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GAZA. Introductiuae grammatices libri quatuor.

1495
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GAZA. Introductiuae grammatices libri quatuor.
1495

 
GAZA, Theodorus. Introductiuae grammatices libri quatuor. Eiusdem de mensibus opusculum sane quam pulchtum. Apollonii grammatici de constructione libri quatuor. Herodianus de numeris. 
[Grammatica introductiva, in Greco]
Venezia, Aldo Manuzio, 25 dicembre 1495

Edizione originale dei due testi di Gaza impressi in greco ed Editio Princeps dei due testi grammaticali. Questa importantissima grammatica è una delle prime opere uscite dalla bottega di Aldo Manuzio. È stampata con il primo alfabeto greco utilizzato da Aldo Manuzio prima del 1496, basato sul greco moderno. La Grammatica fu preceduta solo dall'edizione senza data di Musaeus, dalla Galeaomyomachia (anch'essa pubblicata senza data) e dalla grammatica di Costantino Lascaris del 1495. Thomas More teneva in grande considerazione quest'edizione e la considerava tra le opere essenziali per gli eruditi che abitavano la sua isola di Utopia. Proctor: “Aldus broke away from the usage of his predecessors, and produced this type based not upon the noble and beautiful older book-hand, but on the ordinary correspondence of business handwriting of his day, not without merit for its freedom and flowing lines ; and for that very reason eminently unsuited for fixing the rigid uniformity of type. To avoid this as far as possible, variants without end of the same letter or contractions were made, and new combinations, each more extravagant and contorted than the last, were incessantly added. The Gaza of December 1495 is an example of the extreme point to which the use of contractions was carried. The developments of these exaggerations may be well studied in the alphabets of the French Royal types... This double pica Greek, recast from that used in the Laskaris, was the only Greek fount possessed by Aldus till 1496, and it continued in use to some extent till 1498, the Aristophanes of that year being the last book in which it is found”.
Babcock & Sosower: “Around 1490 [Aldus] began working on a Greek type-face with the assistance of Francesco Griffo. They fashioned a type in imitation of contemporary handwriting, and it appears that the first Aldine found was partially based on the writing of Immanuel Rhusotas, a Cretan scribe living in Venice”
Teodoro di Gaza, 1400 - 1478, è stato un traduttore, filosofo e grammatico greco. Nato a Salonicco, si stabilì in Italia nel 1429. Nominato rettore dell'Università di Ferrara, Cosimo de' Medici gli offrì una cattedra di grammatica, che egli rifiutò, preferendo Roma, dove fu ammesso alla corte di papa Niccolò V. La Grammatica introduttiva è una delle prime grammatiche greche di concezione moderna.

IGI 4181; Essling 887; Ahmanson-Murphy, 5; BMC V, 553; GW 10562; Goff G-110; IGI 4181; Proctor, The Printing of Greek in the 15th Century, p. 90ff.; Renouard 4:2.
Cfr. Babcock & Sosower, in: Learning from the Greeks: An Exhibition commemorating the Five-Hundreth Anniversary of the Founding of the Aldine Press, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 1994, p. 41.

In folio. 305 x 185 mm. Legatura italiana del XVI secolo, vitello bruno, piatti decorati con due ampi tondi a secco, fregi agli angoli, dorso con nervature in rilievo. Fogli 198 non numerati. Segn.: a8 bß-l?8, ²a8 b¹° A?-L?8 M?4. Colophon a carta M?4 recto; altro colophon in greco a c. l?8r. A c. a1v: "Aldus Manucius Romanus lectori". - Alle c. a2r-l?8r: Grammatica introductiva di Teodoro Gaza. - Alle c. ²a8r-b10r: De mensibus di Teodoro Gaza. - Alle c. AA1r-MM2r: De constructione di Apollonius Dyscolus. - Alle c. MM2v-MM3v: De numeris di Herodianus. Testatine e iniziali xilografiche, carattere Greco e Romano. Ex libris Conti di Macclesfield, North Library, incollato al foglio di guardia. Abili restauri al margine interno di alcuni fogli. Bell'esemplare.

Condition Report

GAZA, Theodorus. Introductiuae grammatices libri quatuor. Eiusdem de mensibus opusculum sane quam pulchtum. Apollonii grammatici de constructione libri quatuor. Herodianus de numeris. 
[Introductory grammar, in Greek]
Venice, Aldus Manutius, December 25, 1495

First edition of the two Gaza texts printed in Greek and Editio Princeps of the two grammatical texts.
This very important grammar is one of the first works to come out of Aldus Manutius's workshop. It is printed in the first Greek alphabet used by Aldus Manutius before 1496, based on Modern Greek. The Grammatica was preceded only by the undated edition of Musaeus, the Galeaomyomachia (also published undated), and the grammar of Constantine Lascaris of 1495.
Thomas More held this edition in high regard and considered it among the essential works for the scholars who inhabited his island of Utopia.
Proctor: “Aldus broke away from the usage of his predecessors, and produced this type based not upon the noble and beautiful older book-hand, but on the ordinary correspondence of business handwriting of his day, not without merit for its freedom and flowing lines ; and for that very reason eminently unsuited for fixing the rigid uniformity of type. To avoid this as far as possible, variants without end of the same letter or contractions were made, and new combinations, each more extravagant and contorted than the last, were incessantly added. The Gaza of December 1495 is an example of the extreme point to which the use of contractions was carried. The developments of these exaggerations may be well studied in the alphabets of the French Royal types... This double pica Greek, recast from that used in the Laskaris, was the only Greek fount possessed by Aldus till 1496, and it continued in use to some extent till 1498, the Aristophanes of that year being the last book in which it is found”.
Babcock & Sosower: “Around 1490 [Aldus] began working on a Greek type-face with the assistance of Francesco Griffo. They fashioned a type in imitation of contemporary handwriting, and it appears that the first Aldine found was partially based on the writing of Immanuel Rhusotas, a Cretan scribe living in Venice”
Theodore of Gaza, c. 1400 - 1478, was a Greek translator, philosopher, and grammarian. Born in Thessaloniki, he settled in Italy in 1429. Appointed rector of the University of Ferrara, Cosimo de' Medici offered him a chair of grammar, which he declined, preferring Rome, where he was admitted to the court of Pope Nicholas V. His Introductory Grammar is one of the first modern Greek grammars.

IGI 4181; Essling 887; Ahmanson-Murphy, 5; BMC V, 553; GW 10562; Goff G-110; IGI 4181; Proctor, The Printing of Greek in the 15th Century, p. 90ff.; Renouard 4:2. See Babcock & Sosower, in : Learning from the Greeks: An Exhibition commemorating the Five-Hundreth Anniversary of the Founding of the Aldine Press, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 1994, p. 41.

Folio. 305 x 185 mm. 16th-century Italian binding, brown calf, covers decorated with two large blind circles, corner friezes, spine with raised ribs. 198 unnumbered leaves. Collation: a8 bß-l?8, ²a8 b¹° A?-L?8 M?4. Colophon on leaf M?4 recto; another colophon in Greek on leaf. l?8r. On leaf a1v: "Aldus Manucius Romanus lectori". On leaf a2r-l?8r: Introductory grammar by Theodore Gaza. - On leaf ²a8r-b10r: On mensibus by Theodore Gaza. - On leaf AA1r-MM2r: On constructione by Apollonius Dyscolus. - On leaf MM2v-MM3v: De numeris by Herodianus. Woodcut headpieces and initials, Greek and Roman type. Earls of Macclesfield bookplate, North Library, glued to the flyleaf. Skillful restorations on the inner margin of some leaves. Nice copy.

Bibliografia

IGI 4181; Essling 887; Ahmanson-Murphy, 5; BMC V, 553; GW 10562; Goff G-110; IGI 4181; Proctor, The Printing of Greek in the 15th Century, p. 90ff.; Renouard 4:2. See Babcock & Sosower, in : Learning from the Greeks: An Exhibition commemorating the Five-Hundreth Anniversary of the Founding of the Aldine Press, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 1994, p. 41.
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