BARTOLI, Pietro (1615-1700). Admiranda Romanarum antiquitatum. Rome: Johannes de Rubeus, 1693.

Second edition of the artist and antiquarian Pietro Bartoli’s record of the antiquities of Ancient Rome, bound in the style of the Vatican bindery. Trained as an artist under Le Maire and Poussin, Bartoli got his start by copying the most famous artworks of antiquity—a practice which quickly developed into full-blown antiquarianism. His work is driven by the desire to record the vestiges of ancient art and architecture, which were becoming subject to the sometimes deleterious attentions of amateur archaeologists. See Berlin Kat. 4203 (undated first edition).

Folio (490 x 375mm). 84 engraved plates, including engraved title and dedication (unobstrusive dampstaining to gutter, not affecting plates; a few spots). Eighteenth-century Italian mottled calf gilt, possibly by the Vatican Bindery (worn at extremities). Provenance: Edward Ringbord (stamp on rear flyleaf) – Sotheby’s London, 1965 – Victor von Stedingk (bookplate).