In a Renaissance binding: the first printing of Josephus in the original Greek

Flavius, Josephus. Opera.

€ 15,000.00

Editio princeps of Josephus's works on Jewish antiquities and the Jewish Wars, an edition that has been called "one of the noblest and most venerable old books I ever saw" (Harwood, as quoted by Dibdin). Bound with another significant work on the classical world: Arrian's account of his circumnavigation of the Red Sea and the Black Sea, containing the earliest map to show separately the immediate region of the latter body of water.

Josephus (ca. 37-100 CE) was born in the Roman province of Judea to Jewish parents, and as a young man was swept up into the Jewish rebellion of 66 CE. Captured by Roman troops, he prophesied that Vespasian would become Emperor of Rome, defected to the Romans, and dedicated his life to recording the history of his people, even as he fought against them in the Second Roman-Jewish War.

This book itself is a wonderfully preserved survival from the famous Renaissance printers of Basel, housed in nearly 450-year-old binding which retains its original brass clasps and beautiful blindstamped scrollwork, including one border showing the Virtues. Its contents are equally important on historical terms: Josephus provides the sole eyewitness account of the Jewish-Roman wars, a snapshot of provincial politics in the Roman Empire, and even an account of the earliest days of what would in time become Christianity. For many events of this period in the Levant, he is the only correlating historical source outside of the New Testament. This early printing, typeset for the first time in the language in which Josephus wrote his histories, stands testament to the influence of his work, even fifteen hundred years later.