Bibliopoly

SERVILIUS, Joannes

La congiuratione de gheldresi contra la citta danversa…volgarizzata per Francesco Strozzi. Con le guerre fatte ne la Fiandra nel’anno MDXLII. Per fino al di d’hoggi.

Venice 1543

Description

8vo. 40ff. Marcolini’s woodcut device on title-page, in nineteenth century vellum.

The rare first edition in Italian of Servilius’ (or rather Jan Knaap’s) Geldrogallica coniuratio in Antuerpiam, Antwerp, 1542. Little is known of the author. He was a grammarian from Weert near Liége who removed to Antwerp and was still alive in 1545; his other works include a triglot dictionary and a collection of Flemish proverbs. Casali who had never seen a copy of this book wondered about the identity of Giovanni Britto the engraver, not finding him mentioned by Vasari or any other of his contemporaries. He appears to be a German woodcutter who worked for Marcolini; but why he should have signed this book (the only one) is anyone’s guess. The volume ends with two pages of the history of Charles V’s wars in the Low Countries, brought up to 22 September 1543, and this answers Casali’s other query.Censimento CNCE 28612; Casali 68; not in Adams, RLIN or OCLC.