first Booke of Architecture, made by Sebastian Serly, entreating of Geometrie: Translated out of Italian into Dutch, and out of Dutch into English.

London: Printed for Robert Peake, 1611. The first Booke of Architecture, made by Sebastian Serly, entreating of Geometri. Translated out of Italian into Dutch, and out of Dutch into English. London: Printed for Robert Peake, 1611.

Full description:

SERLIO, Sebastiano. The first [-fift] Booke of Architecture, made by Sebastian Serly, entreating of Geometrie. Translated out of Italian into Dutch, and out of Dutch into English. London: Printed for Robert Peake, 1611.

First English edition. Folio (13 5/8 x 9 1/2 inches; 340 x 240 mm). [3], 13; [1], 26, [1, blank]; [1], 73; 72; 16 leaves. Copiously illustrated with full-page and intertextual woodcuts. With title-page of first book in facsimile. Although the first title is in facsimile, all four other titles are present and complete. The book is textually complete, and includes the often-missing blank leaf at the end of Book II. Mostly printed in black letter. Book four also includes early engravings of Serlio's Roman alphabet.

Bound in later full sheep with lattice pattern stamped in blind on boards. Spine lettered in gilt. Newer endpapers. Front free endpaper with previous owner's ex-libis embossed in blind. Some old ink maginalia and an old faded owner inscription to the bottom of the final leaf of book one dated "1767." A number of pages with marginal restoration, but only a few of these pages with the repairs invading the image or text. Many leaves bound on stubs, but with no loss at inner margins. A few leaves trimmed close just barely affecting headline or small portion of a diagram. Tears to leaves 13 in book 3 and and 44 in book 4, professionally repaired with no real loss. Larger repairs to the blank lower margins of the preliminary leaves of Book 1. Leaves 15 and 16 of the 5th book with more major marginal repairs, with woodcut suffering a bit of loss on leaf 15. All in all, the text and images are mostly clean and the paper is strong. Overall a very handsome copy of this rare title.

"This translation of Serlio is the earliest connected work on architecture in the English language" (Fowler).

Fowler p. 265. STC 22235.

HBS 68814.

$10,000.