Plauto - Plauti Comoediae - 1640

Tito Maccio Plauto (Plautus)
M. Acci Plauti Comoediae superstites XX
Amstelodami, Apud Joannem et Cornelium Blaeu, 1640
Pergamena coeva floscia,12x6 cm;
pp. 640,(5).

A prestigious 17th-century edition of Plautus' comedies, printed in Amsterdam by the famous printers Joannes and Cornelius Blaeu, prominent figures of the renowned Dutch publishing dynasty active in the 17th century.
Frontispiece engraved in copper with a rich allegorical architectural frame: a female figure seated aloft, putti and theatrical masks at the sides, a large printer’s device with an armillary sphere at the center. Blaeu printer’s device on the title page.

The work gathers the twenty surviving comedies of Titus Maccius Plautus, one of the major authors of archaic Latin theater. The texts, in Latin, belong to the genre of fabula palliata, the Roman adaptation of Greek comedy. The plots revolve around misunderstandings, deceptions, mistaken identities, and romantic intrigues. They recur with typical figures such as the clever slave, the old miser, the young lover, and the bragging soldier. Famous works such as Aulularia, Miles Gloriosus, and Amphitruo display lively dialogue and sparkling humor. The language is rich in wordplay, varied meters, and lively popular expression. The collection testifies to Plautus’ enduring influence on European theatrical tradition.

A contemporary parchment exemplar with manuscript title to the spine (no longer legible); signs of time, wormholes in the spine, small losses at the bottom of the spine, browning and light foxing; tear in the lower part of the frontispiece, some leaves with marginal browning and small holes not affecting the text. Frontispiece with stamp of an old library.
Overall the specimen is genuine, complete and untrimmed, with good margins, a typical witness of early Dutch typography of the first Seicento.

The Blaeu editions of classical Latin works are distinguished by typographic elegance and the quality of the engravings. This printing of Plautine comedies represents a significant testament to the editorial fortune of classical texts in 17th-century Europe.