Plato. [Apanta ta tou Platonos. Omnia Platonis opera], 2 parts in 2 vol., edited by Aldus Manutius & Marcus Musurus, collation: 1¹² 2⁴ a-z⁸ a-hh⁸ ii⁴; A-Z⁸ AA-DD⁸ EE⁴ (2⁴ & ii⁴ blank), initial spaces with guide-letters, final f. with woodcut printer's device verso, lacking first 6 preliminary leaves including title and final blank ii4 to vol. 1, first few leaves with small marginal repairs, 1⁷ also with tear into text repaired with small loss to few letters, 2E1 very small paper-flaw to upper-margin, vol. 2 with damp-stain to inner-margin of final 2 Sig., vol. 1 with single tiny wormhole or small trace within text from start to l6, once washed with marginal annotations faded (c3-5 with less faded annotation in red ink), some light foxing or browning and surface soiling, soiling slightly heavier to verso of final f. with device, but generally good, 18th century mottled calf, sympathetically rebacked and recornered, spines with raised bands and titled in gilt, covers slightly rubbed, folio (293 x 177mm.), Venice, House of Aldus & Andrea Torresano, September, 1513.

⁂ The editio princeps of Plato's works in the original Greek. A cornerstone of Aldus' programme of Greek publications, this edition became the foundation of Renaissance Platonism.

Provenance: Reputedly John Jortin (1698–1770), eminent Anglican scholar, purchased by him in 1740 (later pencil note to pastedown); B.R.T. Balfour (bookplate); John Sparrow (bookplate).

Literature: Adams P1436; Ahmanson-Murphy 114; Renouard 62:4 (“rare et précieuse”); EDIT 16 CNCE 37450.