PLINE L’ANCIEN Caius Plinius Secundus Historia naturalis.

BMC, IV, 17 ; Goff, P-789 ; GW, 34308 ; CIBN, P-460 ; ISTC, ip00789000 ; PMM, 5 (1469 edition).

Extremely rare and majestic edition of Pliny’s famous encyclopedic work printed by the German proto-typographers of Italy Conrad Sweynheym and Arnold Pannartz. It is the fourth edition of Pliny’s Historia Naturalis, edited by Niccolò Perotti, Archbishop of Siponto.  

Aside from Gutenberg and his immediate associates, there are no figures more important in the early history of printing than Sweynheym, who had probably learned the craft of printing in the shop of Fust and Schoeffer in Mainz, and Pannartz, the earliest printers in Italy. First at the Abbey of Subiaco in 1464 and later in Rome from 1467, they produced an imposing catalogue of first editions of ancient authors, which for the first time systematically exploited the potential of the new technology as a means for disseminating humanistic texts to a large audience. Their press runs were normally only 275 copies, consequently, their books are now extremely rare on the market.

The Natural History, divided into 37 libri, or “books,” was completed in 77 CE. In the preface, dedicated to Titus (who became emperor shortly before Pliny’s death), Pliny justified the title and explained his purpose on utilitarian grounds as the study of “the nature of things, that is, life” (“Preface,” 13). Disdaining high literary style and political mythology, Pliny adopted a plain style—but one with an unusually rich vocabulary—as best suited to his purpose. A novel feature of the Natural History is the care taken by Pliny in naming his sources, more than 100 of which are mentioned. Book I, in fact, is a summary of the remaining 36 books, listing the authors and sometimes the titles of the books (many of which are now lost) from which Pliny derived his material.

The Natural History properly begins with Book II, which is devoted to cosmology and astronomy. Here, as elsewhere, Pliny demonstrated the extent of his reading, especially of Greek texts. In Books III through VI, On the physical and historical geography of the ancient world, he gave much attention to major cities, some of which no longer exist and geography of the then known countries.

Pliny “gives us by far the most detailed account of the coast of the United Arab Emirates that has come down to us. Chapter 32 of Book 6 (§ 149-152), beginning near the Qatar peninsula, proceeds to describe the Emirates islands, tribes, and coast right up to the Musandam peninsula, before continuing on south along the coast of Oman. As such, it is a mine of invaluable information on the UAE in the late pre-Islamic era” (UAE History, online).

Pliny “completed his ‘Natural History’ in 77 AD and, to judge from his account of the peoples and places of south-eastern Arabia […], the area of the UAE was full of settlements, tribes, and physical features, the names of which he recorded for posterity” (Ghareeb/Al Abed 54). Books VII through XI treat zoology, beginning with humans (VII), then mammals and reptiles (VIII), fishes and other marine animals (IX), birds (X), and insects (XI). Pliny derived most of the biological data from Aristotle, while his own contributions were concerned with legendary animals and unsupported folklore.

In Books XII through XIX, On botany, Pliny came closest to making a genuine contribution to science. Although he drew heavily upon Theophrastus, he reported some independent observations, particularly those made during his travels in Germany. Pliny is one of the chief sources of modern knowledge of Roman gardens, early botanical writings, and the introduction into Italy of new horticultural and agricultural species.

Book XVIII, on agriculture, is especially important for agricultural techniques such as crop rotation, farm management, and the names of legumes and other crop plants. His description of an ox-driven grain harvester in Gaul, long regarded by scholars as imaginary, was confirmed by the discovery in southern Belgium in 1958 of a 2nd-century stone relief depicting such an implement. Moreover, by recording the Latin synonyms of Greek plant names, he made most of the plants mentioned in earlier Greek writings identifiable.

Books XX through XXXII focus on medicine and drugs. Like many Romans, Pliny criticized luxury on moral and medical grounds. His random comments on diet and on the commercial sources and prices of the ingredients of costly drugs provide valuable evidence relevant to contemporary Roman life.

The subjects of Books XXXIII through XXXVII include minerals, precious stones, and metals, especially those used by Roman craftsmen. In describing their uses, he referred to famous artists and their creations and to Roman architectural styles, art and technology.

With the decline of the ancient world and the loss of the Greek texts on which Pliny had so heavily depended, the Natural History became a substitute for a general education. In the European Middle Ages many of the larger monastic libraries possessed copies of this work; these and many abridged versions ensured Pliny’s place in European literature and his authority was unchallenged for many centuries. Pliny was descended from a prosperous family, and he was enabled to complete his studies in Rome.

At the age of 23, he began a military career by serving in Germany, rising to the rank of cavalry commander. He returned to Rome, where he possibly studied law. Until near the end of Nero’s reign, when he became procurator in Spain, Pliny lived in semiretirement, studying and writing. Upon the accession in 69 CE of Vespasian, with whom Pliny had served in Germany, he returned to Rome and assumed various official positions. Pliny’s last assignment was that of commander of the fleet in the Bay of Naples, where he was charged with the suppression of piracy. Learning of an unusual cloud formation—later found to have resulted from an eruption of Mount Vesuvius—Pliny went ashore to ascertain the cause and to reassure the terrified citizens. He was overcome by the fumes resulting from the volcanic activity and died on August 24, 79.

As “a purveyor of information both scientific and nonscientific, Pliny holds a place of exceptional importance in the tradition and diffusion of culture” (DSB).

“The Historia soon became a standard book of reference: abstracts and abridgements appeared by the third century. Bede owned a copy, Alcuin sent the early books to Charlemagne, and Dicuil, the Irish geographer, quotes him in the ninth century. It was the basis of Isidore’s Etimologiae and such medieval encyclopaedias as the Speculum Majus of Vincent of Beauvais and the Catholicon of Balbus” (PMM).

Of this rare edition ISTC localises 24 institutional copies including 2 in the United-States (Harvard, Countway Library; Loyola University, Cudahy Memorial Library). We could trace no complete copy of this very rare edition on any auction record database over the past 100 years.

A very fine crisp copy with very large margins.