Very rare Antwerp edition of the famous Satires. This collection of 16 poems was written in the early 2nd century by Decimus Junius Juvenalis (or Juvenal, ca. 55-127 CE), one of the greatest satirists of Imperial Rome. With his sharp wit and biting tone he criticises what he considers the moral rot of Roman society, such as prostitution, marital infidelity, sodomy, hypocrisy, and the decadence of the aristocracy. Many of the satires include references to Greek and Roman mythology. The present edition, which is the first by Anthonis van der Haeghen and the fourth to be printed in Antwerp, includes a beautiful woodcut title border, a short life of the author, and printed marginal annotations, which are likely by Antonius Mancinellus (1452-1505). We have not been able to trace the present edition in sales records of the past hundred years.
The work has been rebacked with brown calf, lacking the closing ties, the leather on the boards is somewhat cracked, with some losses around the edges. The leaves are lightly browned, a water stain in the outer margin of leaves 17-21, affecting the printed notes. Otherwise in good condition. Adams J-761; Nijhoff & Kronenberg 1247; Shaw, D., Editions of Juvenal printed before 1601, Juv136; USTC 438106 (8 copies) and 404856 (1 copy); not in the STCV.