Opera.

Princeton 1.jpg

Creator

Maro, Publius Vergilius.

Title

Opera.

Publisher

[Lyon: Balthasar de Gabiano,

Date

after 1503].

Description

This counterfeit Virgil contains some of the errors identified in the Monitum of 1503, but lacks the colophon with the name of Aldus, as well as the five-line encomium to the type designer Francesco Griffo that should appear just beneath Aldus’s brief preface on the verso of the title page. (Compare this page to the genuine imprint in the Libelli Portatiles cases.) It was, therefore, likely printed after the publication of the Monitum, giving the printers the opportunity to correct some errors while leaving others that allowed them plausible deniability if charged with counterfeiting. The existence of Aldine counterfeits printed on vellum speaks to the market for special copies of books in the early 16th century.

Source

From the Junius Spencer Morgan Collection of Virgil at Princeton University.