Ovidii - Opera - 1629

FIRST ELZEVIAN EDITION – 3 VOLUMES - METAMORPHOSES, ARS AMATORIA, FASTI AND TRISTIA
3 SPLENDID ELZEVIAN VOLUMES IN RED MOROCCO BINDING SIGNED BY ODOARDO NUBIÈ
Rare and prestigious first Elzevirian edition of the works of Publius Ovidius Naso, printed in Leiden in 1629 by the renowned Elzevirian Officina and curated by the great philologist Daniel Heinsius. Brought together in three elegant volumes, the edition constitutes one of the most refined seventeenth-century interpretations of the poet of Metamorphoses and belongs to the most prestigious period of Dutch typography in the 17th century. The text, critically revised by Heinsius and accompanied by philological materials linked to the tradition of Joseph Justus Scaliger and other important scholars, reflects the extremely high level reached by classical philology in the Leiden university environment. The first volume is enriched by a refined engraved frontispiece with a portrait of Ovid within an elaborate ornamental apparatus. Equally exceptional is the binding: the three volumes were magnificently rebound in the 19th century in red morocco by Odoardo Nubiè, with rich gold decorations, marbled endpapers, and gold-tooled edges. The combination of a first Elzevir edition, three complete volumes, an engraved portrait, and a signed binding makes the set a true object of major collecting value.

WHY TO BUY
FIRST ELZEVIAN EDITION – LEIDEN 1629! One of the most elegant seventeenth-century impressions of Ovid’s works.
3 COMPLETE VOLUMES! The great Ovidian corpus in the prestigious edition curated by Daniel Heinsius.
FRONTISPIECE WITH PORTRAIT OF OVID! A refined engraved element of Elzevir production.
RED MOROCCO BINDING SIGNED ODOARDO NUBIÈ! Classical literature and a great Italian bindery together in an object of extraordinary charm.

MARKET VALUE
The first Elzevirian edition of Ovid belongs to the most sought-after tier of Leiden Officina’s classical production. Complete three-volume copies are considerably more desirable, especially when enriched by high-quality signed bindings. In this set, the refined red morocco binding by Odoardo Nubiè, the engraved portrait, and the uniform three-volume condition represent elements of strong added value. For a specimen of this quality, a realistic retail value is around €1,000-3,000, with potential for higher asks for especially fresh bindings and interiors.

PHYSICAL / CONDITION
Three volumes. Volume I: pp. (2), 24 nn., 344, (4). Volume II: pp. (4), 16 nn., 444, (8). Volume III: pp. (4), 12 nn., 410, (4). Engraved frontispiece with portrait of Ovid in the first volume; woodcut initials. Splendid nineteenth-century full red morocco binding signed Odoardo Nubiè, with rich gold tooling on the boards, spine decorated with gilded titles and ornaments, marbled endpapers and entirely gilt edges. Housed in an elegant modern slipcase. Pages slightly browned with sporadic foxing; ink blot on the lower margin of the first pages of the second volume. Ex libris on the front paste-downs. Overall a prestigious bibliographic and decorative set with strong impact. As with all old volumes, minor defects or restorations not expressly mentioned may be present.

FULL TITLES & AUTHORS
Publius Ovidius Naso (43 B.C.–17/18 A.D.).
P. Ovidii Nasonis Opera.
Daniel Heinsius textum recensuit.
Lugduni Batavorum: Ex Officina Elzeviriana, 1629.
PRIMA EDIZIONE ELZEVIRIANA.
Tre volumi.
Volume I: pp. (2), 24 nn., 344, (4).
Volume II: pp. (4), 16 nn., 444, (8).
Volume III: pp. (4), 12 nn., 410, (4).
Con frontespizio calcografico figurato al primo volume.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Publius Ovidius Naso (43 B.C.–17/18 A.D.) was one of the greatest poets of Latin literature and one of the figures who most deeply influenced European culture. Born in Sulmona and educated in Rome, he soon abandoned public life to devote himself to poetry. The Amores and Ars Amatoria immediately earned him fame for the elegance, irony, and refinement with which he approached the theme of love. His masterpiece, the Metamorphoses, constitutes a grand narrative in fifteen books of the mythological transformations of the world, from the origins of the universe to the age of Augustus. The work became one of the main sources of classical mythology for medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque poets, painters, and sculptors. In the Fasti Ovid reconstituted the Roman religious calendar, while the Tristia and the Epistulae ex Ponto document the dramatic exile at Tomi on the Black Sea, imposed by Augustus in 8 A.D. The extraordinary variety and modernity of his poetry secured Ovid a enduring fortune for over two thousand years. The 1629 edition was curated by Daniel Heinsius (1580-1655), one of the most eminent philologists of the Seicento, a professor at Leiden and a central figure in Dutch classical culture.

RARITY
The 1629 first Elzevirian edition of Ovid’s works is one of the most desirable titles in Leiden’s celebrated classical output. Willems described it as a significantly “Belle édition très rare,” underscoring both its quality and rarity. The value increases substantially when the work is preserved in three volumes with the figural engraved frontispiece. The present specimen also possesses an exceptional feature: the sumptuous nineteenth-century binding signed by Odoardo Nubiè, a refined interpreter of the Italian artistic bookbinding tradition. The red morocco, the elaborate gilding, and the gilt edges transform the set into a collectible object in which bibliographic rarity and binding quality reinforce each other.

HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE
The 1629 edition was born in the heart of Leiden’s great philological era, one of the main European centers for classical studies. The Elzeviers managed to combine textual rigor, typographic elegance, and highly refined formats, creating a production destined to become a cult object even among collectors in the following centuries. Heinsius’s care places Ovid within the most advanced critical tradition of the period and testifies to the central role of the Netherlands in transmitting Latin classics during the 17th century. Literary, Ovid’s works represent one of the most important sources of Western imagery: the Metamorphoses fed for centuries European mythological painting, while the Ars Amatoria, the Fasti, and exile poetry exerted a profound influence on medieval and modern literature. The refined binding by Nubiè adds a second chapter to the history of the specimen, showing how two centuries after printing the book remained worthy of a sumptuous library-grade presentation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Willems, Alphonse, Les Elzevier. Histoire et annales typographiques, n. 317.
Rahir, Édouard, repertori and catalogues of Elzevir editions.
Brunet, Manuel du libraire et de l’amateur de livres.
Graesse, Trésor de livres rares et précieux.
Berghman, Études sur la Bibliographie Elzévirienne.
Dibdin, Introduction to the Knowledge of Rare and Valuable Editions of the Greek and Latin Classics.
Publius Ovidius Naso, Opera, Lugduni Batavorum, Ex Officina Elzeviriana, 1629.
Bibliographical references dedicated to the Elzevir production and the editorial fate of Ovid’s works.