Leonardus Pachel and Uldericus Scinzenzeler, 1483

MARTIALIS, Marcus Valerius (40-104). Epigrammata. Commentary by Domitius Calderinus. Milan: Leonardus Pachel and Uldericus Scinzenzeler, 15 August 1483.

Incunable edition of the Latin epigrammatist par excellence, with an illuminated initial. Martial’s witty, quotable epigrams pilloried the peccadillos of urban Rome, touching on almost every aspect of elite life (as well as providing one of the largest corpora of Latin obscenity). Martial’s influence enjoyed a brief revival in the Carolingian period before finding a true second wind in the Renaissance. His poems were among the first Latin classics off the press upon the advent of print; his editio princeps appeared around 1470, with others following close on its heels. Calderinus’s humanist commentary is included here, in an edition by the most prolific Milanese printers of their day, who brought "mass production" to a city which had hitherto known only small printing offices. This edition is institutionally rare outside Italy, and only two copies appear in the records of RBH. Goff M-307; GW M21254; ISTC im00307000.

Chancery folio (290 x 201mm). 198 leaves. Illuminated initial B on green, blue, and magenta ground at beginning of text; other initials spaces filled in red. Book numbers supplied in manuscript as running headlines. (Lower margin of a2-4 renewed, scattered worming throughout.) 19th-century diced calf, edges gilt (joints repaired, part of spine panel lost). Provenance: partially erased early ownership inscription on first leaf.