Aristote - Aristotelis Ad Nicomachum - 1552

Aristoteles / Johannes Oporinus (Ed.) - Ethica ad Nicomachum [Nicomachean Ethics] - Basle, 1552 - Rare Renaissance Parchment Binding

An exceptional, highly rare, and beautifully preserved 16th-century Renaissance edition of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (Ad Nicomachum filium de Moribus, quae Ethica nominantur, Libri decem). Printed in Basel (Basileae) by the famous humanist printer Johannes Oporinus in 1552.

This important edition features the prestigious translation and commentary elements by the renowned humanists Joachim Perion (Joachimo Perionio Cormoeriaceno) and Hermolaus Barbarus (Hermolaum Barbarum), making it a pinnacle of Renaissance classical scholarship.
KEY DETAILS & BIBLIOGRAPHY
Author: Aristotle (Aristotelis)
Title: Ad Nicomachum filium de Moribus, quae Ethica nominantur, Libri decem
Editor / Printer: Johannes Oporinus (Ioan. Oporinum)
Place of Publication: Basel, Switzerland (Basileae)
Year of Publication: 1552
Language: Latin (translated from the original Ancient Greek)
Binding: Contemporary full limp parchment / vellum

TYPOGRAPHY & CONTENT
The book is a masterpiece of Swiss Renaissance printing, utilizing Oporinus’s celebrated, elegant italic type with decorative woodcut initials. It includes the complete ten books of the Ethics, including the famous Liber VIII (Book 8) on the philosophy of friendship (Amicitia). It features a comprehensive analytical index at the back (Cum locuplete rerum & verborum memorabilium Indice).

CONDITION REPORT
Binding: Genuine contemporary 16th-century limp vellum/parchment in very good, solid condition. Spine features an early hand-written leather/paper title label ("ETHICA ARISTOTELIS"). The structural integrity remains perfectly firm, with visible contemporary structural sewing at the joints. Light aging and natural toning to the vellum, adding wonderful historical character.
Interior: Complete text block. The paper remains crisp and strong with standard light age-toning. The title page is rich with history, bearing several authentic 16th and 17th-century ownership inscriptions in ink (including a clear ownership mark by Paulus Ottenthalerus and a neat, small manuscript date "1552" added under the imprint). Margin notes and paragraph numbering remain clean and perfectly legible.

PROVENANCE & COLLECTIBILITY
A highly desirable collector’s item. Editions printed by Johannes Oporinus—who famously published Vesalius’s De humani corporis fabrica—are highly sought after by institutions and private collectors alike. The presence of early provenance signatures on the title page greatly enhances its historical value, offering a transparent window into its 470+ year journey through European libraries.