[POST INCUNABLE] – SALLUSTIUS - Opera Omnia - 1534

Venice: Johannes de Tacuino, 1534.

Folio (304×201 mm). [6], 151 leaves (lacking the last blank). Title page in red and black within a full-page woodcut border. Woodcut initials throughout, 15 woodcut vignettes. Bound in late 19th-century half vellum with marbled paper on boards, handwritten title in black on spine. Repair at lower corner of title not affecting text, several waterstains to upper and lower margin, especially to last leaves, modern repairs with loss of words at lower margin of the last 7 leaves. Overall in good internal condition.

Refined illustrated edition of the works of Sallust with comments from four of the most authoritative humanists of the early XVI century: Lorenzo Valla, Ognibene Bonisoli, Josse Bade on the Conspiracy of Catiline, and Pomponio Leto on the Jugurthine War. This 1534 edition is sensibly rarer than the more common 1539, which is a copy of the present one. The first edition of Sallust's work with Lorenzo Valla's commentary dates back to the early 15th century, but it was with the Venetian editions — starting from that of 1511 published by Tacuino — that the work gained widespread distribution. The 15 woodcut illustrations are all derived from the 1511 Tacuino edition. The 1539 edition represents a crucial step in the integration of humanist commentaries and in print quality. The woodcut illustrations, based on previous models but updated here, demonstrate the publisher's intention to combine erudition with visual beauty.
This volume contains the following writings: Letter from Pomponius to Augustinus Mapheus; Letter from Io. Badius Ascensius; Cicero's speech against L. Catilina; Gaius Crispus Sallustius's war against Catiline with commentaries by Laurentius Vallius Omnibonus Leonicenus, and Io. Badius Ascensius. Gaius Crispus Sallustius's Jugurthine War.
The volume gathers two of the fundamental works of Latin historiography: the De coniuratione Catilinae, an account of the famous conspiracy against the Republic, and the Bellum Iugurthinum, a chronicle of the war conducted by Rome against the African king Jugurtha. Both are accompanied by comments from prominent humanists: Valla, Bonisoli, Bade, and Pomponio Leto, who reexamined Sallust in light of the political culture of the early XVI century. The edition is situated within the philological tradition of the Tacuino workshop and is distinguished by the balance between text, exegetical apparatus, and woodcut illustrations, also aimed at an educated and visually sensitive audience. The blending of classical content with Renaissance interpretation makes it a key source for the history of publishing and the reception of classical works.
Gaius Sallustius Crispus (Amiternum, 86 BC – Rome, 34 BC) was a historian, senator, and supporter of Caesar. His political career was marked by tensions and scandals, culminating in his expulsion from the Senate. He was governor of the province of Africa Nova, and later retired to private life, dedicating himself to writing historical works, including the De Catilinae Coniuratione, the Bellum Iugurthinum, and the Historiae. His concise, moralising, and politically oriented style made him one of the most read and commented Latin authors of the humanist period.

Edit 16, CNCE34934 Essling, The Illustrated Venetian Books of the Renaissance, p. 47 VD16 S 232 Adams S 207 Brunet V, 60 Olschki Choix vol. V n 5256.