VALERIUS, MAXIMUS. Valerii Maximi Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium.
Venezia, Dionigi Bertocchi & Pellegrino Pasquali, 1485
An extremely rare Venetian incunabulum, with a commentary by the humanist and grammarian Ognibene de' Bonisoli. Valerius Maximus’s work, divided into nine books, is an extensive collection of memorable exempla, a sort of compendium of vices and virtues illustrated through historical figures and episodes: each book comprises a series of sections, organised in turn into short paragraphs and generally divided into two parts, one devoted to Roman examples, the other to foreign ones. These "Fatti e detti memorabili" enjoyed great popularity, especially in the Middle Ages, as did, in general, all works that had an encyclopaedic structure and an edifying purpose. The commentary by Ognibene de' Bonisoli (1412–1474), also known as Ognibene da Lonigo, and in Latin texts as Omnibonus Leonicenus, frames the text in smaller type; the editor’s name appears in the colophon
H *15785; BMC v 352; Goff V35.
Folio. 276×198 mm. Full vellum binding. Pages [205]. Collation: p² a-b8 c6 d–z8 &8 [con]8 [rum]6. Leaf F5 is missing. Title on page a2r. Colophon at the end: “Venetiis: per Dionisium & Pelegrinum Bononiensis, 1485 die uero 20. Aprilis”. Roman type, white spaces for initials, text framed by commentary.
Ancient handwritten marginalia. Defects on binding with losses on spine; internally, some discoloration, traces of water stains and small spots.