Epistolae familiares. De duobus amantibus Euryalo et Lucretia [ed. Nicolaus de Wyle].

4to: [246] ff., 51-52 ll. (sl. toned, some marg. soiling, sm. wormtrack in last ff. touching a few letters).

Old half vellum, vellum leaf of a rubricated Latin liturgical music manuscript on covers, blind-titled spine on 5 raised bands, red edges. Very good copy.

Early ed. (1st 1476) of the "Epistolae familiares" of the Italian humanist Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini (1405-1464), from 1458 Pope Pius II. It includes the famous "Epistola 114", known as The Tale of Two Lovers. The epistolary novel, full of erotic imagery, is set in Siena, and centres around the love story of Lucretia, a married woman, and Euryalus, one of the men waiting on the Duke of Austria. After an uncertain beginning, in which each is in love but unaware that it is reciprocated, they begin a correspondence, which takes up much of the rest of the novel. Printed in gothic type. Rubricated throughout in red and blue. On b2r a 10-line initial in blue with red and green penwork extending into the inner margin. Copy with manuscript additions (c. 1500?): (1) at the beginning 9 ff. with Latin letters and a German-Latin wordlist; (2) at the end 2 ff. with German recipes. Ref. ISTC ip00719000. - Goff P-719. - Polain 3169. - BMC II:420. - CIBN P-414. - BSB-Ink P-522. Prov. Numerous cont. annotations and reader’s marks. - [Georges Petit].