Beschreibung:

GREEK ANTHOLOGY — Anthologia Graeca Planudea , in Greek. Recension by Maximus Planudes (c.1299), edited by Janus Lascaris (1445-1535). Florence: Laurentius Francisci de Alopa, 11 August 1494. Editio princeps of the Planudean anthology. With the editor's dedicatory letter to Piero de Medici, often missing, presumably suppressed because of Piero’s proscription and flight from Florence. The text of this poetic collection is that revised by Planudes in 1299; Lascaris’ edition established the text for centuries until the earlier Palatine Anthology was rediscovered. The Greek Anthology is printed entirely in Lorenzo's fount of two sets of Greek capitals, designed by Lascaris. He explains in his dedicatory letter how difficult it was for punch-cutters and typefounders to reproduce Greek script and that he has therefore gone back to using capital letter forms found in antique inscriptions. Cf. Proctor, Printing of Greek p. 78-79; Barker p. 39-42; Wilson p. 98-99. HC *1145; GW 2048; BMC VI, 666; IGI 599; CIBN A-410; Rhodes, Annali 40; Flodr, Anthologia 1; Goff (+ Suppl.) A-765. Median quarto (220 x 155mm). Initial spaces. Final quire, often suppressed, extended at fore-margins and probably supplied. (Without final blank leaf, lightly washed, occasional faint spotting.) Red morocco janseniste by Chambolle-Duru, gilt edges (small repaired scuff on back cover). Provenance : Baron Horace de Landau (1824-1903; monogram bookplate) – 19th-century annotations in the final quire – Clifford Rattey (bookplate) – W. Senn-Dürck (booklabel).