Plutarch - Les Vies des Hommes Illustres - 1724

Rare 10-volume parchment edition of Plutarch's Lives, complete with all portrait plates – a high-quality and sought-after work of classical history and intellectual history.

Publisher: Amsterdam, R. & G. Wetstein, 1724. 10 volumes with 10 engraved frontispieces and 40 copper plates. Contemporary parchment bindings, 16 x 11 cm.
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In these famous 'Parallel Biographies,' Plutarch depicts the lives of great figures from antiquity and pairs a Greek and a Roman statesman or general against each other. With a keen eye for character and human weaknesses, he tells of power, ambition, virtue, and misconduct—not as dry history but as vivid, morally pointed portraits that have fascinated and influenced readers for centuries.

Here offered is the first edition of the learned translation and commentary by André Dacier, accompanied by historical and critical notes, comparisons, and supplementary texts.

Of particular bibliophilic appeal is the complete preservation of all 10 published volumes – a rarity in this completeness. The edition is also fully complemented by all 40 engraved portrait plates, enhanced by striking allegorical copper frontispieces that emphasize the work's representative character.
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No loose pages or tears, very clean specimens with authentic aging signs.