The Historie of the World, commonly called the Naturall Historie.London, Adam Islip, 1634. 2 parts in one volume. Folio (23.5 x 32 cm). Elaborate woodcut device on title-page; woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces. Contemporary calf, spine in six compartments, tooled and lettered in gilt.
by PLINIUS Secundus, Gaius (Pliny the Elder)
- Used
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
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't Goy-houten, Netherlands
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About This Item
(58), 614, (42) pp. (12), 632, (86) pp.Pliny's renowned Natural History in its second publication in English (repeating, with corrections, the 1601 first publication), translated by Philemon Holland, the greatest translator of the Elizabethan age. The "Naturalis Historia" is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman empire to the modern day and purports to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to the author. Pliny claims to be the only Roman ever to have undertaken such a work. It comprised 37 books in 10 volumes and covered over 20,000 facts on topics including the fields of botany, zoology, astronomy , geology and mineralogy as well as the exploitation of those resources. It remains a standard work for the Roman period and the advances in technology and understanding of natural phenomena at the time. Some technical advances he discusses are the only sources for those inventions, such as hushing in mining technology or the use of water mills for crushing or grinding corn. Much of what he wrote about has been confirmed by archaeology. ''We know from Pliny that there were important pearl fisheries in the Gulf [...] Pliny identifies Tylos (Bahrain) as a place famous for its pearls [... He] attests that pearls were the most highly rated valuable in Roman society, and that those from the Gulf were specially praised [...] The pearl related finds at the site of El-Dur indicate the site was integrated into the maritime trade routes linking the Roman Empire, the Persian Empire, India and South Arabia'' (Carter). Book 6 holds a chapter that gives the first detailed account of the regions around the Gulf, including what are now Qatar, the Emirates and Oman. Binding rubbed; front hinge splitting. Includes the final printed leaf in vol. 2, containing the publisher's advertisement to the reader that all errors have been corrected in the present edition and the errata leaf (included in the same position in 1601) has become unnecessary rather than having been mistakenly omitted. Some slight browning and brownstaining, but an excellent copy removed in 1973 from the Royal Meteorological Society (Symons Bequest, 1900) with their bookplate on the front pastedown.l STC 20030. Cf. Pforzheimer 496 (1601 ed.).
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Details
- Bookseller
- Antiquariaat FORUM BV (NL)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- I44FL3PUPRNN
- Title
- The Historie of the World, commonly called the Naturall Historie.London, Adam Islip, 1634. 2 parts in one volume. Folio (23.5 x 32 cm). Elaborate woodcut device on title-page; woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces. Contemporary calf, spine in six compartments, tooled and lettered in gilt.
- Author
- PLINIUS Secundus, Gaius (Pliny the Elder)
- Book Condition
- Used
- Keywords
- [94684889A2BD] BOOK HISTORY, EDUCATION, LEARNING & PRINTING|[94684889A2BD] BOOK HISTORY, EDUCATION, LEARNING & PRINTING -> [9D34276F0D25] Dictionaries & Textbooks|[BFFF1D78AE20] HISTORY, LAW & PHILOSOPHY|[BFFF1D78AE20] HISTORY, LAW & PHILOSOPHY -> [G8QGI4
- Note
- May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.
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Antiquariaat FORUM BV
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't Goy-houten
About Antiquariaat FORUM BV
After its foundation at Utrecht in 1970 by Sebastiaan Hesselink, now an internationally recognized expert in the world of rare books, manuscripts & prints, Antiquariaat FORUM soon found place as a widely accepted member of the antiquarian book trade. We carry general stock in old and rare books, with special emphasis on the subjects of Travel, Natural History, Art and Architecture, Children's Books, Bindings, Coloured Plate Books, Emblem Books, Gastronomy, Medicine, Music, Science, 16th Century, Incunables, and Illuminated Manuscripts. All our books are in fine condition, and usually in original bindings.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
- Errata
- Errata: aka Errata Slip A piece of paper either laid in to the book correcting errors found in the printed text after being...
- Hinge
- The portion of the book closest to the spine that allows the book to be opened and closed.