75 - Gellius, A.

Gellius, A. Noctes Atticae. With notes and emendations by Johannes Fredericus Gronovius. Lugd. Batavorum (Leiden), Ioannem de Vivié, 1687. 8°. [32] leaves, 499, (1) pp., [54] leaves, 142 pp., [4] leaves with an engraved frontispiece. Wine-red morocco leather binding with gold-stamped title on the spine, gilt spine, gilt fillets on the covers, gilt head and inner edges, and gilt edges (Nicolas Denis Derôme le jeune). Schweiger II, 379. — An important edition of this classic, first published in Amsterdam in 1650, featuring the commentaries of the Hamburg philologist J. F. Gronow (1611–1671). - Aulus Gellius (c. 125–170), a Roman jurist, began his work of collecting and compiling excerpts during the “long winter nights” of his studies in Athens. Twenty books’ worth of notes had accumulated by the time he decided to publish the work, probably around the year 170. The version published at that time has not survived intact: Book 8 has been lost except for the chapter headings, and sections at the beginning and end of the work are also missing. Even though Augustine and Erasmus sing its praises in the highest terms, the work remains a disparate collection of notes, excerpts, and quotations from all manner of books and sources—though the author has compiled and presented them in an entertaining manner. (See KNLL VI, 197 ff.). - Nicolas Denis Derôme the Younger (1731–1788), one of the most important French bookbinders, was initially known for his rich mosaic decorations. Toward the end of the 18th century, he adopted simpler decorations modeled after English styles. Typical of his work are his marbled endpapers “à la Derôme” with pink and green watercolors (as seen here). - A very beautiful, magnificently bound copy from the library of the eminent historian Henry Houssaye (1848–1911), bearing his bookplate.