1574 1st Bilingual (Latin-French) Edition
ORI APOLLINIS
Nilia Ci De SAacris Aegyptiorum Notis, Aegyptiacè expressis, Libri duo, Iconibus illustrati, & aucti. Nunc primùm in Latinum ac Gallicum sermonem conversi.
By Horapollo Nilus
Author Bio: Horapollo Nilus (5th century CE)
An Egyptian grammarian and philosopher whose enigmatic treatise, Hieroglyphica, purports to explain the sacred symbolic writing of the Egyptians. Rediscovered in the early 15th century and first printed in 1505, the text became a cornerstone of Renaissance emblematic and Hermetic thought, influencing art, philosophy, and the study of symbolism for centuries.
Illustrated By: Jehan (Jean) Cousin the Elder
Illustrator Bio: Jean Cousin the Elder (c. 1490 – c. 1560)
French Renaissance artist and designer, active in Sens and Paris. He worked across painting, engraving, and book illustration, and is best known for his influential woodcut designs for mid-16th-century Parisian books, including emblematic works like Horapollo’s Hieroglyphica. His style blends Gothic tradition with emerging classical influences, and his imagery was widely reused in later editions.
Synopsis: The Hieroglyphica of Horapollo is a two-book compendium decoding Egyptian hieroglyphs as moral and allegorical symbols—linking natural forms with divine and philosophical ideas. This 1574 Paris printing is the first edition in both Latin and French, illustrated with emblematic woodcuts, and represents a key link between ancient Egyptian mysticism and Renaissance humanism. Its influence pervaded emblem books, alchemical iconography, and the arts of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Format: Vellum, Octavo (Standard) (8vo 6 × 9 in 152 × 229 mm )
Note: Binding/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary.
Language: Latin/French
Published By: Apud Galeotum à Prato, & Ioannem Ruellium, via Iacobæa, Paris
Condition Report:
Dust Jacket: No Jacket, Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Very Good - Contemporary vellum, panelled in blind with central arabesque medallion; small losses at head and foot of spine; covers mildly darkened and spotted as usual, binding firm. Title-page with faint tide-mark to upper edge, light occasional browning, margins wide and woodcuts with strong impressions. Early ink ownership inscription on title and front flyleaf (“Delvans Ron Caislay”, indistinct). Complete with both “Tables”, full text of Books I and II, and final blank.
A handsome and complete example of the first bilingual edition of Horapollo’s Hieroglyphica, a key emblematic and Egyptological text of the Renaissance.
Latin and French (parallel columns).
Illustrations:
Numerous emblematic woodcuts throughout the text, including allegorical figures, animals, and mythological scenes, many framed within ornate borders. The woodcut suite derives from designs attributed to Jean Cousin the Elder, among the finest of the Parisian Renaissance.
Format:
Contemporary vellum, 8vo (approx. 151 × 98mm).
Collation:
*⁸ A–N⁸ O⁴ (O4 blank); [8] prelims (title, typographus, tables), 107 leaves main text, [1] index, [1] blank.
Please see Photos as part of condition report.
References:
Adams H-852
BM STC (French) 1470–1600, p.230
Brunet III, 343
Graesse III, 336
Landwehr French, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese Emblem Books 389
Praz, Studies in Seventeenth-Century Imagery, pp.285-287.
SKU: BTETM0002619
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 2Kg
Tracked Shipping, Insurance Coverage as per Customer Request
1574 1st Bilingual (Latin-French) Edition
ORI APOLLINIS
Nilia Ci De SAacris Aegyptiorum Notis, Aegyptiacè expressis, Libri duo, Iconibus illustrati, & aucti. Nunc primùm in Latinum ac Gallicum sermonem conversi.
By Horapollo Nilus
Author Bio: Horapollo Nilus (5th century CE)
An Egyptian grammarian and philosopher whose enigmatic treatise, Hieroglyphica, purports to explain the sacred symbolic writing of the Egyptians. Rediscovered in the early 15th century and first printed in 1505, the text became a cornerstone of Renaissance emblematic and Hermetic thought, influencing art, philosophy, and the study of symbolism for centuries.
Illustrated By: Jehan (Jean) Cousin the Elder
Illustrator Bio: Jean Cousin the Elder (c. 1490 – c. 1560)
French Renaissance artist and designer, active in Sens and Paris. He worked across painting, engraving, and book illustration, and is best known for his influential woodcut designs for mid-16th-century Parisian books, including emblematic works like Horapollo’s Hieroglyphica. His style blends Gothic tradition with emerging classical influences, and his imagery was widely reused in later editions.
Synopsis: The Hieroglyphica of Horapollo is a two-book compendium decoding Egyptian hieroglyphs as moral and allegorical symbols—linking natural forms with divine and philosophical ideas. This 1574 Paris printing is the first edition in both Latin and French, illustrated with emblematic woodcuts, and represents a key link between ancient Egyptian mysticism and Renaissance humanism. Its influence pervaded emblem books, alchemical iconography, and the arts of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Format: Vellum, Octavo (Standard) (8vo 6 × 9 in 152 × 229 mm )
Note: Binding/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary.
Language: Latin/French
Published By: Apud Galeotum à Prato, & Ioannem Ruellium, via Iacobæa, Paris
Condition Report:
Dust Jacket: No Jacket, Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Very Good - Contemporary vellum, panelled in blind with central arabesque medallion; small losses at head and foot of spine; covers mildly darkened and spotted as usual, binding firm. Title-page with faint tide-mark to upper edge, light occasional browning, margins wide and woodcuts with strong impressions. Early ink ownership inscription on title and front flyleaf (“Delvans Ron Caislay”, indistinct). Complete with both “Tables”, full text of Books I and II, and final blank.
A handsome and complete example of the first bilingual edition of Horapollo’s Hieroglyphica, a key emblematic and Egyptological text of the Renaissance.
Latin and French (parallel columns).
Illustrations:
Numerous emblematic woodcuts throughout the text, including allegorical figures, animals, and mythological scenes, many framed within ornate borders. The woodcut suite derives from designs attributed to Jean Cousin the Elder, among the finest of the Parisian Renaissance.
Format:
Contemporary vellum, 8vo (approx. 151 × 98mm).
Collation:
*⁸ A–N⁸ O⁴ (O4 blank); [8] prelims (title, typographus, tables), 107 leaves main text, [1] index, [1] blank.
Please see Photos as part of condition report.
References:
Adams H-852
BM STC (French) 1470–1600, p.230
Brunet III, 343
Graesse III, 336
Landwehr French, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese Emblem Books 389
Praz, Studies in Seventeenth-Century Imagery, pp.285-287.
SKU: BTETM0002619
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 2Kg
Tracked Shipping, Insurance Coverage as per Customer Request
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