THE LETTERS ARE MODELS OF GRACEFUL THOUGHT AND REFINED EXPRESSION"

PLINY, The Younger. Epistolarum libri X. Venice: Aldus, 1518. Small octavo, 20th-century full vellum, tan morocco spine label. $2600.

Second Aldine edition of Pliny's famous letters.

With elaborately detailed comments upon the imperial circle, closely-drawn scenes from law courts, councils, and the Roman countryside, and his relation of meetings with philosophers and dilettantes, Pliny provides a lively account Rome in the first century A.D. "The Letters are models of graceful thought and refined expression" (Britannica). Printer Aldus Manutius revolutionized printing with his Aldine Press, by inventing italic type, establishing the modern use and appearance of the semicolon and the comma, and first and foremost by introducing inexpensive (though still finely printed) books in smaller, more convenient formats. The first Aldine edition of Pliny's letter appeared in 1508. With Aldine's iconic anchor and dolphin device on title page and colophon.
Contemporary owner signature, institutional inkstamps on title page, contemporary ink annotations to text.

Light dampstaining to some leaves, not affecting readability of text. A desirable early Aldine edition.