Ancient astronomy, by Aldus
Aratus et al., 1499
ASTRONOMY – ARATUS (c.315-240 BCE); FIRMICUS, Julius (4th century); MANILIUS, Marcus (1st century); et al. [Scriptores astronomici veteres.] Venice: Aldus Manutius, 17 October 1499.

Aldus’s illustrated compendium of ancient astronomical texts—“there are few Aldine publications more beautiful and interesting”(Dibdin). This bilingual collection of sidereal wisdom from antiquity was published on the heels of Aldus’s monumental editio princeps of Aristotle, bringing together standards of the Byzantine schoolroom for use by European students and scholars. The illustrations in the Latin Aratus are copied mostly from Ratdolt’s edition of Hyginus, but include at least one woodcut thought to be by the artist of the Hypnerotomachia, published by Aldus in the same year. The final text is a Latin translation of Ps.-Proclus’s Sphaera by the English scholar Thomas Linacre, who had also assisted with the Aristotle. Aldus praises his learning and emphasizes his Englishness—proof of the Aldine press’s truly global scope. UCLA 34; GW 1596; Clemons and Fletcher 15.

Folio (313 x 210mm). Greek and Roman types. 376 leaves [of 376]. Woodcut diagrams and illustrations. Early stamped morocco, gilt, with authors’ initials stamped on upper board (upper board and flyleaf detached). Provenance: contemporary marginalia in Greek – Portuguese ownership inscription dated 1699 – Elizabeth Machen Palmer (1926-2008, inventory listing).