(1545). HOMERE. LES DIX PREMIERS LIVRES DE L'ILLIADE D'HOMER - Lot 215

(1545). HOMERE. LES DIX PREMIERS LIVRES DE L'ILLIADE D'HOMERE, prince des poètes: traduit en vers françois par M. Hugues Salel. Paris, J. Loys pour V. Sertenas, 1545. In-folio of 150 leaves, half tan basane, spine ribbed (modern binding). "One of the most beautiful books of the 16th century in terms of typography" (Brun, le livre français illustré de la Renaissance p. 236). The illustration includes a woodcut on the title depicting a fountain, surmounted by the statue of Homer, from which various characters (the poets) come to drink, followed by 10 FIGURES - one at the beginning of each book - of a QUALITY EQUAL TO THAT OF THE POLIPHILE. The last 9 are framed in the Tory style. There are also some very fine scroll lettering, with sifted backgrounds. This famous French translation, requested by François 1er, was written by the Lyonnais poet Hugues Salel, who died in 1553 before completing his translation of the Iliad: the remaining books, XII-XXIV, were completed by Amadis Jamyn. Missing the last leaf (printer's mark), 2 leaves (145/75), old repair to the corner of leaf 128 and to the title with several words missing, the first 60 pages are trimmed shorter than the others and probably come from another copy, scattered light rings (Mortimer, French n°93) (USTC, 23493) (Brunet III, 290).