Vegetius - De re militari - 1515

Vegetius Flavius
Illustrious man on military matters.

Frontinus Sextus Iulius
A consular man about military matters.

Aelianus
On instructing the armies.

Modesti Libellus
On the vocabulary of military matters

Paris - 1515 - (June 8)
Jean Petit

(6), LXXII, (22) c.
Sign. A6 ad8 e6 fh8 i10 kl8 m6

40 - 21 x 14 cm.
Roman character with Gothic titles.
40 lines + title


Splendid collection of postincunabula of famous military treatises by classical authors such as Vegezio, Frontino, Eliano, and Libello.
ADAMS S 792

These treaties were printed together for the first time in 1487 by Guy Breslay.

This important Parisian edition of Petit (1515) is the first edition to be printed outside Italy.
Precious copy with a beautiful and rare binding, strictly contemporaneous, in full leather, of classic French Renaissance style.

Frontispiece with red and black printing, in addition to the magnificent xilographic brand Petit.

Vegezio (Publio Fabio Vegezio Renato) was a Roman writer who lived between the 4th and 5th centuries AD.
Author of a work (whose success remained notably significant throughout the Middle Ages and the modern age), which deals with the Roman army and military tactics, the 'De re militari.'
Frontino (Sesto Giulio Frontino), born around the
In 35/40 AD, he died in 103. He was a triple consul, legate general, and military writer who composed a famous treatise on stratagems.
Elianus (Elianus the Tactician or Elianus the Elder), a Greek writer who lived between the end of the 1st century and
At the beginning of the 2nd century BC, he wrote the famous treatise on military art, 'Theory of Tactics.'
Modesto (or Pseudo-Modesto) probably worked between the 9th and 12th centuries BC.
His work is known through more than 30 manuscripts and was printed six times before the fifteenth century.

Excellent contemporary connection in brown leather.
With large, dry-engraved frames on the plates, richly decorated, depicting figures of four-leaf clovers and stars.
In the center of the dishes, there are additional frames with multiple fillets, arranged vertically, with phytomorphic decorations containing further clovers.
Rich decorations engraved dry, also on the back.
Evidence of abrasions and tears, with conservatory restorations and reinforcements at the corners, spine, and hinges.
Traces of bindelle

Fairly well-preserved interiors, with strong features.
fresh and crispy
Beautiful frontispiece printed in red and black with Gothic characters and the famous brand Petit.
Numerous figurative initial letters of various sizes on a perforated background.
Interesting figures of military positions and arrangements.
Numerous marginal annotations and manuscript manicule, probably from the same period.
Traces of termite-infested tunnels are reported.
In the last part of the text, at the lower margin, which do not affect the text (see photo).
Gallery trace at the middle of the text, on the inner cut of the sheets, barely touching the text without any loss. (see photo).
Another small gallery of minor errors in the first 4 or 5 pages of the text, with very few letters missing.
Very slight wear at the lower outer corner of a few cards at the beginning of the text.
Even the slightest effort is exhausted, even to the last card.
Original guards preserved.

Excellent and evocative copy, complete and original in every aspect.
Settled. Complete.