First complete edition of the letters of Desiderius Erasmus, containing 171 letters which had never been published before, with correspondence with many of the most prominent figures of the 16th century. The work has been beautifully illustrated with a splendid large woodcut title border by Urs Graf (ca. 1485-1528), known as "The triumph of Humanitas", and two fine borders by Ambrosius Holbein (ca. 1494-1519). The present copy has been annotated in several contemporary hands, and was owned by Ralph Widdrinton (d. 1688), the Regius professor of Greek at Cambridge University.
The Epistolae ad diversos contains 617 letters in total and is far larger than any of the earlier collections of Erasmus' correspondence, namely the Epistolae aliquot of January 1518 (52 letters), the Auctarium of October 1518 (63 letters), and the Farrago of November 1519 (333 letters). The present letter collection is also the first with a preface by Erasmus. The majority of the letters date to 1519-1521, but some are earlier, with the first dated to 11 July 1513. They reflect Erasmus' changing stance towards Luther and Protestantism, but also continue his attacks on friars and the theologians of Louvain. Among the authors correspondents are prominent humanists and other important figures, including Beatus Rhenanus, Ulrich Zasius, Johann Eck, Guillaume Budé, Jean Grolier, Georg Spalatin, Hermann von dem Busche, Konrad Peutinger, John Colet, Thomas More, John Fisher, Thomas Linacre, William Grocyn, Luther, Melanchton, Pope Leo X, and Henry VIII, King of England. Erasmus later made many editorial changes to the letters, making the present edition of particular importance.
With a later ownership annotation ("R. Widdrington") on the title page. The binding is very lightly soiled. The work is slightly browned throughout, with contemporary and later manuscript annotations in the margins in three different hands, a vertical tear in the upper part of the first errata leaf, without loss of text. Otherwise a very good copy with ample margins. Adams E 852; BM STC German p. 276; Erasmus Online 2069; USTC 651629 (34 copies); Vander Haeghen I, 99; VD 16 VD16 E 2925.