ESTIENNE, Henri.
£4,250 · Offered by Sokol Books
.First edition of this pocket collection of sententiae and proverbs from the Greek and Latin comic authors, edited by Henri Estienne. The volume is in a lovely contemporary painted strapwork binding, probably from a Lyonese or Parisian workshop, the principal sources of production of these charming bindings around the mid 16.th. century. Although the technical procedure of gilding and painting had been developed in Italy, similar relieures à la cire with coloured or uncoloured geometrical interlacings quickly came to typify the elegance of the French Renaissance binders. Enamelled onlays and fine gilt borders were particularly appreciated by the grandest patrons of the day - Grolier, Henry II, Catherine de Medici - and realised only by a handful of skilled doreurs sur cire . The main feature of these bindings is that each one is unique: this is a simple and elegant example, with a peculiar three dots pattern filling in the spaces of the design instead of the more common dense single dots pattern. . . Comicorum Graecorum Sententiae is an entertaining anthology of Greek aphorisms ( sententiae in Laitn, gnomai in Greek), selected, translated and commented on by Henri Estienne. This is one of Estienne s tiniest books, defined pusillus (i.e. very little) in the dedication to the Duke of Bavaria. It begins with a short introductory treatise by Estienne on aphorisms, outlining what they are and how to select them. Then, a few chapters are dedicated to Greek New Comedy playwrigh
- Binding: Hardcover
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