Mithridates. De differentiis linguarum tum veterum tum quae hodie apud diversas nationes in toto orbe terraru[m] in usu sunt.

8vo: [2]-78 ff. (without the folding table missing in most copies; sl. toned).

17th-c. sheep, covers with gilt coat of arms, gilt spine with 5 raised bands. Very good copy.

First ed. of an early work by the Swiss scholar Gesner (1516-1565) on comparative linguistics, attempting an inventory of some 130 known languages and examining the Lord’s Prayer in 22 of them. At the end are a brief account of New World languages and a glossary of German underworld slang.
Ref. VD16 G-1767. - Adams G-550. - Not in Alden/Landis.
Bound with: Corona pretiosa, laqual insegna la lingua Greca volgare & literale, et la lingua Latina & il volgar Italiano [...]. Venice, "Ex Sirenis Officina" [= Heirs of P. Ravani & Co.], April 1546. 8vo: [60] ff. Rare early treatise on Greek, Latin and Italian. Woodcut mark on title, and a larger one at the end. Ref. EDIT16 52593. - Not in Adams.
Prov. Jacques-Auguste de Thou (1553-1617), French author and politician (gilt arms on covers, gilt cypher on spine). - Amaury de Ghellinck d'Elseghem Vaernewyck (arm. bookpl. "Bibliotheca Elseghemensis", lithogr. by N. Heins at Ghent).