Fine Books and Manuscripts

Livy (Titus Livius); Jacopo Nardi (trans). Deche di T. Livio Padovano delle’istorie Romane…2 vols, complete. Venice: Bernardo Giunti, 1586.  1st Edition Thus. Bound in 20th century full brown calf, spines in five compartments with gilt lettering in two and gilt decoration in the remaining three, gilt decoration and medallions on all boards. Printer’s device, woodcut initials and headpieces. 8vo. (cxxxiv), 522; 305 (pages 524-829) pp. Some notations in an elegant antique Italian hand on the title pages; old dampstaining throughout, some light foxing, and a few very old worm-holes in the original text block (not affecting any text).  A very handsome set. An extremely rare edition of the Decades of Livy translated into the vernacular Tuscan by Jacopo Nardi (1473-1563) of Florence and published in Venice in 1586. First published in 1540, this revised edition of 1586 includes an index of the Decades, a table of the Kings and Consuls of Rome, an index of Tuscan words used by the translator, and finally a collection of "Judgments" and notable extracts from Livy.