CARDANUS, Hieronymus. Neronis Encomium
Amsterdam: Ioh. et Cornelium Blaeu, 1640
£ 350
12mo (13 x 7.5 cm). A2-A12, B-F12; 144 pp. [ii]. Engraved title page. Roman and Italic script; in Latin. Pages slightly yellowed with age. Marbled endpapers with gilt dentelles. Near contemporary red morocco binding; slightly rounded corners; spine in six compartments divided by five raised bands; gilt title; a.e.g. Overall, a fine copy.
Hieronymus Cardanus (1501-1576), was a famous Italian polymath, whose interests ranged from physics to biology and astrology to philosophy. He was also one of the most influential mathematicians of the Renaissance. His work on the life of Emperor Nero, the Neronis Encomium, was first published in Basle in 1562.
The engraved title page depicts a male figure (the author?) crowning with a laurel wreath the bust of Emperor Nero. An armillary sphere is also depicted. The engraving is after the work of the Italian engraver Aeneas Vico (1523 – 1567), as testified by the inscription (Ex Aenea Vico Parmensi).
Willems, 1612.