Earlier this year, we acquired our first 15th century book, or “incunabulum,” as books from the first 50 years of printing are called. It is a copy of the first illustrated edition of the Roman poet Horace, and was printed in Strasbourg in 1498 by the printer Johann Gruninger. The work has commentary by Nicolaus Perottus and was edited by the German poet and humanist Jacob Locher. Gruninger had previously published a number of landmark illustrated books, including a well-known edition of the Roman playwright Terence and an edition of Sebastian Brandt’s humanist satire The Ship of Fools. Many of the 100+ woodcuts found in Gruninger’s Horace were “recycled,” having been used in these previous works.
Also of note is the large woodcut of an idealized Horace in his study, clad in late medieval scholar’s garb and surrounded by books. This image occurs three times in the book, though in this image an early owner of the book has drawn in a set of eyeglasses balanced on the author’s nose. The text, commentary, and use of illustration all make this work a useful resource for teaching in Classics, European history, and the history of the book. The Gruninger Horace joins a collection of leaves from early printed books and medieval manuscripts already in our collections.
