Insigne opus de claris mulieribus.

With 15 near half-page woodcuts including 2 repeats, of which 9 are signed J[akob] K[allenberg], 2 different printer's woodcut device on title and last leaf (honey-licking bears), one by H. Holbein. [6], LXXXI, [1] ff. Small folio. 18th-century calf (worn). From the library of G. Wüthrich with his engr. supralibros. Bern, Mathias Apiarius, 1539. (Bound with:) MAZZOCCHI, Giacomo (ed.). Epigrammata antiquae urbis. With 21 woodcut illustrations of classical architecture and inscriptions, including large depiction of the Pantheon on B2v, more than 100 woodcut borders in text. Roman type. (10), CLXXXI leaves, further 8 ff. with index and errate lacking at the end. Folio. (Rome, Jacobus Mazzocchi, April 1521). Ad I: First edition of the earliest books from the press of the first printer of Bern, and a beautifully illustrated edition of Boccaccio's encomium of famous women. It is notable as the first collection devoted exclusively to biographies of women in Western literature. The artist has been identified as Jakob Kallenberg, a Bavarian painter and craftsman from Bern who worked there from 1535 until about 1565 and became a member of the city council. His style is reminiscent of Holbein, whose pupil he probably was. Several of these cuts are also extant on broadside publications or loose sheets. The satirical cut of Pope Joan (f. LXXIIIv) giving birth during a procession surrounded by cardinals, is here in perfect state whereas it is often either missing or mutilated.- 18th cent. ms. owner's entry on title-page, otherwise a nice copy. Ad II: First edition of the first printed collection of classical inscriptions, an anthology of ancient Roman epigraphs, and the most beautiful book from the press of the famous Roman printer Mazzocchi (active 1505- 1527). His work is import as one of the earliest humanist studies on epigraphy and valuable for its profuse woodcut illustrations. There are woodcuts of art and architecture of ancient Rome, including the Pantheon, triumphal arches, the "Three Graces" and other reliefers and steles; about 80 cartouches of varying design frame the inscriptions and 7 full-page woodcut borders are on black ground. The work has been attributed to one of Mazzocchi's humanist friends, Francesco Albertini, the great scholar of Roman antiquities. This publication was a determining factor in the development of Roman studies in the 16th century and is the first collection of classical inscriptions from the city of Rome. - Last 8 ff. index and errata lacking, 18th cent. ms. owner's entry on title-page, otherwise fine. - Ad I: Fairfax Murray 78; VD 16 B 5814; Adams B 2141; Hollstein XVB, p. 206, nos.1-15; ad II: Cicognara 3789; Sander 2554; Fumagalli, p. 339-342 (fig. 142); Coszena III, 2251; Mortimer, Italian 297; EDIT16 CNCE 18162; Adams E 236. GRAPHIC ARTS:ILLUSTRATED BOOKS ; SWITZERLAND ; ITALY ;