78 2690 Incunabula and early 16th cent books Hyginus C J
78 2690 Incunabula and early 16th cent books  Hyginus C J
78 2690 Incunabula and early 16th cent books  Hyginus C J
78 2690 Incunabula and early 16th cent books  Hyginus C J
78 2690 Incunabula and early 16th cent books  Hyginus C J
78/2690 [Incunabula and early 16th cent. books]. Hyginus, C.J. Poeticon astronomicon. Venice, Erhard Ratdolt, January 22nd 1485, (56) lvs., full-p. woodcut frontisp. of the Sphaera Mundi and 47 large woodcuts depicting constellations, zodiac signs and allegories of the planets by J. SANTRITTER, woodcut initials throughout, 19th cent. gilt hcalf.

- A fine copy with the following minor defects: new endpapers w. bookplate and owner's entries in pen and ink; first half w. one tiny wormhole in middle of text; some slight smudging and staining in outer blank margins.

= The Poeticon Astronomicon is an extremely fascinating combination of a manual of astronomy and a book on Roman and Greek mythology. The first part describes the celestial spheres and its circles, the second tells the myths connected to 42 constellations, 5 planets and the Milky Way, the third presents the shapes of each constellation and the fourth is concerned with their position and connections to the Zodiac signs. Although astronomically inaccurate the woodcuts were hugely influential. Once these images appeared in print, they became the undisputed model upon which astronomical book illustration relied for the next forty years. With a contemp. grammatical correction in text above frontisp. (as in other copies traced; possibly made in the printer's workshop). IDL 2431; HC 9063; Goff H561; Houzeau-Lancaster 1029.

€ (4.000-6.000) 9000