Opera Quae Supersunt Omnia. Ad fidem optimarum editionum diligenter expressa. Voluminibus XX.

Cicero

Published by In aedibus academicis Excudebant Rob. et And. Foulis, Glasguae [Glasgow], 1749

About this Item

20 vols., foolscap 12mo. Bifolium of ads at end of vol. 20 not included. Contemporary calf, spines divided by raised bands between double gilt rules, red morocco labels, third compartments dyed black and numbered in gilt direct, other compartments with central decorative lozenge tools gilt. Toning and foxing in places, especially to preliminaries. Extremities rubbed, some wear (particularly to spine ends), a couple of volumes with surface nibbling to boards, numbered spine compartments mostly rubbed with loss of gilt, a few joints cracking. The scarce Foulis Cicero, one of the most bibliographically complex productions of a press that did not shy away from variants, resettings, and similar matters. B.J. McMullin?s article in The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, Volume 74 (1980) clarifies the variants of this set, which saw several variants in a quest to become ?impeccable not only in text but also in physical makeup? (p. 177): originally vols. 4 and 5 ended mid-word (i), then were split at a logical text break mid-gathering instead (ii), and finally were reset so that the logical break fell at the ends of half-sheet gatherings instead (iii). This set represents McMullin?s variant i in vol. 1 and ii in vols. 4-6: the text is not reset but the final gatherings of vol. 4 and 5 are divided after their fifth and seventh leaves, respectively, and the general contents in vol. 1 is made incorrect by the binding arrangement, which also produced 20 disjunct leaves for the binder to deal with. Additionally, vol. 1 is as bound as described by Gaskell, not McMullin?s corrected arrangement, which puts the title-page and prelims to the notes section at the beginning of the main text instead, and vols. 3 and 11 have the additional section title-pages that McMullin records but Gaskell does not. Gaskell 101; ESTC T138108.

Seller Inventory # 6293

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Opera Quae Supersunt Omnia. Ad fidem optimarum editionum diligenter expressa. Voluminibus XX.
• Publisher: In aedibus academicis Excudebant Rob. et And. Foulis, Glasguae [Glasgow]
• Publication Date: 1749
• Binding: Hardcover
• Seller catalogs:
  • Classics