LUCAN

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Lucan's Pharsalia or De bello civili is an epic poem, the greatest in Latin after the Aeneid, on the subject of the civil war between Pompey and Caesar.  A native of Cordoba, Spain, Lucan (a.d. 39–65) was the grandson of the elder Seneca, nephew of the younger Seneca, and the brother of the Gallio mentioned in Acts 18.   He published the Pharsalia in a.d. 62 or 63, but it seems likely that his poetic talent aroused the jealously of the vain Nero, as he forbade him to write or even plead in the courts, and then later compelled him to commit suicide for alleged treason. The editio princeps of Lucan was printed in Rome by Sweynheym and Pannartz in 1469.   This little offering of his works is in CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.

An EarlyENGLISH Translation

Lucanus, Marcus Annaeus [Lucan].

•  Second edition of May’s esteemed English verse translation, following Thomas Jones’s first printing of 1627. Lucan (A.D. 39–65), born in Cordoba, Spain, and raised in Rome, was the grandson of the elder Seneca, nephew of the younger Seneca, and the brother of the Gallio mentioned in Acts 18; he published the Pharsalia in A.D. 62 or 63, but it seems likely that his poetic talent aroused the jealously of the vain Nero, as he forbade him to write or even plead in the courts, and then later compelled him to commit suicide for alleged treason.

The editio princeps of the Pharsalia was printed in Rome by Sweynheym and Pannartz in 1469; Christopher Marlowe published the first English translation of any part of the Pharsalia, his rendition of the first book, in 1600, with a 1614 effort by Sir Arthur Gorges being the only other such to precede May’s standard-setting 1626 English version of books one through three.

In the present volume, this great epic poem in May’s translation is accompanied by its translator’s English rendition of his own sequel, originally written in Latin verse. This Continuation advances the action through Cleopatra’s seduction of Caesar (May depicts the Egyptian queen with “snowie necke” and “golden tresses”), the death of Cato, and various additional battles before arriving at Caesar’s death. At the time, May’s work was thought highly enough of that Charles I allowed the Continuation’s dedication to bear his name.

•  Pharsalia: STC 16888; Schweiger, II, 567; ESTC S108868. Continuation: STC 17712; ESTC S108892. 20th-century black morocco in imitation of early, severe style, with raised bands from which blind-tooling extends onto covers; spine with gilt-stamped title and date, and turn-ins elaborately tooled in blind. Moderately worn, spine faded not unattractively, and leather rubbed over joints. Front pastedown with bookplate, inked date of 1986; front free endpaper with inked gift inscription dated 1944. T1-2 trimmed differently and possibly surviving from another copy; A3 of the continuation also possibly supplied. Occasional instances of very minor staining; mostly clean. Pleasant on shelf and in hand.

AGAIN Lucan English’d

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•  THIRD edition, following the first of 1627, of Thomas May’s English translation of Lucan’s epic poem . . .

•  ESTC S108867; STC (2nd ed.) 16889. Continuation: ESTC S108892; STC (2nd ed.) 17712. Both: Lowndes, III, 1408. Period-style calf by Grace (signed “GB” on lower back turn-in), framed and panelled in gilt rolls, spine with gilt-stamped leather title and author labels and gilt-stamped decorations in compartments. Outer and lower edges of the engraved title-page of second work shaved, touching design. Light waterstaining to upper portions of approx. 25 ff. of Continuation; small area of worming to lower inner margins of a few leaves, touching the occasional catchword but not main text.

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A Blaeu Pharsalia
WithNotes by Grotius

•  This 1643 Blaeu edition has notes by Hugo Grotius and an engaging engraved title-page.

•  Schweiger, Handbuch der classischen Bibliographie, II, 563–64. On Lucan, see: Oxford Companion to Classical Literature 328–29. Vellum over paste boards; spine with inked title: lightly soiled with a few small spots. A pair of inkspots on title-page, touching top of engraving; otherwise scattered light spotting and traces of soiling only. Bookplate on front pastedown. Inked ownership inscriptions of "C[?]. Fabricius," "M.G. Boettneri," and "KT" on front free endpaper, and another (more difficult to decipher) in bottom margin of title-page. Inked notations on rear pastedown and front free endpaper. All edges speckled blue and red.

Provenance: Bookplate of Robert Askew Tucker (Professor Emeritus of Classics at the University of Georgia); back pastedown with label of Ossining, NY bookseller William Salloch.

•  ESTC R11073; Wing (rev.) L3387; Schweiger, Handbuch der classischen Bibliographie, II, 567. Contemporary calf framed in double blind fillets, spine ruled in blind with gilt-stamped title; leather abraded with most of the gilt title worn away. Pagination skips from 148 to 151, but the catchword and collation indicate that the text is continuous. First books of each work with line numbers marked in the margins.

FirstElzevir Lucan — Red Morocco–Bound

•  This variorum is first of four Elzevir editions and includes the complete notes of Grotius and Farnaby, as well as selections from those of others. The engraved title-page is signed “I. Hackius sculp.” and shows the scene of Pompey’s head being brought before Caesar. There is a very fine map of the Roman Empire at the time of the Civil War bound in before p. 1. The text is in italic with footnotes in roman in two columns, and is decorated with woodcut headpieces and initials.

Binding: Elegantly simple 20th-century red morocco; covers with double gilt rules; spine compartments with double gilt rules, second gilt-lettered. All edges speckled red.

Provenance: Booklabel of William Salloch on rear pastedown.

•  Willems 1234. Binding as above; spine with fine cracks; covers somewhat rubbed. Bookplate on front pastedown. Tissue paper repair on map and Ss8. Small chips from a few page corners, with no loss of text. Pages generally clean with a few small spots of wax-browning. Attractive.

A NeatIllustrated Volume

Lucanus, Marcus Annaeus [Lucan].

•  Lucan’s Pharsalia in the French verse translation done by Georges de Brébeuf, here in an uncommon and relatively early edition. Brébeuf’s version was originally published in 1654, with several editions (including one Elzevir) following over the next few years, and one additional Paris printing by Loyson appearing in the same year as this example, which is acknowledged in the statement of privilege. The10 full-page engravings present in this nicely printed volume include a frontispiece displaying a bust of Lucan (a native of Cordoba, Spain) surrounded by Roman motifs, an additional engraved title-page bearing a martial scene, and—among other war images done by various hands—a striking rendition of Cato and the snakes.

•  Schweiger, II, 568 (citing the 1666 Pierre Ribou and the Loyson eds.). Contemporary mottled calf, board edges gilt-stamped, spine gilt extra, with raised bands and a gilt-stamped leather title label; moderately worn, leather cracking over joints, edges rubbed with corners bumped, spine with small chip to head exposing headband and with small paper label at foot. All page edges speckled in red and brown. Lacking final blank (only). Front pastedown with bookplate dated 1969. Pages clean; slight offsetting from a few illustrations.

Rowe’s Lucan — Folio & Illustrated

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•  First edition of Rowe’s well-regarded English translation of Lucan’s account of the Roman Civil War — the greatest epic poem in Latin after the Aeneid. The title-page gives a publication year of 1718, but Anne Rowe’s dedication is dated 1719, and Foxon confirms that date.

The dramatic frontispiece was engraved by B. Baron after L. Cheron. The work is additionally illustrated with 20 in-text engravings designed by Cheron and engraved by E. Kirkall (the title-page vignette being a rather distressing representation of Lucan’s final moments), as well as with a very attractive oversized, folding map of the Roman Empire, featuring a grouping of warriors in the upper right corner and a series of animals in the lower left corner.

•  ESTC T113355; Foxon R292; Schweiger, II, 567. Contemporary half calf over marbled paper–covered sides, nicely rebacked preserving original gilt-stamped leather spine label, spine with gilt-stamped decorations in between gilt-ruled raised bands; paper faded and rubbed. Hinges (inside) reinforced some time ago; front free endpaper with lower outer corner repaired. A very few light spots of foxing to early and later pages, most pages clean.

“A Valuable Edition” — per Dibdin

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•  First edition of Pieter Burman’s edition of the Pharsalia, Lucan’s account of the Roman Civil War — the greatest epic poem in Latin after the Aeneid. The engraved title-page vignette was done by J. Van der Spyk after a design by J. de Groot.

Binding / Provenance: Contemporary calf, framed in gilt triple fillets and panelled in gilt quadruple fillets with gilt-stamped corner fleurons and gilt-stamped central coat of arms of the Wilder family, with the motto “Virtuti moenia cedant.”

•  Schweiger, II, 565; Dibdin, II, 186–87. Binding as above, rebacked making use of most of the original spine, spine with gilt-stamped compartments and gilt-stamped leather title-label; edges worn and rubbed, portions of original spine leather cracked and chipped. Front pastedown with small abraded area; front fly-leaf with inked inscriptions dated 1834 and 1938. Some leaves with faint waterstaining in upper margins and lower outer corners. Attractive.

Lucan BearingPlates after Gravelot

Lucanus, Marcus Annaeus.

•  The illustrated plates in this edition are after Gravelot, and the French translation is by M. Marmontel.

Binding: Contemporary treed calf, spine gilt extra with badge of a thistle in compartments; red leather labels. Marbled endpapers. All edges red.

Provenance: Small booklabel of William Salloch on rear pastedown.

•  Schweiger, Handbuch der classischen Bibliographie, II, 568. Cohen & DeRicci, Livres à gravure du XVIII siècle, 662. Not in Ray, The Art of the French Illustrated Book 1700–1914. Binding as above, gilt somewhat dimmed; some chipping of leather to corners and spine tips, and endpapers rubbed. Internally generally clean, with some browning from turn-ins and a few spots of soiling. Bookplate on front pastedowns.

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A Simple & Workman-likeBipontine Edition

•  This unassuming, rather “homey” octavo edition of 1783 was printed in Zweibrücken at the ducal printing office, noted for printing a number of fine editions of the classics. In addition to the usual preliminaries and the advertised notitia literaria, a very useful list and discussion of the editions of Lucan printed up to that point is also included in this, the first Bipontine edition of that author. The volume’s one ornament is a striking engraved vignette on the title-page that shows the head of Pompey being offered to Caesar.

•  Schweiger, Handbuch der classischen Bibliographie, II, 565; Dibdin (4th ed.), An Introduction to . . . Greek and Latin Classics, I, 188. Brown paper over light boards, spine with now-illegible paper label; stained and faded, corners bumped. A little foxing and soiling on endpapers and half-title; otherwise internally clean. Bookplate with inked date on front pastedown. All edges heavily speckled red.

Lucan for theFirst Republic

Lucanus, Marcus Annaeus.

•  The illustrated plates in this edition are after Perrin, and the French translation is by Brébeuf.

Binding: Contemporary treed calf, spines gilt extra with red labels and covers gilt-framed; gilt edges and gilt inner dentelles. Marbled endpapers in a French shell pattern. All edges gilt.

Provenance: Small booklabel of William Salloch on rear pastedown.

•  Schweiger, Handbuch der classischen Bibliographie, II, 568. Cohen & DeRicci, Livres à gravure du XVIII siècle, 662. Not in Ray, The Art of the French Illustrated Book 1700–1914. Leather on spines and edges of covers dry and chipped; joints open, but sewing holding. Some closed tears to endpapers and front free endpaper of vol. I partially detached; paper generally clean with occasional spots of light browning or foxing. Bookplate on front pastedowns. Plates clean and charming.

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