M. T. Ciceronis - Orationum - 1567

M. Tullii Ciceronis
Orationum Volumen II
Lugduni (Lione), Apud Antonium Gryphium,(1567).

Formato: in-16° (mm 125 x 85), pp. 705, (31).
Elegant lionese edition of the second volume of Cicero's Orationes, printed by Antoine Gryphe (son of Sébastien Gryphe, one of the most important humanist printers of the 16th century).

The volume gathers numerous Cicero orations, including the famous Pro Lege Manilia (or De Imperio Cn. Pompeii), the Pro Sulla, the Pro Rabirio, etc., fundamental texts for the study of rhetoric, late Republican Roman history, and law.

Gryphe editions of Cicero are highly sought after by scholars and collectors for their philological care, the clarity of the type, and the pocket/desk-size format, which made them an essential tool for the diffusion of classical thought in the European Renaissance. The activity of the Gryphe dynasty in Lyon represents one of the peaks of French printing in the sixteenth century. Complete copies from 1567 are rare on the market.

A contemporaneous parchment copy, with manuscript title on the spine. It shows normal signs of age, traces of handling and a few marginal stains, but is overall complete and usable. Some contemporary manuscript notes and ownership mark “Ex libris Luigi Mariani Romani A.B. 1883”, attesting to its nineteenth-century Italian provenance.

Small-format for collection, a cornerstone classic of Western culture, prestigious printer, documented provenance and old notes. An excellent candidate for enthusiasts of Latin classics, the history of printing, and antique bindings.

A fascinating and historically significant piece from one of the most influential editorial traditions of the Renaissance.