Beschreibung:

Cicero, Marcus Tullius. M. T. C. Epistolae familiares, accuratius recognitae. M. D. XII. Index etiam ad inveniendum, quota nam charta habeantur singulae quaeque epistolae. Venice: (Aldo Manuzio & Andrea Torresano), [1512]
First issue, with "declatioi" in last line of index. This is a reprint of the 1502 Aldine edition, now supplied with an index.
The binding is Parisian, though with Venetian-style decoration. Pierre Roffet owned tools similar to those of the Mendoza Binder; "though his alphabet of roman capitals displayed on upper covers was disproportionately large, he succeeded in producing passable imitations of Venetian trade bindings" (A. Hobson, Humanists and Bookbinders, p. 174, and illustrating this binding on p.175). Another very similar Roffet binding with lettering is in the British Library, on a copy of Sannazaro's Arcadia of 1514 (c.64.b.10).
8vo (165 x 98 mm). Italic type, 30 lines plus headline. collation: a-z8 aa-kk8 ll8: 272 leaves, last leaf blank. Woodcut Aldine device on title-page. (Slight damp-staining.)
binding: Contemporary calf gilt by Pierre Roffet (172 x 105 mm), ca. 1520, gilt arabesque border with central gilt arabesque stamp, lettered CICERO IN EP at head, spine with blind ruling, gilt edges, stubs from four pairs of ties. (Small repairs to corners, ends of upper joint and spine.)
provenance: Librairie Lardanchet, catalogue 43 (1939), item 1165 — Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co., London, 19-20 July 1976, lot 31, £550, to Maggs — Charles van der Elst (1904-1982) — Ader Picard Tajan, sale, Monte Carlo, 13 May 1985, lot 53, FF 40,000 to H.P. Kraus. acquisition: Purchased from Kraus, New York, 1985. references: UCLA 107; Aldo Manuzio tipografo 109; Edit16 12185; Renouard 59/3 ("presque introuvable")