Giulio Cesare - Caesaris Quae Extant - 1669

Collector's copy - The complete works of Caesar, among maps, assaults, and worlds conquered
This monumental Frankfurt edition of 1669, produced by the prestigious Zunneriana workshop and curated by Gottfried Jungermann, represents one of the most ambitious seventeenth-century attempts to depict a total Caesar: historian, strategist, geographer, political symbol, and emblem of military discipline. The strength of the volume lies in its encyclopedic nature: maps of the Roman world, woodcuts of military instruments, representations of animals and peoples described in the Commentaries, critical apparatus in Latin and Greek, extensive indexes, and a visual layout that translates power into sign. The large plate of the Map of the Roman Empire, expanded across a double page, serves as a geographical summary of the conquest, while the engraved frontispiece places Caesar in a classical theater of glory and virtue. A copy that combines the aura of civic binding—bearing the arms of the city of Amsterdam—with the solidity of the text, and that retains the immediacy with which late Seicento Europe read Romanity as an imperial model.
Market value
The sixteenth-century illustrated editions of the Commentarii, in Latin and Greek, present a stable market thanks to their philological importance and the strong iconographic apparatus. Comparable copies, with intact maps and engraved frontispieces, generally range from 500 to 800 euros, with higher fluctuations for specimens with heraldic bindings or notable provenance. The presence of the three large engraved maps and numerous woodcuts in the text increases their value, as does the preservation of the binding in parchment with a civic coat of arms.

Physical description and condition - collector's copy
Contemporary binding in full parchment with arms of the city of Amsterdam at the center of the plate; spine with ribs and handwritten title, small stains and restorations at the joints. Frontispiece entirely engraved with allegorical figures and classical mottos. Three engraved maps, including a large double-page map of the Roman Empire Typus. Numerous woodcuts in the text: war machines, animals cited by Caesar, fortifications, military instruments. Text in Latin and Greek. Some browning. Pages (3); 26 unnumbered; 1048; 107; 24 unnumbered; (6). In ancient books, with a multi-century history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description.

Full title and author
C. Julius Caesar's Works, including the Greek interpreter, Book VII of the Gallic War, with various notes, annotations, and commentaries.
Frankfurt, from the Zunnerian workshop, 1669
Gaius Julius Caesar

Context and Significance
This edition, extensively annotated and featuring a double column of text (Latin and Greek), belongs to the great philological era of the seventeenth century, when scholars aimed for a complete restoration of the classics. Jungermann's commentary, heir to the most rigorous German philology, renders Caesar's text an extremely advanced study tool. The maps are not mere embellishments: they constitute a scientific apparatus designed to visualize the operational theater of the Gallic campaigns. The woodcuts of war machines, bridges, fortified enclosures, as well as exotic animals cited by Caesar, build a technical and anthropological repertoire that transcended pure historiography, influencing treatises on military architecture and political geography of the seventeenth century. The Zunnerian imprint, known for the quality of the engravings and the clarity of the text, makes it one of the most solid editorial products of the era.

Biography of the Author
Gaius Julius Caesar (100–44 BC), military leader, politician, and author, is one of the pillars of Western culture. The Commentaries are not only military reports but narrative models and propaganda tools that establish a clear and authoritative language. Their influence extends from historiography to rhetoric, from pedagogy to political theory, up to modern military cartography.

Printing history and circulation
The Zunneriana workshop of Frankfurt was among the most esteemed of the seventeenth century for illustrated classical production. This second, 'auctior' edition by Jungermann incorporates additional materials, expanded notes, and a top-level cartographic apparatus. The print run was not large, and the presence of complete copies with all three maps is now significant. The binding with the Amsterdam coat of arms indicates an institutional or civic provenance, common in seventeenth-century Dutch libraries.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Graesse II, 4
Schweiger, Handbook of Classical Bibliography I, 57
ESTC and USTC for localizations and variants
Brunet I, 1531
Dibdin, Introduction to the Classics
Oberhuber, Cartography and Military Representations in the Seventeenth Century
Catalogs: BnF, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Herzog August Bibliothek, WorldCat