Caii Sallustii Crispi quae exstant opera. Nova edition expurgate.

Paris: Typis Barbou, via Mathurinensium, 1774. Hardcover. Very Good. 12mo (155 x 94mm). Pagination: xxxvj, 346pp., [2, the Catalogus]. Signatures: a(12), b(6), A-O(12), P(6). Three full-page plates engraved by Étienne Fessard (1714–1777) after Charles Nicolas Cochin (1715–1790), one is the frontispiece depicting a neoclassical scene of cherubs presenting the bust of “Crispus Sallust” to muses. Woodcut printer’s device of the brothers Barbou on title page (two flying storks feeding each other a worm in foliated ouroboros: symbolizing fraternity), typographic and engraved head- and tail pieces. Near contemporary French mottled tan calf, gilt-ruled border, spine gilt in six compartments one with red morocco lettering label and title “SALLUS/TIUS,” marbled endpapers, silk bookmark, all edges gilt; (some light edgewear and minor scuffs; few minor marginal stains throughout;overall a very good and sound copy of this scarce edition). The signature “Tho. Walpole” on a front flyleaf verso and the armorial bookplate with heraldry of Thomas Walpole, the younger (1755–1840), Eton and Cambridge-educated British ambassador to Bavaria from 1783 to 1788 and the son of the British financier Thomas Walpole (1727–1803), also the nephew of Sir Robert Walpole (1676–1745) and cousin to Horace Walpole (1717–1797) whom he succeeded in the barony, on front pastedown. Armorial crest as the bookplate of Spencer Horatio Walpole (1806–1898), Home Secretary and second son to that Thomas (d. 1840),affixed to front marbled endpaper and his signature under that of his father’s as “Spencer H. Walpole” with a note written in his hand about a Roman history fragment by Granus Licinianus presented to the British Museum in Dec. 1859. Thomas Walpole, the younger, was 19 years old when this new edition was issued from Barbou’s press and he likely acquired it early on for his studies. This copy remained in the Walpole family for over 120 years. Later ex-libris of the American Arthurian scholar Nathan Comfort Starr (1896–1981), affixed to a front flyleaf.

New duodecimo edition of Roman historian Sallust’s Roman history, covering the Jugurthine War, the Conspiracy of Catiline, and with the Vita of Sallust by Stephan A. Phillippe. It was first published by Joseph Gérard Barbou (fl. 1752–1788) in Paris in 1744 with the imprint“Sumptibus Mich. Steph. David filii.” Another edition was produced by Barbou in 1761, followed by this “nova edition expurgate” of 1774 as the new “cleansed” version of the text. The reading of Roman histories was incredibly important to the law-abiding and enlightened audiences of Western Europe. This copy is significant for its distinguished provenance from a branch of the Walpole family who were likely the original owners. The Walpole family were deeply entrenched in 18th century British government; it would have been crucial for Thomas and Spencer Horatio to be well-read and maintain erudite political discourse with their contemporaries. Thomas’s cousin, the better-known Horace, established the famed Strawberry Hill library and press, also contributing to the learned position of the family. The year 1774, the same year of this edition, saw the death of King Louis XV of France and much social and political tension in the decade prior to the French Revolution. Sallust’s works became particularly popular during the Enlightenment as they encouraged a deeper reading of the “mind and manners” of men. The preliminary note by Spencer Horatio proves thathe had great depth of knowledge about social history and scholarly works. He was a lawyer by profession, but was appointed to the rank Home Secretary in 1852 (before the government fell) and reappointed in 1858 only to resign in 1859 (interestingly, the same year as this copy’s dated note). The Barbou press was known for their fine and ample editions of classic history works and the French engraver, Charles Nicolas Cochin (the Younger), was well-received in his time, enjoying the court patronage of Louis XV. The famous portraitengraving of Thomas Walpole, the elder, was made by Cochin, and it is likely these history engravings appealed to the family who might have regarded him as a favorite. This copy has a wonderful Walpole ownership history and is an important Sallustian Enlightenment-erawork that is rarely found. OCLC locates two institutional copies in the US at NYU and BYU. Brunet V: 87.