WELSER. Marcus (1558-1614). Rerum Augusta Nar. Vindelicar(u...

Estimate

£800 - £1,000

WELSER. Marcus (1558-1614).
Rerum Augusta Nar. Vindelicar(um) libri octo.
Venice, (Aldlus Manutius the Younger), 1594.
Small folio. (6+) '377 (recte: 277+1) pages. With engraved title, incorporating a small view of Augsburg, 1 double-page engraved map of south-eastern Germany, and 33 (1 double-page) engravings in the text. 19th century half calf, splitting to hinges. Condition: general toning, few areas of browning, crisp leaves. 300mm x 200mm.
First edition of this elegantly printed, important history of Augsburg from its origin down to the year 552 A.D, composed by the learned Augsburg patrician and scholar, Marcus Welser. The work is entirely based on the sources and monuments unearthed and published by the humanists and is remarkable for the author's sensitive and critical interpretation of these historical documents. «Es ist ein frühes, über ein Jahhundert unübertroffenes Meisterstück historischer Forschung, und auf Grund der vorsichtigen Arbeitsweise auch das erste kritische Geschichtswerk seiner Zeit» (Lenk, Augsburger Bürgertum im Späthumanismus und Frühbarock, p. 205).
Besides the fine title-page, incorporating the figures of Raetus and Drusus and a small view of contemporary Augsburg, and two fine head-pieces, all signed by the Augsburg engraver, Alexander Mair (Andresen III, p. 380, nos. 77-79), the engravings in the text represent Roman monuments, including a large mosaic floor, tombstones, coins, &c. Added are also numerous Roman inscriptions. being an enlarged reprint of the author's Inscriptiones antiquae of 1590. Highly remarkable too is the double-page engraved map, embracing the Roman provinces from the Danube down to the south border of the Alps, with an attempt to localise the known Roman settlements and routes. A fine copy with large margins. Brunet V, 1117; Renouard 252; Adams V-364; «Welt im Umbruch», Augsburg 1980, no. 341.