Bibliographie Raisonne Des Ouvrages Imprimes Avant 1600 Et Illustrant La Soif Humaine Sous Tous Ses Aspects, Chez Tous Les Peuples Et Dans Tous Les Temps. Tomo I-Ii Deluxe, richly illustrated guide to pre-1600 wine books. Bacchic Library: A Critical Bibliography of Works Printed Before 1600 Illustrating Human Thirst in All Its Aspects, Among All Peoples and in All Times. Volumes I–II Original Hardcover With Dust Jacket. London Holland Press Pp. {1] f.e., xviii, 237, [1]; vii, [1], 255, [1] r.e. Blue cloth hardcover with gilt title on spine. Original blue pictorial dust jacket, in good condition with slight wear and small tears. Interior clean and crisp. A very nice copy. One of Simon’s three Bibliothecas, all of which are indispensable. This second volume in the trilogy, first published in 1927, provides some 240 detailed descriptions of wine books printed before 1600, with extensive illustrations, annotations, citations, and precise foliations. This Holland Press “thick paper” edition is the most handsome of the reprints and larger than the regular issue of the same year. It was strictly limited to 350 copies. The work opens with a rendering of Isaiah chapter 5, the famous Canticum vinae. The first book focuses on Latin incunabula, recalling in detail the winemaking illustrations from De Crescentiis’ Liber ruralium commodorum and citing classical authors such as Ausonius and Columella, as well as Schedel. Each chapter is richly illustrated. The second book turns to geographically dispersed works by authors including Platina, Ryff, and Turner. Alphabetical, chronological, and geographical tables provide valuable tools for identifying printers and, indirectly, for reconstructing the scope of Simon’s own library. A bibliophile’s dream, this deluxe edition combines scholarly precision with visual delight, making it as pleasing to leaf through as it is to cite.
