Struve / Buder - Bibliotheca Historica Selecta - 1740

The great bibliography of history of the German Enlightenment – Buder’s monumental revision of Struve’s “Bibliotheca Historica”, Jena 1740, with a fine allegorical frontispiece, in contemporary vellum

Please note: Volume I only (of two). The volume is complete in itself.

Bibliotheca Historica Selecta in suas classes distributa, cuius primas lineas duxit B. Burc. Gotthelfius Struvius, emendavit et copiose locupletavit Christian. Gottlieb Buder.

Burkhard Gotthelf Struve (1671–1738) / Christian Gottlieb Buder (1693–1763). Jena, at the expense of Christian Heinrich Cuno, 1740.

Thick octavo. Engraved frontispiece, [20] preliminary pages, 984 numbered pages. Woodcut headpiece and decorated initials. Latin text.

Burkhard Gotthelf Struve, professor of history at Jena, was one of the most productive scholars of the early German Enlightenment. His “Bibliotheca Historica”, first published in 1705, set out to do something almost impossible: to guide the reader through the entire body of historical literature, arranged by empires, kingdoms and nations, with a critical judgement on the best authors and editions. It became the standard reference work for historians and book collectors of the 18th century.

After Struve’s death, the Jena publisher Cuno urged Christian Gottlieb Buder, Struve’s pupil and successor to his chair, to bring the work up to date. Buder tells the story himself in the preface: he hesitated for a long time and finally gave in. The result is far more than a reprint. Buder corrected and expanded the text so heavily that the work roughly doubled in size, and this 1740 edition is the first to contain his additions.

This first volume opens with the writers on historical method and continues through the historians of the individual nations. Among its chapters are those on the history of the Netherlands and of England, including a detailed, volume-by-volume account of Rymer’s “Foedera”. For anyone interested in how the 18th century saw its own historical sources, and which books a learned library was expected to own, it remains a fascinating document.

The engraved frontispiece is a charming baroque allegory: Father Time, winged and carrying his scythe, draws back a heavy curtain to reveal naked Truth holding a radiant sun, while putti below write the deeds of history into a great folio and others pour crowns and coats of arms from a horn of plenty.

Condition: Contemporary full vellum with a handwritten ink title on the spine (“Struvii Bibliotheca Historica Tom. I”), red edges. The vellum is soiled and stained, most noticeably on the spine, and the boards are slightly bowed, as is common with vellum bindings of this age. The binding is firm and sound. Inside, the paper is clean and fresh throughout, with only occasional small spots. The frontispiece is a strong, dark impression. One page number is misprinted (504 as “594”), as issued. The pages are in very good condition and only slightly browned. A well-preserved copy in its first binding.

Pages: 2 p. + 10 p. + 8 p. + 984 p.

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