Beschreibung:

[42], 520; [4], 258 pp. pi1, A-K2, B4-Uuu4, A4-Yy4, pi1. With 74 copper-engraved plates including an elaborate frontispiece with bust of Homer at center. Woodcut historiated initials, head- and tailpieces. (Folio) 39.3x24.7 cm (15½x9¾"), early calf bordered in blind with blind-stamped corner fleurons, raised bands, morocco lettering piece. The Second Ogilby Edition. A rare matching set of Ogilby's Homer, with almost all the plates. Considerable bibliographic confusion surrounds the question of the correct and proper plate count for Ogilby's Homer. The inclusion of plates in the bound volume (including the portrait plates) was perhaps an option for the buyer, and thus was variable; there is some irregularity in the number of plates required per chapter of the work; and some uncertainty surrounds the question of whether the first and second editions of Ogilby's Homer are to have identical plates and plate counts. Complete suites of plates seem to be the exception rather than the rule. The first Ogilby edition of the Iliad was printed in 1660; the first Ogilby edition of the Odyssey was printed in 1665. The 1669 printings of these two works constitute the second editions of each text, and the two works were available either as a set or as individual volumes. The present copy, while not containing an absolute maximum of plates, is unusual for its relative completeness. Armorial bookplate from the family of Sir John Cope with motto "Aquo Adeste Animo" - Be ready with constancy. Ownership marks from an early hand in pen on recto of frontispiece. Sir John (or Jonathan) Cope (1688–1760) was a Whig Member of Parliament.