Cornelius Nepos - Vitae Excellentium Imperatorum - 1687

Cornelius Nepos – The Lives of the Excellent Emperors. Amsterdam, 1687. Blaeu.

Cornelius Nepos’ Lives of the Excellent Emperors, with scholarly notes and observations. Printed in Amsterdam (Amstelodami) by the famous Blaeu press, 1687 (MDCLXXXVII).

Small 17th-century scholarly edition of the classical Roman historian Cornelius Nepos, containing the biographies of outstanding military commanders of antiquity. This expanded edition includes commentary and annotations by various scholars, as well as an index of subjects and words.

Illustrated with an engraved allegorical frontispiece depicting Fame sounding a trumpet above allegorical figures of History and Time, symbolizing the preservation of heroic deeds through historical writing.

Imprint:
Amsterdam, From the Typographia P. & J. Blaeu, 1687.
Sold by Wolfgang, Janssonio-Waesbergios, Boom, à Someren, & Goethals.

Description

- 12mo format
- Contemporary vellum binding with handwritten spine title
- Engraved frontispiece present
- Latin text with extensive scholarly commentary
- Early ownership inscription dated 1731 and 1752 on title page
- Complete and internally clean

A fine example of a late 17th-century Dutch scholarly edition of a classical author, printed by the renowned Blaeu publishing house of Amsterdam. Such editions were widely used in European universities for the study of classical history and rhetoric.

Condition:
Good for its age. Binding sound, vellum lightly age-toned. Minor wear to hinges and edges. Interior generally clean with typical light age toning.

Date: 1687
Place: Amsterdam
Printer: Blaeu
Language: Latin