Opus, de vitis ac gestis summorum pontificum ad Sixtum IV. Pont. Max. deductum Fideliter a litera ad literam denuo impressum, secundum duo exemplaria, quorum unum fuit vivente adhuc autore, anno MCCCCLXXIX. alterum anno M.D.XXIX.

[s.l., Amsterdam?]: [s.n.], 1664. Hardcover. See Description. 12mo. pp. [48], 672. Re-backed, preserving period calf boards (rubbed with areas of darkening). Endpapers are tastefully renewed with laid paper. The inside front cover displays a remounted 19th century bookplate, ("The Hope Trust 31 Moray Place, Edinburgh"). A modern bookbinder’s ticket is pasted on the inner rear cover. Interior pages show occasional minor wear and ageing but are generally clean. A single word on page 43 is lightly underlined in an early hand; the bottom marginal corner tips on pages 99 and 395 are clipped. Page 533/34 contains a 25 mm. tear - professionally sealed. Bartolomeo Platina (1421-1481) was an Italian scholar. During the pontificate of Pope Paul II (1417-1471) Platina and other humanists were dismissed from their positions in the Roman College. Platina led a protest which ended with his imprisonment and torture. He was eventually exonerated. Later, Pope Sixtus IV appointed Platina to be the first prefect of the newly founded Vatican Library. Sixtus also commissioned him to write a history of the popes. According to the "Catholic Encyclopedia," Platina’s "De Vitis pontificum," (first printed in Venice, 1479), "…is a work of no small merit, for it is the first systematic handbook of papal history." The book contains more than hagiographies. Platina portrays his enemy Paul II as a tyrant, and he occasionally records pieces of lore which do not always place the Church in the best light – i.e. a brief history of the legendary female pontiff "Pope Joan" can be found under John VIII (Ioannes VIII). The [Netherlands?], 1645 edition and the [s.l.], 1664 edition are both based on the original text of 1479 and on the 1529 edition. (Note: another 1664 edition exists with variant pagination). [Potthast, Wegweiser, p. 931; VD17, 23: 278377K; Brunet IV, 692; Graesse V, p. 313 – listing the edition with variant pagination].