few leaves toned from where newsprint was once tucked between pages; early 1900s newsprint and antiquity-themed cigarette cards adhered to pastedowns and blank verso of title). Rebound in contemporary blindstamped pigskin over wooden boards, brass clasps and cornerpieces (a skillful remboitage, a little wear and staining to boards).