Du Choul - Legerschikking der Oude Romeinen - 1684

PRIMA ED. OLANDESE - 2 TREATISES ON ANTIQUITIES OF ROME UNITED IN ONE VOLUME - OVER 300 ENGRAVINGS
LEGIONS, ARMOR, HORSES, BATHS, GYMNASTICS, COINS, STATUES, WEAPONS AND MONUMENTS
Important first Dutch translation of Guillaume du Choul’s antiquarian works, published in Amsterdam in 1684 and composed, worth noting, of TWO AUTONOMOUS WORKS UNITED IN THE SAME VOLUME, each with its own title-page and its own editorial structure. The specimen’s photographs clearly show the title-page of the first work, Verhandeling van den Godtsdienst, Legerschikking, Krygstucht, en Badstoven der Oude Romeinen, and that of the second, Verhandeling van de Legerschikking en Krygs-Tucht der Romeinen, van de Badstoven en Oude Oeffeningen der Grieken en Romeinen. Also the bibliographic descriptions of the edition record the two treatises separately, both printed in 1684 by Joannes and Gillis Janssonius van Waesberge. The first is mainly devoted to the religion of the ancient Romans and to numismatic and monumental testimonies; the second develops in autonomous form the organization of the army, military discipline, baths and exercises of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The result is a vast paper museum of classical civilization, rich in images derived from coins, reliefs, statues and monuments.

WHY TO BUY
TWO AUTONOMOUS WORKS IN ONE VOLUME! Two title-pages, two treatises and two great journeys through Greco-Roman civilization.
OVER 300 ENGRAVINGS! Religion, army, armors, coins, statues, baths and customs transform the book into a museum of antiquity.
FIRST DUTCH TRANSLATION – AMSTERDAM 1684! A prestigious testament to the European fortune of Du Choul.
LEATHER BINDING IN FINE CALF! A large illustrated volume still wearing its elegant antique cover.

MARKET VALUE
The illustrated editions of Guillaume du Choul retain solid interest among collectors of classical antiquarian books, archaeology, military history, numismatics and illustrated books. In this specimen the joint presence of the TWO WORKS, each with its own title-page, together with the vast figurative apparatus and the contemporary binding, is particularly significant. For a complete set of the illustrations and in good overall condition, a realistic retail value is around €1,300-1,800, with potential for a higher price for particularly fresh copies or those of notable provenance.

PHYSICAL / CONDITION
Two autonomous works gathered in one volume, both Amsterdam, Joannes and Gillis Janssonius van Waesberge, 1684. First work: Verhandeling van den Godtsdienst, Legerschikking, Krygstucht, en Badstoven der Oude Romeinen, with its own title-page printed in red and black and important figurative apparatus. Second work: Verhandeling van de Legerschikking en Krygs-Tucht der Romeinen, van de Badstoven en Oude Oeffeningen der Grieken en Romeinen, also with its own autonomous title-page printed in red and black. Total pp.: (2), 8 nn., 340, 34, (2); 8 nn., 148, 4 nn., (2). Engraved title-page, richly illustrated with a total of 304 engravings and a folding plate. Elegant contemporary full-leather binding, with richly gold-decorated spine in raised hubs. Three bookplates on the front pastedown. Bindings and joints slightly worn; uniform tanning of paper and occasional offsetting traces. As with all ancient volumes, slight defects or restorations not explicitly mentioned may be present.

FULL TITLES & AUTHORS
Guillaume du Choul.
OPERA I
Verhandeling van den Godtsdienst, Legerschikking, Krygstucht, en Badstoven der Oude Romeinen. Verrijkt met een groot getal Medalien, en vele schoone Figuuren getrokken uit oude Marmeren, die binnen Romen, en in ons Gaulen gevonden worden.
Uit het Fransch vertaalt door Mattheus Smallegange.
Amsterdam: Joannes en Gillis Janssonius van Waesberge, 1684.
PRIMA TRADUZIONE OLANDESE.

OPERA II
Guillaume du Choul.
Verhandeling van de Legerschikking en Krygs-Tucht der Romeinen, van de Badstoven en Oude Oeffeningen der Grieken en Romeinen.
Uit het Fransch vertaalt door Mattheus Smallegange.
Amsterdam: Joannes en Gillis Janssonius van Waesberge, 1684.
Opera con proprio frontespizio, propria paginazione e tavola ripiegata. La struttura in due opere è confermata anche da descrizioni bibliografiche di altri esemplari dell’edizione.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Guillaume du Choul, born in Lyon at the end of the 15th century and died around 1560, was a magistrate, antiquarian and one of the leading French scholars of antiquity during the Renaissance. He belonged to the generation of scholars who began to regard coins, inscriptions, statues and reliefs not as mere curiosities for collection, but as real historical sources capable of complementing the testimonies of classical authors. Du Choul collected and studied numerous coins and artifacts, using them to reconstruct concrete aspects of Roman life: cult, sacrifices, army, arms, dress, baths and institutions. The extraordinary international fortune of his works, reprinted and translated for over a century, made him a protagonist in the birth of modern antiquarianism.

RARITY
The 1684 first Dutch translation is particularly desirable in the configuration that groups BOTH WORKS. This is not simply a second part within the same text, but two distinct treatises, each provided with its own autonomous title-page and pagination. This feature increases the bibliographic interest of the specimen and makes it particularly important to verify the joint presence. The richly endowed figurative apparatus is also one of the main elements of desirability: coins, armors, insignia, statues and monuments could easily have been separated from the volumes over the centuries. The preservation of the whole in full contemporary leather further enhances its collecting appeal.

HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE
The two works united offer one of the broadest figurative reconstructions of Roman civilization available in European antiquarian books of the modern era. The first addresses the religious and symbolic dimension of Rome through deities, sacrifices, altars, coins and monumental testimonies. The second then deals with the military and material dimension: formations, discipline, weapons, insignia, horsemen, baths and physical exercises of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The presence of the TWO TREATISES thus allows us to observe classical society from complementary perspectives: worship and power, religion and the army, public life and the culture of the body. Du Choul pioneered the use of comparing ancient texts with figurative artifacts, contributing to the transformation of antiquarianism into a discipline increasingly grounded in material observation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Guillaume du Choul, Verhandeling van den Godtsdienst, Legerschikking, Krygstucht, en Badstoven der Oude Romeinen, Amsterdam, 1684.
Guillaume du Choul, Verhandeling van de Legerschikking en Krygs-Tucht der Romeinen, van de Badstoven en Oude Oeffeningen der Grieken en Romeinen, Amsterdam, 1684.
Rijksmuseum, catalogazione dell’edizione olandese di Amsterdam 1684.
Brunet, Manuel du libraire et de l’amateur de livres.
Graesse, Trésor de livres rares et précieux.
Cicognara, Catalogo ragionato dei libri d’arte e d’antichità.
Berlin Katalog, repertori dedicati all’architettura, all’arte e all’antichità.
Mortimer, Harvard College Library, French Sixteenth Century Books.
Repertori bibliografici dedicati all’antiquaria rinascimentale, alla storia dell’archeologia e all’iconografia dell’antica Roma.