PLINIO, Gaio Secondo (1424-1498) - Historia naturale di C. Plinio secondo tradocta di lingua latina in fiorentina per Christophoro Landino fiorentino al serenissimo Ferdinando re di Napoli. Venice: Bartolomeo de Zani, 12 settembre 1489.   Rare second edition of the complete Italian translation by Cristoforo Landino, printed for the first time in Venice in 1476 by Nicolas Jenson, while in 1781 only the first book of the work was published. Landino was commissioned by the King of Naples Ferdinand of Aragon to write a vernacular version of Pliny in 1474, a translation that the humanist wrote with a strong Florentine linguistic component, mostly in the rendering of the names of plants and animals. Pliny's work is developed in 37 books, the first of which includes a preface, an index and a list of sources used, which lists more than a hundred ancient authors. The work also explores astronomy, physics and earth sciences (books II-VI), natural sciences (VII-XXXII), materials and art (XXXIII-XXXVII).   Folio (300 x 205mm). (Lacking leaf f8 replaced by a printed facsimile, wormtracks on the inner and outer margin of the first leaves touching a few letters in a2, marginal wormtracks at o-p and I-O, small repaired tears at the margins of a3,f1, f7 and h1, reinforcements to inner margin of a12, some wear to inner margin of r6-s1, tears touching text restored in a8 and P2-5 not compromising its legibility, paperflaw in F3 affecting some letters, some pages on guards, browning, occasional light marginal waterstains). 17th-century vellum, manuscript title on vellum (reinforced spine, light rubbing, later guards). Provenance: Horace Landau (bookplate on endpaper; 1824-1903 bibliophile) - few early annotations in red pencil.

Estimate € 500 - 800

Sold € 1,600