Manuzio / Pontano - [Post Incunable] De Amori Coniugali - 1518

PONTANO AND THE ALDINE DREAM BETWEEN LOVES, TOMBS AND SHEPHERDS: VENICE IN ITS GOLDEN AGE
This Aldine incunable of 1518, with Giovanni Pontano's poetic works, condenses in a single small reliquary the refined heritage of Neapolitan humanism and the typographic perfection of the Manuzian workshop in its now crepuscular period. The book is a gesture of passage: Pontano's poetic order, with its Amores, its funeral odes, its pastoral elegies, is handed to the Venetian press precisely as the classical tradition—from which it constantly feeds—closes in an almost magical balance between philological erudition, lyrical grace, and self-representation of a one‑of‑a‑kind era. The inclusion, curated by Pontano himself, of Calpurnius Siculus’s and Aurelius Nemesianus’s eclogues strengthens the syncretic identity of the work: a work that is a miniature library, a bridge between worlds, and tangible testimony of the ambition with which the Aldine heirs Aldo and Torresano consolidate the Latin canon in the early sixteenth century.
MARKET VALUE
The market records a very limited presence of complete copies of the 1518 Aldine edition of Pontano’s poetic works; it is a not frequently issued edition, often missing the final flyleaves. Copies like this, in good early antique binding and with an intact Aldine device, typically reach high values, between 2,500 and 4,500 euros. Recent prices for comparable copies, when available, generally fall in the upper range of the sixteenth‑century Aldine market, with strong gains for copies with antique provenance and good conservation.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Eighteenth‑century full morocco binding with marbled boards, spine decorated with friezes and gold title, red edges, some initials rubricated in red. Aldine device with the anchor and dolphin on the frontispiece and at the colophon. Ancient owner's marks erased on the title page; occasional contemporary marginal notes. Pp. (2); 340; 4nn; (2). This listing contains AI Visualizations. Refer to the original photographs to verify the object’s actual condition. The images are an integral part of the description.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
De amore coniugali. Tumulorum II. Aurelii Nemesiani Eclogae.
Venetiis in Aedibus Aldi, et Andreae Soceri, 1518.
Giovanni Pontano.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The volume collects some Latin poetic works by Giovanni Pontano, a central figure of southern Renaissance humanism and organizer of the Pontanian Academy. The Amores and the Tumulorum libri represent one of the rare Renaissance attempts to revitalize Latin elegy following a model that is at once Ovidian and personal, while the eclogues complete a poetic panorama grounded on integrated imitation of the classics. The edition’s importance also lies in the transmission of Calpurnius Siculus’s and Aurelius Nemesianus’s eclogues, curated and philologically restored by Pontano himself; this makes it a document of primary relevance for the Renaissance circulation of pastoral poetry. From a typographic viewpoint, it is one of the last expressions of full continuity with the Aldine heritage, before the stylistic and productive shift of the Torresano‑Manuzio typography in the second half of the century.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Giovanni Pontano (1429‑1503), humanist, Latin poet and secretary to the Aragonese court of Naples, was one of the most influential protagonists of southern Renaissance humanism. His work ranges from poetry to moral philosophy, from political treatises to astrology. A refined connoisseur of Latin elegy, he founded and directed the Pontanian Academy, contributing decisively to the formation of a poetic and intellectual model that deeply influenced Italian culture of the quattrocento and early sixteenth century.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Printed by the heirs of Aldo Manuzio and Andrea Torresano, the 1518 edition belongs to the posthumous phase of Aldine activity, when the workshop continued to leverage the prestige of the Manuzian printing system with high‑quality but smaller print runs. It is the first and only Aldine edition of Pontano’s poetic works and is also considered important for the transmission of the Latin pastoral texts of Calpurnius and Nemesianus. The original circulation, aimed mainly at scholars and humanist collectors, is nowadays rare on the antiquarian market and particularly sought after in its complete material form.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Aldine repertories and bibliographic descriptions
– Renouard, Antoine-Augustin. Annales de l’imprimerie des Alde. Paris: Renouard, 1834, vol. I, p. 139, n. 5 (direct reference to the 1518 edition).
– Ahmanson-Murphy, Blanche et al. The Aldine Press: Catalogue of the Ahmanson-Murphy Collection of Books by or Related to the Press in the Library of the University of California, Los Angeles. Berkeley–Los Angeles–London: University of California Press, 2001. For 1518: pp. 284–285 (Aldine Press 518.1).
– BM STC (Italian Books 1465–1600), British Museum Short-Title Catalogue, London, 1958: cf. Pontanus 492 entry.
– Adams, Herbert Mayow. Catalogue of Books Printed on the Continent of Europe, 1501–1600, in the Cambridge University Library. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1967: P-1921.
– EDIT16: Censimento Nazionale delle Edizioni Italiane del XVI Secolo. IT\uICCU\uVEAE\u010815 IT (Aldine edition 1518).
– OCLC / WorldCat: record no. 45735762 (institutions with digitized or bound copies).