Cesare - Quae Extant Omnia - 1713

THE GREAT CAMPAIGNS OF CAESAR UNDER THE LENS OF CRITICAL STUDY BY THE LEIDEN MAESTERS
Dutch edition of extraordinary typographical quality and scholarly apparatus of Gaio Giulio Cesare’s complete works, published in 1713 between Leiden and Delft under the scientific direction of Johann Georg Graevius and with annotations by Dionysius Vossius. The volume fits into the great Dutch philological revival between the 17th and 18th centuries, when the Netherlands represented the European center of classical publishing. Enriched by a title engraved by Picart, an engraving portrait, geographical maps and folded plates, the work unites textual rigor and iconographic magnificence, becoming soon a “much sought after and rare” edition, as attest by Schweiger and Dibdin.
MARKET VALUE
Complete copies of all engraved plates, maps and title pages, in contemporaneous full vellum binding, are today highly sought after on the international antiquarian market. Copies in good condition with intact illustrations generally range between 2,500 and 4,500 euros, with higher prices for especially fresh copies, with ample margins and illustrious provenance. The presence of the three folded maps and the eleven plates (five of which are folded), together with the Picart engraved title and the engraver’s portrait, significantly impacts the valuation.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Engraved frontispiece (title engraved by Picart), engraved portrait, 3 folded maps, 11 engraved plates of which 5 are folded. Slight foxing and marginal flaws. Contemporary full parchment binding, with impressed decorations and cold-gilding on the spine, boards slightly marked with minor signs of handling; overall solid and structurally integral. Collation: (16), 603; (2), 604-862, (52), 224 pp.
In old books, with a multi-century history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Opera quae extant omnia, cum animadversionibus integris Dionysii Vossii et Johannis Davisii, aliisque variis notis; accedit Julius Celsus de vita et rebus gestis C. Julii Caesaris ex museo Joannis Georgii Graevii.
Leiden (Lugduni Batavorum), apud Viduam C. Boutesteyn & S. Luchtmans; Delft (Delphis), apud Adrianum Beman, 1713.
Caesar
Dionysii Vossii et Johannis Davisii

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
This edition belongs to the great tradition of Dutch variorum editions, conceived as definitive study tools for the classical text. The work of Dionysius Vossius and Johann Georg Graevius reflects the North European philological approach, characterized by systematic variant comparison, recovery of manuscript sources, and integration of earlier humanist editions. The inclusion of the biography attributed to Julius Celsus broadens the scholarly-historical frame, offering an erudite reading of the Caesar figure. The iconographic apparatus – military maps and illustrative plates – meets the eighteenth-century demand to combine philology with historical visualization, transforming the work into an object of study and representation alike.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Caesar (Gaius Julius Caesar) (100–44 BCE) was a Roman general, statesman and writer. His works – particularly the Commentarii de bello Gallico and de bello civili – are not only primary sources for Roman history but also a model of Latin prose for clarity, balance and narrative construction. The editorial tradition of his works traverses the entire history of European printing, from incunabula to modern critical editions.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Printed between Leiden and Delft in 1713, the edition sits within the context of Dutch academic publishing, then among the most prestigious in Europe. The publishers Vidua Boutesteyn, S. Luchtmans and Adrianus Beman operated in an highly internationalized environment, targeting a European audience of scholars and collectors. The Dutch variorum tradition helped fix an editorial standard that profoundly influenced later editions. Schweiger (II, 46) called it “Sehr gesucht und selten” (very much sought after and rare), while Dibdin (I, 363) underlines its importance in the collecting history of Caesar editions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Schweiger, Handbuch der classischen Bibliographie, II, Leipzig 1834, p. 46.
Dibdin, Introduction to the Knowledge of Rare and Valuable Editions of the Greek and Latin Classics, I, London 1802, p. 363.
Brunet, Manuel du libraire et de l’amateur de livres, I, Paris 1860, col. 1642–1644 (sub Caesar).
Graesse, Trésor de livres rares et précieux, II, Dresden 1863, p. 45–46.
Ebert, Allgemeines bibliographisches Lexikon, I, Leipzig 1821, p. 278–279 (sub Caesar).
Hoffmann, Lexicon bibliographicum, I, Leipzig 1832, p. 259–260.
Fabricius, Bibliotheca Latina, II, Hamburg 1722, p. 89–95 (for the Caesar edition tradition).
ICCU – OPAC SBN, census of Leiden-Batavia–Delphis edition copies, 1713 (institutional location search).
WorldCat (OCLC), cumulative record for the 1713 Leiden/Delft edition, with international holdings indicated.