Bembo, Historiae venetae libri XII, Venice, Aldus, 1551, brown morocco by Bedford, Lothian copy

Bembo, Pietro. Petri Bembi cardinalis Historiae Venetae libri XII. Venice: (sons of Aldo Manuzio) [for Gualtiero Scoto], 1551

First edition of Bembo's history of Venice, mostly drawn from the unpublished diaries of Marin Sanudo, and composed in Latin, though Bembo also produced a version in Italian. This is the second state; the first state (UCLA 420) has the Aldine device on the title-page, and no privilege on the verso of the title.

Folio (290 x 208 mm). Roman type, 36 lines plus headline. collation: *⁴ A-Z⁴ a-z⁴ Aa-Ee⁴: 208 leaves. Woodcut device of Scoto on title-page, Aldine device on final verso, woodcut initials.

binding: Crushed brown morocco gilt by F. Bedford (297 x 213 mm), decorated in period style, spine gilt in compartments, gilt edges. (A few small scrapes to binding.)

provenance: William Schomberg Robert Ker, Marquis of Lothian (1832-1870), armorial bookplate and Newbattle Abbey library label, sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 12 November 1951, lot 11, £9-10s, to Maggs — Clifford Rattey (1886- 1970), bookplate. acquisition: Purchased from Maggs Bros, London, 1973. references: UCLA 420.5; Edit16 5037; Renouard 152/17