Plinio - Naturalis Historiae - 1530

The Secret Nature of Pliny: Science, Power, and Mysteries at the French Court
Rare Parisian edition from 1530 of Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia, enriched with comments by Stéphane de Laqué, a philosopher and humanist from Biturica, in an edition of exceptional interest due to its provenance from the royal counselor Claude Rabot, an enigmatic figure linked to magico-ermetic circles and a student in Padua in 1534, where he was accused of possessing forbidden books. The work reflects the tension between naturalistic knowledge and alchemical research in Renaissance France, set against a backdrop of extraordinary editorial and intellectual revival.
Market value
Copies of this edition are rarely seen on the market. Complete and well-preserved specimens have reached valuations between 4,000 and 6,000 euros in recent years, with higher peaks (over 7,000) for copies with illustrious provenance or in an intact contemporary binding. Editions with a rubricated frontispiece and an intact woodcut frame, as in this specimen, are particularly appreciated by collectors of Pliny and French humanistic typography.

Physical description and condition
Modern leather binding that retains parts of the original plates, six-ribbed spine with gilt titles on a label, blind decorations, and red cuts. The title page printed in red and black within an elaborate woodcut frame featuring architectural motifs and classical busts; woodcut headers, initials, and typographic marks. The title page has been washed and restored with minor losses; repairs and losses to the first and last pages; glued-in guard; some water stains and humidity traces; small woodworm holes, foxing, and slight marginal stains. Claudius Rabotus (ownership note on the title page and colophon); contemporary marginal annotations, sometimes trimmed. Pages (2); 32 unnumbered; 718; 2 unnumbered.

Full title and author
Natural history.
Paris, by Galliotum Pratensem, 1530.
Gaius Plinius Secundus.

Context and Significance
Quest edition represents one of the earliest and most influential Renaissance interpretations of Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia. Stéphane de Laqué (or Stephanus Aqueus) accompanies the text with a set of comments that attempt to reconcile the ancient naturalistic heritage with the new empirical and experimental curiosity of the 16th century. The graphic layout, of refined elegance, follows the typographic tradition of Galliot du Pré, one of the leading Parisian printers of the early 1500s, known for the use of architectural frontispieces and for collaborating with humanist typographers like Pierre Vidoue.
The specimen belonging to Claude Rabot, a royal advisor and scholar connected to the Padovan environment, suggests a 'hermetic' reading of Pliny's text, perceived during the Renaissance as a source of natural and occult wisdom. The connections with his brother Guillaume Rabot, a translator of alchemical texts and promoter of Roger Bacon's Miroir d’alchimie, increase the historical and symbolic interest of this copy, in which the Naturalis Historia appears as a universal compendium of natural sciences, arts, and mysteries of the cosmos.

Biography of the Author
Gaius Plinius Secundus, known as the Elder (Como, 23 AD – Stabia, 79 AD), was a Roman military officer, naturalist, and writer. His encyclopedic work Naturalis Historia is one of the most extensive syntheses of ancient knowledge, covering astronomy, zoology, botany, mineralogy, medicine, and art. He died during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD while attempting to observe the phenomenon up close. His legacy influenced medieval and Renaissance science, serving as a bridge between empirical curiosity and philosophical speculation.

Printing history and circulation
Printed in Paris in 1530, this edition represents one of the most important achievements of Galliot du Pré's workshop, the king's privileged bookseller-publisher, who used the presses of Pierre Vidoue. The collaboration with Poncet le Preux, known for disseminating humanist and school texts, marked the full maturity of Parisian typography in the early 16th century. Copies of this edition were mainly intended for French university and academic circles but were also exported to Italy and the Flanders. The composition in two colors and the harmonious page structure, with wide margins and decorative initials, make it a typical example of pre-aldine French editorial elegance.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Adams P1530. — Renouard, Parisian printers and booksellers of the 16th century, I, p. 324. — Brunet IV, 707. — Graesse V, 339. — Baudrier, Lyonese bibliography, IX, p. 73. — Mortimer, French Sixteenth Century Books, 444. — USTC 146273.