Henry Davis copy.- Pontanus (Johannes Jovianus) Centum Ptolemaei sententiae ad syrum fratem a Pontano e graeco in latinum tralatae, atque expositae, first Aldine edition, collation: aaa-zzz, AAA-RRR⁸, italic type, initial spaces with guide-letters, woodcut printer's device to verso of colophon f., marginal worming to AAA to end, occasional spotting, handsome 16th century ornately blind-stamped panelled pigskin over boards, signed 'M G' (?Mathias Gärtner, of Augsburg), outer border roll of the Four Evangelists, inner border roll of heads within medallions and armorial shields of Saxony and Augsburg, upper cover with central portrait of Justitia with motto and date of 1569 beneath, lower cover with central portrait of Lucretia, with motto beneath, spine in compartments, with ink title to the uppermost, a few small stains, corners bumped, lightly soiled, a wide-margined copy, 8vo (text block 203 x 127mm; binding 211 x 143mm.), [Venice], [House of Aldus & Andrea Torresani], [September, 1519].

⁂ The Henry Davis copy in a handsome 16th century binding of the first Aldine edition of Pontanus' commentaries on the pseudo-Ptolemaic Centum Sententiae, a collection of astrological aphorisms. Pontanus (1429-1503), an Umbrian who settled in Naples, was an important Italian humanist, diplomat, scholar and poet. His many works were cited by contemporaries as masterful examples of Ciceronian style. The first Aldine edition of his works comprises three volumes, printed between June, 1518 and September, 1519, each complete in itself.

Provenance: Henry Davis Collection (book label to front pastedown, small HD label 'P.1376' and pencil inscription beneath 'P1376, 6E' to front free endpaper, and notes card with photograph of binding loosely inserted); and by descent in the family. Henry Davis (1897-1977), collector of important bindings, many of which form 'The Henry Davis Gift' at the British Library.

Literature: Adams P1860; Ahmanson-Murphy 183; Renouard 87:7; EDIT 16 CNCE 47484.