Rare second edition (the first in the northern Low Countries) of the first Dutch translation of Liviuss monumental and well-known history of Rome: Historiarum ad urbe condita, in four parts, from Romes founding, traditionally dated to 753 BCE, through the reign of Augustus (63 BCE-14 CE). The Roman historian Titus Livius (ca. 59 BCE-17 CE) wrote it in 142 books, but only 35 are still extant. It mixes an annual chronology with a narrative, often interrupting a story to announce the elections of new consuls, following the Roman chronology and era. Livius wrote it mostly during the reign of Augustus.
Haebler records only one roll with a portrait of Philipp I, Landgrave of Hessen (p. 384), and it includes Jan Huss rather than Philip Melanchthon. The roll with 3 unlabelled heads in profile is wider than any recorded by Haebler, longer than most and none of his are dated. Eindband datenbank roll r000965, a very similar roll with portraits and arms of the same four reformers, was used in Griefswald (workshop w004485) in books from 1579 and 1587/88, but it is difficult to judge it from the image in the database and we have not found a record of the other portrait roll.
Lacking the final blank 3D8. Some marginal water stains, but still in very good condition. Binding and some leaves restored, with new endpapers, nut binding otherwise very good. First Dutch Livius published in the northern Low Countries, in contemporary blind-tooled calf with two very interesting portrait rolls, one dated 1571. B. Besamusca & G. Sonnemans, De crumen diet volc niet eten en mochte: Nederlandse beschouwingen over vertalen tot 1550 (Vertaalhistorie 6), p. 123; Geerebaert CXV 1a; Leiden imprints, p. 64; Machiels L405; Moes & Burger 444 note; STCN 114575266 (1 copy); Typ. Bat. 3207 (3 copies); USTC 429017 (same 3 copies); not in Adams; the binding rolls: cf. Einband datenbank r000965 (very similar portrait & arms roll); not in Haebler, Rollen- und Platenstempel.