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The Poeticon Astronomicon; Being the illustrious astronomer's exposition of the lore of the World and the Heavenly Sphere, together with the stories of the planets and constellations: now for the first time rendered complete into English, and reproducing all the original woodcut illustrations from the first illustrated edition printed by Erhard Ratdolt in Venice, 1482

The Poeticon Astronomicon; Being the illustrious astronomer's exposition of the lore of the World and the Heavenly Sphere, together with the stories of the planets and constellations: now for the first time rendered complete into English, and reproducing all the original woodcut illustrations from the first illustrated edition printed by Erhard Ratdolt in Venice, 1482

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The Poeticon Astronomicon; Being the illustrious astronomer's exposition of the lore of the World and the Heavenly Sphere, together with the stories of the planets and constellations: now for the first time rendered complete into English, and reproducing all the original woodcut illustrations from the first illustrated edition printed by Erhard Ratdolt in Venice, 1482

by Hyginus, Gaius Julius; Livingston, Mark (Prolegomenon / Translator)

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  • Fine
  • Hardcover
Condition
Fine
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Walnut Creek, California, United States
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About This Item

Greenbrae, California: The Allen Press, 1985. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. One of 140 copies, quarto size, 150 pp., with prospectus, in a custom binding. The fifty-first publication of The Allen Press, being the first translation from Latin into English of "The Poeticon Astronomicon," the earliest printed book to show the figures of the constellations. The translators, Mark Livingston and D. Neel Smith of the University of California, Berkeley, performed skilfully with a difficult text; the Hyginus opus can be perused with considerable ease. Hyginus was a first century A.D. writer of voluminous manuscripts, with the Poeticon as his most famous work. The fifteenth century printed edition of Ratdolt, the noted Venetian printer, is a cornerstone Renaissance work as it transmitted the Greek, Roman and medieval images of the constellations which have survived to this day. Of the popular literature dealing with the movement of the stars and planets, this ranks among the best known. It also has distinctive merit as an early scientific treatise, enlivened by the charming Greek and Roman myths of the constellations.

___DESCRIPTION: This volume issued by the Press in sheets, the original owner had it custom bound in full blue morocco with three gilt-stamped constellation designs, red morocco spine label with the title in gilt, red and blue sewn headbands, fore- and bottom-edges uncut, title-page printed in blue and vermillion with a hand-coloured woodcut of Aquarius, forty-eight illustrations after woodcuts of the fifteenth-century first edition; Monotype Garamond Bold and Solemnis types printed on all-rag paper handmade by the Barcham Green Mill, England, quarto size (11" by 7"), [1-6] 7-150 pp., limited edition, one of 140 copies, unnumbered. Loosely laid in is the publisher's prospectus, a single sheet folded once to four pages, the first page (front cover) being the title page with the hand-coloured woodcut, printed in blue and orange, the third page the prospectus information, second and fourth (final) pages blank. Offered with the original shipping box with a hand-written note on the address label indicating "sheets".

___CONDITION: Fine overall; the leather binding smooth and supple, the colours deep and unfaded, the text block strong and square with solid hinges, and the interior clean and bright; the sole prior owner marking being the original owner's initials (likely also the binder) written in black ink at the bottom of the front free endpaper, and a very small (approx. one-half inch) tear at the gutter of the front free endpaper. Prospectus fine, clean and without wear.

___CITATION: Allen Press Bibliography, no. 51.

___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details.

___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.

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Details

Bookseller
Swan's Fine Books US (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #
20051101
Title
The Poeticon Astronomicon; Being the illustrious astronomer's exposition of the lore of the World and the Heavenly Sphere, together with the stories of the planets and constellations: now for the first time rendered complete into English, and reproducing all the original woodcut illustrations from the first illustrated edition printed by Erhard Ratdolt in Venice, 1482
Author
Hyginus, Gaius Julius; Livingston, Mark (Prolegomenon / Translator)
Format/Binding
Hardcover
Book Condition
Used - Fine
Quantity Available
1
Edition
Limited Edition
Publisher
The Allen Press
Place of Publication
Greenbrae, California
Date Published
1985
Weight
0.00 lbs
Keywords
Fine Press, Allen Press, Astronomy, Woodcuts, Handmade paper, Barcham Green Paper

Terms of Sale

Swan's Fine Books

We cheerfully accept returns for any reason within 30 days, so long as the book(s) is/are returned in the same condition as when sent. We will refund the price you paid for the book, plus shipping if the book was misdescribed.

About the Seller

Swan's Fine Books

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2017
Walnut Creek, California

About Swan's Fine Books

Swan's Fine Books specializes in Fine Press, Illustrated Books, and Books About Books. We also carry a wide array of general antiquarian stock and recently acquired a very nice collection of modern lit. Enjoy browsing our web site and visit our brick-and-mortar shop if you are in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Text Block
Most simply the inside pages of a book. More precisely, the block of paper formed by the cut and stacked pages of a book....
IOBA
...
ILAB
...
Fine
A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
Gilt
The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
Gutter
The inside margin of a book, connecting the pages to the joints near the binding.
Title Page
A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
ABAA
...
Quarto
The term quarto is used to describe a page or book size. A printed sheet is made with four pages of text on each side, and the...
Spine Label
The paper or leather descriptive tag attached to the spine of the book, most commonly providing the title and author of the...
Morocco
Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...

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