I.
| Record ID | cp010862 |
| Voet reference number | 2451 |
| Museum Plantin-Moretus | c:lvd:1081906 |
| Author | Publius VIRGILIUS MARO |
| Title page transcription | OPERA ‖ P. VIRGILII ‖ MARONIS. ‖ PAVLI MANVTII annotationes breuissimæ in ‖ margine adscriptæ. ‖ HOMERI loca magis insignia, quæ Virgilius ‖ imitatus est. ‖ GEORGII FABRICII Chemnicensis obser- ‖ uationes Virgilianæ lectionis. ‖ ⊕ 17 ‖ ANTVERPIÆ, ‖ Ex officina Christophori Plantini ‖ M.D.LXVI. |
| Collation | 8⁰ (162 × 105): *⁸; pages [1-16] |
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| Pages | [1]: Title [2]: Blank [3-4]: Christoph. Plantinus lectori signed by (Antwerp, 1 December 1565; italic type) [5-6]: Ad Torquatum Bembum, Petri F. Pauli Manutii in Virgilium praefatio (Venice, 1555) [7-16]: P. Virgilii Maronis vita, per Aelium Donatum, ut creditur, edita (parts in italic type, words in greek type) |
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II.
| Title page transcription | [Within woodcut-compartment:] † BVCOLICA □ P. VIRGILII ‖ MARONIS, ‖ Breuibus P. Manutij, & alio- ‖ rum annotationibus illustrata. ‖ ⊕ 13 ‡ ANTVERPIÆ, ‖ Ex officina Christophori Plantini. ‖ - ‖ M.D.LXV. |
| Collation | 8⁰ (162 × 105): a-b⁸; pages 1-32 |
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| Pages | [1]: Title [2]: Blank 3-31: Text (italic type, marginals in roman type) [32]: Blank |
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III.
| Title page transcription | P. VIRGILII ‖ MARONIS ‖ GEORGICA, ‖ Breuibus P. Manutij, & aliorum anno- ‖ tationibus illustrata. ‖ ⊕ 17 ‖ ANTVERPIÆ, ‖ Ex officina Christophori Plantini. ‖ - ‖ M.D.LXV. |
| Collation | 8⁰ [127]: a-e⁸; pages 1-80 |
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| Pages | [1]: Title [2]: Blank 3-75: Text (italic type, marginals in roman type) 75-80: In Georgica Virgilii annotationes, magnam partem ex doctorum virorum scriptis collectae (parts in italic type) |
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IV.
| Title page transcription | P. VIRGILII ‖ MARONIS ‖ ÆNEIS, ‖ Breuibus P. Manutij, & aliorum anno- ‖ tationibus illustrata. ‖ ⊕ 17 ‖ ANTVERPIÆ, ‖ Ex officina Christophori Plantini, ‖ - ‖ CIƆ. IƆ. LXV. |
| Collation | 8⁰ (162 × 105): A-F⁸, G⁴, H-Y⁸; pages 1-343, [344] |
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| Pages | [1]: Title 2-99: Text of libri I-IV (italic type, marginals in roman type) 99-104: G. Fabricii observationes in quatuor priores libros Aeneidos (parts in italic type, words in greek type) 104: Ad lectorem (italic type) 105-213: Text of libri V-VIII (italic type, marginals in roman type) 214-216: G. Fabricii observationes in quatuor medios Aeneidos libros (parts in italic type, words in greek type) 217-234: Text of libri IX-XII (italic type, marginals in roman type) 335-343: Georgii Fabricii observationes in quatuor postremos Aeneid. libros (parts in italic type, words in greek type) [344]: Blank |
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V.
| Title page transcription | [Heading:] P. VIRGILII MARONIS ‖ ALIORVMQVE POETARVM OPVS- ‖ CVLA, SIVE LVSVS. |
| Collation | 8⁰ (162 × 105): a-h⁸, i⁴; pages 1-136 |
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| Pages | [1]: Heading [1] -136: Text (italic type, parts and marginals in roman type) 136: EXCVDEBAT ANTVERPIÆ CHRISTOP. ‖ PLANTINVS ANNO CIƆ IƆ LXVI. ‖ XIX. KAL. FEBRVARII |
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| Copies | Museum Plantin-Moretus - A 162KBR Royal Library of BelgiumCambridgeBritish Library London |
| Bibliographical references | Ruelens-de Backer, page 53 (1566, no. 5) |
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| Note 1 | Text of Virgilius, edited by Paulus Manutius, with marginal notes (by P. Manutius), and some parts with accompanying annotations by other scholars, in five volumes, presented as separate editions with their own pagination: a) Introductory volume with the general title and introductory pieces, dated 1566; b) Bucolica (= Eclogae) (without annotations except the marginal notes), dated 1565; c) Georgica (with annotations 'magnam partem ex doctorum virorum scriptis collectae'), dated 1565; d) Aeneis (with annotations by Georgius Fabricius), dated 1565; e) Lusus (without a title-page; with separate pagination but in fact forming part of the Aeneis; without special annotations), in the colophon specified to have been finished on 14 January 1566. |
| Note 2 | Reprint of one of the editions of the Aldine Press of Paulus Manutius in Venice. The first edition was published in 1558 (Renouard, Annales de l'imprimerie des Alde, 1834, pages 174-175); others followed in 1560 (Ibidem, page 180), 1561 (Ibidem, page 183; in fact the 1560-edition with a new title-page), 1565 (Ibidem, page 198). Very likely Plantin followed the 1560-publication. |
| Note 3 | In the foreword to the reader Plantin gives some interesting details about the publication. He explains that, trying as always to improve upon preceding editions, he added 'observations' by G. Fabricius (= in fact only for the Aeneis) and had in the Georgica some additional information compiled from various sources - but without quoting the name or names of the scholar(s) who did the job (perhaps one of Plantin's own proof-readers) ('In Georgica item praeter quamplurima loca difficilima ex nostrorum fere hominum scriptis explicata, res etiam plerasque omnes, quae a Virgilio paucis, et, ut poetam decat, argute perstringuntur, apud Varronem, Columellam, aliosque rei rusticae scriptores, curavimus demonstrari'). He tells furthermore that he had deliberately, to oblige the 'children' (students), published the text in separate volumes - Bucolica, Georgica, 'opuscula minora', Aeneis - but in such a way that one, desiring the complete work, could easily bring it together and have it bound in one volume. |
| Note 4 | The Plantinian catalogue indeed enters the 'Opera' as a single publication (M 296, folio 19 verso: 'Virgilius Manutii etc. in 8⁰ cum Annot., A⁰ -, f[euilles] 38, [price:] stuivers 5), but the cost-accounting note in Arch. 4, folio 79 verso, makes it very clear that the primary intention was to sell the various volumes separately (= the Bucolica was printed at 2,500 copies, the other parts at 1,500 copies; the printing of the various parts proceeded by large intervals: the Bucolica was already on the market in January 1565, the Georgica in April 1565, while the Aeneis with the Lusus was only finished in January 1566). It may even be supposed that only when the Aeneis-Lusus was nearing its completion, Plantin got the idea of making of the Virgilius a 'global' edition, facilitating the bringing together of the various volumes into one book by adding a small introductory volume with a global title and some introductory matter (including his own note to the reader, dated 1 December 1565). |
| Note 5 | The cost-accounting note in Arch. 4, folio 79 verso, lists under the general title 'Virgilius 8⁰', the Bucolica, Georgica and Aeneis (including the Lusus) separately. The wages for composing and printing the two quires of the Bucolica are entered on 27 January 1565 and amount to 4 florins Carolus guilders 8 stuivers; 2,500 copies were printed and 10 reams 10 'mains' of paper 'petit bast[ard]' were used (of which the price is not given). The wages for composing and printing the 5 quires of the Georgica are entered on 14 April 1565 and amount to 8 florins Carolus guilders 15 stuivers; 1,500 copies were printed, and 17 reams of paper 'petit bast[ard] were used (of which the price is not given). The wages for composing and printing the Aeneis are entered from 21 April 1565 until 6 January 1566, and show some large intervals: 21 April 1565 (quires A-F), 3 May (G-I), 12 May (K-L), 19 May (M-N), 3 June (O), 27 October-10 November (5 quires), 10 November-8 December (6 quires), 15 December 1565-6 January 1566 (a-i, 'qui font 8½ feilles' [= Lusus]). It poses also a problem: it is specified that from 27 October until 8 December 11 quires of the Aeneis were printed, starting with the quire P, but only 9 quires can be accounted for (= the 8 remaining quires P-Y of Aeneis and the quire * of the introductory volume). Anyway Plantin affirms to have paid for composing and printing the Aeneis (with the Lusus) 58 florins Carolus guilders 15 stuivers As each copy contains 30½ sheets, and as 1,500 copies were printed, 95 reams of paper 'petit bastard' were used, which, at 1 florins Carolus guilders 8 stuivers per ream, came to 133 florins Carolus guilders, bringing the overall costs for the Aeneis to 191 florins Carolus guilders 15 stuivers (Plantin says 186 florins Carolus guilders 15 stuivers, but he had calculated erroneously the paper at 128 florins Carolus guilders instead of 133 florins Carolus guilders). |
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