Roger Payne binding.- Plutarch. Vitae illustrium virorum, collation: *⁴, aalfa-z?⁸, aa??-tt??⁸, uu??^10, complete with blank leaf *4. [4], 345, [1]ff., woodcut Aldine device on fols. a1r and uu10r, blank spaces for capitals with printed guide letters, some foxing, minor stains and spots, some Greek marginal notes, a few maniculae,18th-century red morocco by Roger Payne, covers with border of three gilt fillets, small floral tool at each corner, spine with six raised bands, compartments decorated with gilt floral and volute tools, author's name and imprint lettered in gold, imprint wrongly dated '1619', marbled endpapers, gilt ruled board edges, inner dentelles, gilt edges, spine headcap chipped, joints and cover edges slightly rubbed, overall a very good copy, folio, 311 x 207mm., Venice, Heirs of Aldus Manutius and Andre Torresanus, 1519.

⁂ One of the most handsome editions published by the Aldine Press, at the time directed by Aldus's father-in-law Andrea Torresano. The text was edited by Gian Francesco Torresano, who dedicated the publication to Pietro Bembo.

This copy is in an elegant red morocco binding executed by Roger Payne. "The most famous English binder of the latter half of the eighteenth century is Roger Payne. His reputation has been enhanced by his partiality for strong drink [perhaps accounting for the incorrect date on the spine!] and his elaborate, not always wholly truthful, bills. His typical and best-known bindings were usually in brown russia; red, blue, or green straight-grain morocco; or smooth olive morocco, with purple end-leaves and tall green headbands. They seem to date from the last eight or nine years of his life, when he was mainly working for his namesake, the bookseller Thomas Payne" (H.M. Nixon - M. M. Foot, The History of Decorated Booksbinding in England, Oxford 1992, pp. 91-92). From the library of the outstanding 18^th-century French bibliophile Louis-Jean Gaignat.

Provenance: Louis-Jean Gaignat (1697-1768; inscription on recto of front flyleaf; Michael Wodhull (1740-1816; (ownership inscription 'M. Wodhull Sept: 9th 1769 mar: rouge 4:4:=); from the library of Moncure Biddle (New York, Parke-Bernet Galleries, 1952; see pencilled note on recto of front flyleaf, 'Biddle's bookplate was present when I examined the book before the sale, but, was missing when the book was delivered').