Perotti (Niccolò) Cornucopiae linguae Latinae, collation: A-B⁸ a-z⁸ &⁸ cum⁸ rum⁸ A-O⁶, 307ff. (of 308, lacking final blank), 64 lines, roman type, a3r lower margin with a full-colour coat of arms with extensions of acanthus leaves in maroon, green, red and blue with initials ‘FG’ added later, guide spaces for initials, very slight fraying to title lower corner, some very faint marginal damp-stains, contemporary vellum-backed boards covered with fifteenth-century manuscript ff., upper cover displaying a 4 line initial in colour, and elsewhere some letters in blue and red, a later paper label laid down to upper cover, some worming (mainly around label), housed in modern black calf drop-back box, scuffed and joints worn, folio (308 x 216mm.), Venice, Baptista de Tortis, 1490.

⁂ An excellent copy with an interesting musical association. Composer Franchino Gaffurio's third edition copy of Perotti's important commentary on Book I of Martial, which quickly became a standard reference on the Latin language and a sort of encyclopedia of antiquity. At least 36 editions were published before 1536, when Robert Estienne’s Thesaurus linguae Latinae appeared.

Provenance: Franchino Gaffurio (1451- 1522) the renowned Renaissance composer and musical theorist, court musician to the Sforza in Milan and choirmaster or 'maestro di cappella' at the Duomo. His ownership inscription ‘Liber Franchini Gafurij laudinesis Regij musici / corteque mediolanensis phonasci’ (B8 verso). Meanwhile, an autograph purchase note dated 16 January 1494 (O5 verso) states the price of 3 1⁄2 lire, a very high sum comparative to Gaffurio's likely salary as a music teacher; an indication of his interest in Perotti's work which perhaps he used as an aid for his own teaching, or in the preparation of his own work 'Practica musicae' (1496), full of references to ancient sources such as Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, and Pliny. The title of Perotti's work also features on the inventory of Gaffurio's books made in 1518 when he made a bequest to the Church of the Incornonata in his hometown of Lodi.

Literature: BMC V 326; Goff P-290; GW M31105; ISTC ip00290000.