Pius II, Pope

EPISTOLAE FAMILIARES

      (Cologne Johann Koelhoff 1478). small 4to., full modern goat with five raised bands, stained top edge with cloth-covered clamshell box, snap closure and a leather title label on spine with gilt lettering. (251) leaves (first blank missing as also occurred in the BM copy).. (Catalogue of Books Printed in the XVth Century now in the British Museum, Part One, p.222; Hain, 150). It appears that only one other copy of this edition exists in America in a publicly catalogued collection, and only seventeen other copies of this edition were found in catalogue searches in libraries worldwide. No editions by this printer, Johann Koelhoff, appear in auction records after 1978. Auction records show that three editions of 1478 were sold, but these are printed by Michael Greyff in Reutlingen. This volume contains the correspondence of the great Italian humanist Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini (1405-1464). Aeneas was known as something of a rake in his youth; his penchant for adventure and mischief is evidenced by his illegitimate children. He put off taking holy orders until after he was 40 years old. Though his behavior was modified in his early years as a priest, he did not seriously renounce his frivolous lifestyle until much later in his life when he was elected pope (1458). He adopted Pius II as his name, effectively conveying his change of attitude. In fact, he stated his desire to be remembered as the devout Pius, not the dandy Aeneas. He acted as an Imperial secretary to the Austrian emperor Frederick III of the Holy Roman Empire, apostolic secretary to two popes and the anti-pope Felix V. His loyalties shifted often through his career--initially opposed to Pope Eugene IV, he later became a great supporter and a defender of the church. As pope, Pius was more interested in continuing the crusading efforts of his predecessor, Calixtus III, than reviving the arts he enjoyed in his youth. He sought to unite Europe against the threat of Turkish invasion. His ambitions, life experiences and observations survive in a number of writings from throughout his lifetime. He was crowned Poet Laureate by Frederick, though critical appreciation of his poetry has diminished over time. He wrote about the events of his day, including works on general history and geography. Since scandal survives above all else, one of his best remembered works is his youthful romance De Duobus Amantibus, the Tale of Two Lovers, which went through many editions and was, in its time, a best seller in its own right. Late in his life he unsuccessfully tried to suppress the distribution of this popular work. The Epistolae Familiares was printed by Johann Koelhoff the Edler in Cologne just a couple of decades after the first printed book came off the presses of Johann Gutenberg. Koelhoff was a contemporary of William Caxton, who printed the first book in English. Caxton learned the craft of printing in Cologne but left for England soon after the heralded arrival of Koelhoff, the financially well-backed newcomer, in 1472. Other prominent printers moved out of Cologne around this time; though it is tempting to suggest that the new competition drove them away, the numbers are suggestive but not conclusive. Koelhoff trained in Venice, which was an important center for commercial book production through the century. Printed in blackletter. Initials, underlining, paragraph marks and initial strokes in red. First initial letter elaborated in blue and red with a decorative vegetal design scrolling down the entire margin. One other letter in blue. Index tab affixed to one page. The date of publication in the colophon is erroneously printed as 1458 and has been corrected in pen. Three plates affixed to the front pastedown: a library plate, a bookplate of Georgius Kloss, Frankfurt im Maine and an inscription stating, "372 [the '2' scratched out and 374 written above] years old: only 23 years later than the Mazarin Bible celebrated as the First Printed Volume." A handwritten note in the margin of one page, a few passages bracketed with ink. Some pages slightly soiled. A few smudges of the red ink used to highlight initial and capital letters forcefully reminds the reader of the hands that decorated these pages five hundred and fifty years ago. The pages have been rebound, probably sometime in the past twenty years, in the style popular in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Blind tooled and gilt single-line frames with small gilt dentils. The austere style displays the beauty of the fine leather. Some internal repairs as well.