Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome Part 75

Vicaire, col. 28-29, quotes Brunet as saying that the undated Apicius (our No. 1) despite its sub-t.i.tles of Suetonius, contains only the Apicius text, a statement confirmed by Pennell.

A search of all the available works of Joh. Alb. Fabricius--Bibliotheca Latina [Cla.s.sics], Hamburg, 1722, Bibliographia Antiquaria, ib. 1760 and the Bibliotheca Latina mediae et infimae [middle ages], ib. 1735, has failed to reveal a trace of the 1490 Apicius, displayed by Bernhold, as described by Fabricius and as seen by Preus in the Nurnberg Munic.i.p.al Library.

Our facsimile of the 1498 colophon shows how easily its date can be mistaken for "the 8th day of January, 1490," Bernhold's very date!

Evidently an error of this kind made victims of Preus, Bernhold and Fabricius (if, indeed, he quoted it) and caused us some ardent searching among dusty tomes. We have therefore come to the conclusion that either this 1490 edition disappeared between the year 1787 and our time or else that it never existed.

NO. 4, A.D. 1503, VENICE

APITII CELII DE RE COQUINARIA LIBRI DECEM. || COQUINARIae CAPITA GRaeCA AB APITIO POSITA HaeC SUNT. || EPIMELES: ARTOPTUS: CEPURICA: PANDECTER: OSPRION || TROPHETES: POLYTELES: TETRAPUS: THALa.s.sA: HALIEUS || HANC PLATO ADULATRICEM MEDICINae APPELLAT || [_in fine_] IMPRESSUM UENETIIS P IOHANNEM DE CERETO DE TRIDINO ALIAS TACUINUM.

M.CCCCC.III. DIE TERTIO MENSIS AUGUSTI.

4to, 32 sheets, 30 lines to the page, pages not numbered, signed a-h, by 4.

{Ill.u.s.tration: t.i.tLE PAGE, VENICE EDITION, 1503

From the Blasius Lancilotus edition, printed by Johannes de Cereto de Tridino alias Tacuinus, Venice, 1503. This is the second dated edition of Apicius, resembling very closely the undated edition and also the Milan edition, printed by Signerre 1498, the first to bear a date.

Same size as the original. This is a first timid attempt at giving a book a t.i.tle page. Most books printed before this date have no t.i.tle pages.}

{Transcription:

Apitii Celii de re Coquinaria libri decem.

Coquinariae capita Graeca ab Apitio posita haec sunt.

Epimeles: Artoptus: Cepurica: Pandecter: Osprion Trophetes: Polyteles: Tetrapus: Thala.s.sa: Halieus.

Hanc Plato adulatricem medicinae appellat.}

On the last page of our copy are the two poems mentioned in the 1490 Milan edition (No. 2) "Antonius mota ad uulgus" (4 distichs) and "Iohannes salandi Lectori" (5 distichs). The verso of this page is blank. The dedication, on the verso of t.i.tle page, is likewise by Blasius Lancilotus. It appears that this edition is closely related to No. 2.

Vicaire, 30; unknown to Georg-Drexel and Pennell.

In the collection of the author.

NO. 5, A.D. 1541, BASEL

CaeLII APITII || SVMMI ADVLATRICIS MEDI || CINae ARTIFICIS DE RE CVLINARIA LIBRI X. RE || CENS e TENEBRIS ERUTI & a MENDIS UINDICATI, || TYPISQUE SVMMA DILIGENTIA || EXCUSI. || PRaeTEREA, || P. PLATINae CREMO || NENSIS VIRI UNDECVNQVE DO || CTISSIMI, DE TUENDA UALETUDINE, NATURA RERUM, & POPINae || SCIENTIA LIBRI X. AD IMITATIONEM C.

API || TII AD UNGUEM FACTI. || AD HaeC, || PAVLI aeGINETae DE || FACVLTATIBUS ALIMENTORVM TRA || CTATVS, ALBANO TORINO || INTERPRETE. || c.u.m INDICE COPIOSISSIMO. || BASILEae || M.D.XLI. [_in fine_] BASILEae, MENSE MARTIO, ANNO M D X L I.

4to, old calf, 16 pp., containing t.i.tle, dedication and index, not numbered but signed in Greek letters. The body of the work commences with p. 1, finis.h.i.+ng with p. 366, the sheets are signed first in small Roman letters a-z and numbers 1-3 and then in capital letters A-Z, likewise numbered 1-3. The t.i.tles of the books or chapters, on verso of the t.i.tle page, under the heading of "Katalogos et Epigraphe Decem Voluminum De Re Popinali C. Apitii" are both in Greek and Roman characters. German names and quotations are in Gothic type (black letter). The book is well printed, in the style of the Froschauer or Oporinus press, but bears no printer's name or device.

The Apicius treatise is concluded on p. 110, and is followed by "Appendicvla De Conditvris Variis ex Ioanne Damasceno, Albano Torino Paraphraste," not mentioned on the t.i.tle. This treatise extends from p. 110 to p. 117, comprising fourteen recipes for "condimenta" and "conditvrae"; these are followed on the same page by "De Facvltatibvs Alimentorvm Ex Pavlo aegineta, Albano Torino Interprete" which book is concluded on p. 139; but with hardly any interruption nor with any very conspicuous t.i.tle on this page there follows the work of Platina: "P. [_sic_] Platinae Cremonensis, viri vndecvnqve doctissimi, De tuenda ualetudine Natura rerum, & Popinae scientia, ad amplissimum D.D.B.

Rouerellam S. Clementis presbyterum, Cardinalem, Liber I." The ten books of Platina are concluded on p. 366; the type gracefully tapering down with the words: "P. [_sic_] Platinae libri decimi et vltimi Finis" and the date, as mentioned. The last page blank.

{Ill.u.s.tration: t.i.tLE PAGE, LYONS, 1541

This edition, printed in Lyons, France, in 1541, by Sebastian Gryphius is said to have been pirated from the Torinus edition given at Basel in the same year. Early printers stole copiously from one another, frequently reproduced books with hundreds of ill.u.s.trations with startling speed. Gryphius corrected Torinus' spelling of "P"

[Bartholomaeus] Platina, but note the spelling of "Lvg[v]dvni" (Lyons).

Inscription by a contemporary reader over the griffin: "This [book]

amuses me! Why make fun of me?"}

{Transcription:

CaeLII APITII, SVMMI ADVLATRICUS MEDICINae ARTIFICIS, De re Culinaria libri Decem.

{Handwriting}

B. PLATINae CREMONENSIS _De Tuenda ualetudine, Natura rerum, & Popinae scientia Libri x._

PAVLI aeGINETae DE FACULTATIBUS _alimentorum Tractatus, Albano Torino Interprete_.

{Handwriting}

{Decoration}

APVD SEB. GRYPHIVM LVGVDVNI, 1541.}

Strange enough, there is another edition of this work, bearing the same editor's name, printed at Lyons, France, in the same year. This edition, printed by Gryphius, bears the abbreviated t.i.tle as follows:

NO. 6, A.D. 1541, LYONS

CaeLII || APITII SVM || MI ADVLATRICIS || MEDICINae ARTIFICIS, || DE RE CULINARIA LIBRI || DECEM || B.

PLATINae CREMONEN || SIS DE TUENDA UALETUDINE, NATURA RERUM & POPINae || SCIENTIA LIBRI X, || PAULI aeGINETae DE FACULTATIBUS ALIMENTORUM TRACTATUS, || ALBANO TORINO INTER || PRETE.

The lower center of the t.i.tle page is occupied by the Gryphius printer's device, a griffin standing on a box-like pedestal, supported by a winged globe. On the left of the device: "virtute duci," on the right: "comite fortuna"; directly underneath: "Apvd Seb. Gryphivm, Lvgvdvni [_sic_], 1541." Sm. 8vo. Pages numbered, commencing with verso of t.i.tle from 2-314. Sheets lettered same as Basel edition; on verso of t.i.tle "Katalogos" etc. exactly like Basel. Page 3 commences with the same epistola dedicatoria. This dedication and the entire corpus of the book is printed in an awkward Italic type, except the captions which are in 6 pt. and 8 pt. Roman. The book is quite an unpleasant contrast with the fine Antiqua type and the generous margins of the Basel edition. Some woodcut initials but of small interest. The index, contrary to Basel, is in the back. The last page shows another printer's device, differing from that on the t.i.tle, another griffin.

This edition, though bearing Platina's correct initial, B., has the fict.i.tious t.i.tle given to his work by Torinus, who probably possessed one of the earliest editions of Platina's De honesta Voluptate, printed without a t.i.tle page.

Altogether, this Lyons edition looks very much like a hurried job, and we would not be surprised to learn that it was pirated from the Basel edition.

The epistola dedicatoria, in which Torinus expresses fear of pirates and asks his patron's protection, is concluded with the date, Basileae, v. Idus Martias, Anno M. D. XLI., while the copy described by Vicaire appears to be without this date. Vicaire also says that the sheets of his copy are not numbered. He also reads on the t.i.tle "Lvgdvni, 1541"

which is spelled correctly, but not in accordance with the original.

Of these two editions Vicaire says:

"Ces deux editions portent la meme date de 1541, mais celle qui a ete publiee a Bale a paru avant celle donnee a Lyon par Seb. Gryphe. Cette derniere, en effet, contient la dedicace datee." The t.i.tle page of our copy is inscribed by three different old hands, one the characteristic remark: "Mulcens me, gannis?" This copy is bound in the original vellum. Vicaire, 31, G.-Drexel, No. 12.

The work of Torinus has been subjected to a searching a.n.a.lysis, as will be shown throughout the book. An appreciation of Platina will be found in Platina, maestro nell'arte culinaria Un'interessante studio di Joseph D. Vehling, by Agostino Cavalcab, Cremona, 1935.

{Ill.u.s.tration: t.i.tLE PAGE, HUMELBERGIUS EDITION, ZuRICH, 1542

The Gabriel Humelbergius edition is printed by Froschauer, one of the great printers of the Renaissance. Showing the autograph of Johannes Baptista Ba.s.sus. The best of the early Apicius editions.}

{Transcription:

IN HOC OPERE CONTENTA

APICII CaeLII