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Neo-Latin poetry in a rare first edition

BARLAEUS, Caspar.
Poemata. Periochen librorum post Praefationem vide.

Leyden, Ex Off. Godefridus Basson, 1628. 2 parts in 1 vol. Sm.8vo. Contemp. vellum. With woodcut printer's device on title. (16), 196; 256 pp.

Rare first edition of the collected Neo-Latin poetry of Caspar Barlaeus, or van Baerle (1584-1648). Born in Antwerp Barlaeus was only one year old when he left with his parents for the Nothern Netherlands after the Fall of Antwerp. He studied at Leyden at the "Staten College", where the present publisher, Govert Basson, was his fellow student. After a short time as Minister of the Church at Nieuwe Tonge Barlaeus became professor in Ethics and Logic at his old school, but during the Anti-Remonstrant purge of 1619 he was relieved of his posts at the University. He then tried to make a living by private teaching and writing poetry for which he found a printer and publisher in Basson, who had also suffered from the purge. Barlaeus and Basson became close friends and worked together until 1630 to the advantage of both. Barlaeus also was friends with the Leyden painter David Bailly, and became friends with Huygens. Barlaeus was again appointed to teach at the Athenaeum Illustre at Amsterdam in 1631.
Today he is best known for the text he composed for the splendid entree of Maria de Medici at Amsterdam in 1638, and especially famous for his "History of Brazil during the reign of Maurits of Orange", published in 1647, just before his death. The present collected poetry is divided into two parts, the first containg his "heroic" verses, and the second part his "elegic" poems, with a closing section of miscellaneous poetry. The latter includes a poem in honour of the even at the time famous publication of the "Academie de l'Epee" by his friend Thibault. One of the copies of Thibault's fighting book was especially coloured by Bailly for the son of the Prince de Condé. Our book of poetry was dedicated to another of Barlaeus's friends, Cornelius van der Myle. The publisher Basson paid for all costs of the publication, Barlaeus receiving a considerable number of free copies, which he send as gifts to his friends. One of these copies, sent to Venice, was held in quarantaine for forty days, for fear of contamination from the plague in the binding, as Barlaeus proudly wrote to Van der Myle. The book is finely printed in a small Italic type, except for the dedication printed in a good-sized Roman type.

Good copy.- (Top of spine sl. dam.; old owner's ms. entries on first free endpaper).

Bögels, Govert Basson, p. 280, bibliogr. 171.1.1 (3 copies known, 2 in the Netherlands, in the UB Amst. and UB Leyden, and 1 copy in the British Library); not in Bibl. Belg.

Related Subjects: Dutch Literary History Neo-Latin Poetry

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