Thucydides; Laurentio Valla, trans. THUCYDIDES, LAURENTIO VALLA INTERPRETE. Basel: Henrici Petri Materni Collini, March 1564. Blind paneled vellum, label with gilt and raised bands on spine, all edges stained. Roman type with Italic; Latin text (translated from the Greek). Folio; p6 A-Z6 A-g6 h5; [12], 369, [1]pp. With index, printed marginalia and woodcut initials. USTC 698551.

12 1/8 x 8 in.

From the Collection of Professor Roberto Severino, Washington, D.C.

Lorenzo Valla (Italy, ca. 1406-1457), a Roman humanist, wrote the first Latin translation of the work of the Greek historian Thucydides. His "work on Thucydides, in particular, was to have an important impact on the study of this difficult Greek author." (Lodi Nauta, "Lorenzo Valla," The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, fall 2021.)

Expected discoloration and wear to vellum, sticker remnants and small stains, light wear to head and tail of spine, corners rubbed, pencil on front cover; slight cracking at hinges; occasional wormhole and manuscript, pages toned with light scattered foxing, title page with manuscript, minor separation, small repairs, and small area of thinned paper with tiny loss; several pages with damp staining at upper margin, one or more repairs to leaves in signatures B, C, D, V, X, and h, with occasional additional small repair or stain but most pages clean and crisp; a very sturdy copy and an extremely rare book in U.S. with most copies in institutions abroad.