333 - [16th-century book]. [Typography]. PALAEPHATUS; GUÉROULT (Guillaume), [trans.]. The First Book of Fable-like Narratives, with Discourses, the Truth Behind Them, and Their Stories... To which we have added some poetic sonnets by the same translator. In Lyon, from the Press of R. Granjon, 1558. Small quarto (175 x 122 mm, unbound), [4]-LIX (i.e., 60) folios. [sign. *4, a-p4], Lavallière morocco, spine with 5 raised bands, title, place, and date in gold, large gold fleur-de-lis in the center of each cover, double gold fillet at the edges, interior lace, edges gilt on marbled paper [Chambolle-Duru] (minor scuffs, a tear at one corner; very slight soiling in the margins, a few very skillful restorations in the margins of the title page and the very first leaves).

[16th-century book]. [Typography]. PALAEPHATUS; GUÉROULT (Guillaume), [trans.]. The First Book of Fable-like Narratives, with Discourses, the Truth Behind Them, and Their Stories... To which we have added some poetic sonnets by the same translator. In Lyon, from the Press of R. Granjon, 1558. Small quarto (175 x 122 mm, unbound), [4]-LIX (i.e., 60) folios. [sign. *4, a-p4], Lavallière morocco, spine with 5 raised bands, title, place, and date in gold, large gold fleur-de-lis in the center of each cover, double gold fillet at the edges, interior lace, edges gilt on marbled paper [Chambolle-Duru] (minor scuffs, a tear at one corner; very slight soiling in the margins, a few very skillful restorations in the margins of the title page and the very first leaves). A fine copy of one of the very first books printed in civil type. We owe the design of this new typeface to the Lyon-based printer, bookseller, engraver, and typefounder Robert Granjon (c. 1513–1590). Combining great elegance with perfect legibility, it perfectly imitates the Gothic cursive script used in the 16th century. First edition of the Latin translation of a curious treatise—the only one that has survived by the Greek philosopher Palaiphatos, who lived in the 4th century B.C. The author’s aim is to offer a rational interpretation of Greek myths. The translator, Guillaume Guéroult (1507–1569), a bookseller, poet, and musician who converted to Protestantism, took refuge in Geneva, from where he was eventually expelled for failing to comply with ecclesiastical ordinances; he then moved to Lyon, where he worked as a typesetter; he is also the author of song collections and books of emblems. Elegant original binding by Chambolle-Duru. Provenance: Techener (May 1885, no. 231, note pasted to the lower inside front cover), Charles Lormier (II, 1902, no. 780, bookplate) and Édouard Pelay (I, 1923, no. 216, bookplate). (USTC 8158; Baudrier II, 59).