Antwerp, 1567

SILIUS ITALICUS (25-101). De bello Punico libri septendecim. Edited by Francisco Asulanus. Antwerp: Philippus Nutius, 1567.

Antwerp edition of the longest surviving Latin poem from antiquity, an uncommon book with an intriguing early American provenance. Silius Italicus's epic poem on the Second Punic War met with mixed reviews and fell into obscurity in the Middle Ages. Poggio's rediscovery of a manuscript containing the poem at St Gall allowed it a second debut in Renaissance print culture, but its bibliography has been little studied. Aldus did not print an edition in his lifetime, and the text first appeared at Antwerp in the previous year from the same press; this seems to be a close reprint of that edition, in a small format suitable for students.

Italicus did, however, enjoy some attention in the Anglophone world, where the De bello Punico was a frequently assigned school text. Richard Burton quotes him in Anatomy of Melancholy and traces of his influence can be found in the works of Dryden and Pope. This copy suggests a route of transmission to America, bearing the early signature of a previous owner in New Haven, Connecticut, and the bookplate of a Rhode Island couple from the mid-19th century. One can imagine the inspiration early Americans might have drawn from the tale of the Roman Republic's fight against the cruel Carthaginian empire. Not in Moss, Adams, or BMC Dutch. Netherlandish Books 27970.

24mo (130 x 71mm). Woodcut printer's device on title (worming, mostly in the first half of the book, affecting printed area). Early vellum wrapper, yapp edges, fore-edge title, later ink title on spine (a little stained). Provenance: early inscription in Latin on rear flyleaf – "A. G. Alexander" (inscriptions on wrapper and flyleaf located New Haven, CT) – Abby Gridley King (1829-1894; bookplate willing book to:) – Thomas Knight King (1822-1871).