Hapanta Platōnos : meth' hypomnēmatōn Proklou eis ton Timaion, kai ta Politika, thēsaurou tēs palaias philosophias megistou prostetheitai de kai eis ta tou Platonos hapanta, gnomon kai onomaton axiomnemoneuton, elenchos = Platonis omnia opera cum commentariis Procli in Timaeum & Politica, thesauro veteris philosophiae maximo : adiectus etiam est in Platonis omnia, sententiarum & verborum memorabilium, index.

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Accession number: 
PML 42590
Author: 
Plato.
Published: 
Basileae : Apud Ioan. Valderum, mense Martio, anno 1534.
Credit: 
Purchased with the assistance of the Fellows, 1951.
Description: 
38 leaves, 690 p., 1 leaf ; 35 cm (fol.)
Notes: 

Colophon: Etypōthē en Basileia analōmasi kai epimeleia Iōannou Balderou etei tō apo tēs ensarkou oikonomias tou kyriou hemōn Iēsou Christou, chiliostō pentakosiostō triakostō tetartō, thargēliōnos triskaidekatē.
Edited by Johannes Oporinus, with a prefatory epistle in Latin by Simon Grynaeus.
Dedicated to John More, son of Sir Thomas More.

Binding: 
Black morocco, gilt tooled, inlays (of red, tan, and olive morocco) with painted armorials, over wooden boards (35 x 23 cm), perhaps by Claude de Picques for Marcus Fugger, ca. 1555; Greek-style spine and endcaps. Gilt, gauffered, and painted edges.
Variant Title: 

Platonis Omnia opera

Provenance: 
Marcus Fugger, armorial binding and signature: Marcus Fuggerus (front pastedown); Princes of Öttingen-Wallerstein, sale, Munich, Karl & Faber, part II, 6 Nov. 1933, lot 295; anonymous German collection; Pierpont Morgan Library, purchased with the assistance of the Fellows, 1951.
Catalog Link: 
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Classification: 
Binding Collection
Genres: 
Armorial bindings (Binding)
Bookbinding (Binding)
Department: 
Printed Books

This exceptionally elaborate and splendid binding was created for Marcus, or Marx, Fugger (1529–1597), a member of the Augsburg banking family, who shared the family’s passion for learning, the arts, and elegance. It is abundant in its luxury, especially considering that the ensemble has been made up entirely of very small tools, repeated endlessly. Gommar Estienne, the royal binder at Paris, 1555–59, is probably responsible for this tour de force.