Bonifacius - Historia Ludicra - 1656

THE GAME OF KNOWLEDGE: HISTORY AS AN ERUDITE PERFORMANCE BETWEEN ALLEGORY AND INGENUITY
The Historia ludicra by Balthasar Bonifacius is one of the most fascinating examples of Baroque erudition capable of turning knowledge into a playful and intellectual exercise. Published in Brussels in 1656, the work presents itself as a collection of examples, anecdotes, and reflections that cross disciplines with a brilliant spirit, where play is not evasion but a cognitive method. The iconographic apparatus and the highly scenographic engravable title page visually translate this tension: knowledge is theatricalized, staged, made accessible through symbolic images. The result is a book that perfectly embodies European Baroque culture, where doctrine, rhetoric, and spectacle coexist in refined balance.
MARKET VALUE
Copies of Historia ludicra from 1656, complete and with a well-preserved engravable title page, generally range between 500 and 700 euros; structural defects or missing elements significantly affect value, while the print quality of the engraved plate remains a decisive factor.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Contemporary binding, with irregular margins and signs of wear. Large allegorical engravable title page (Richard Collin’s signature) depicting symbolic figures around the author’s bust; text on strong paper. Pages with some browning and foxing. Presence of ancient handwritten annotations. Decorated initials. In old books, with a history spanning centuries, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 18nn; 592; 36nn; (2).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Historia ludicra: opus ex omni disciplinarum genere, selecta & iucunda eruditione refertum.
Bruxellae, typis et aere Joannis Mommarti, 1656.
Balthasar Bonifacius.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Historia ludicra fits into the tradition of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century erudite miscellanies, works that collect heterogeneous materials with a didactic as well as pleasurable aim. Bonifacio builds an intellectual universe in which history, rhetoric, antiquarian curiosity, and moral reflections coexist in a lively and accessible form. The term ludicra should not be understood lightly, but as an indication of a method: knowledge is organized to stimulate ingenuity and memory, in a tradition that traces its roots to medieval exempla and humanistic collections. The allegorical title page, rich in symbolic figures, visualizes this conception, presenting knowledge as a collective and dynamic construction.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Balthasar Bonifacio (Baldassarre Bonifacio, 1585–1659), from Rovigo, was an ecclesiastic, scholar, and historian. Active between Venice and other centers of European culture, he distinguished himself for the breadth of his interests and for producing works of historical and antiquarian character. His writing fully reflects Baroque culture, characterized by a taste for compilation, encyclopedism, and variety.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The work went through several editions during the seventeenth century, a sign of wide diffusion among educated European readers. The Brussels edition of 1656, printed by Joannes Mommart, represents a revised and expanded version, as indicated by the wording editio nova et tersior. The typographic productions of the Mommarts were known for technical quality and international diffusion, contributing to the circulation of the work in the erudite circuits of Northern Europe.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
ICCU/OPAC SBN: Bonifacio, Historia ludicra, 1656 (record to be checked for the specific exemplar)
WorldCat: Balthasar Bonifacius, Historia ludicra, Brussels, 1656
Brunet, Manuel du libraire, I, col. 1142
Graesse, Trésor de livres rares, I, p. 456
Caillet, Manuel bibliographique des sciences psychiques et occultes, no. 1420 (for curious and erudite literature)
Cataloghi della tipografia Mommart (Bruxelles, XVII secolo)
Studi sulla cultura enciclopedica e miscellanea del Seicento europeo