Cornelius Nepos: Vitae imperatorum. Venice: Nicolaus Jenson, 8 March 1471.
Inc. Haun. 2835 4º

Ownership mark on flyleaf	1st page: The beginning of Nepos’s preface with initial and decoration coloured by hand

In Italy early printing in the latter part of the 15th century coincided with the Renaissance and its strong interest in Greco-Roman antiquity. This is reflected by the great number of early editions of the masterpieces of classical literature, such as Homer, Euclid, and Aristotle.
Cornelius Nepos, Roman writer from the 1st century B.C., wrote a series of biographies of famous men. This is the earliest printed edition of his biographies. The author is erroneously called Aemilius Probus.
The book was purchased by J.C. Wolfen, librarian to King Frederik IV, when he accompanied the King to Italy in 1708-1709. Wolfen himself collected books and especially books printed in Italy before 1500.

27 x 19 cm.

© Det Kongelige Bibliotek 2003