![PHAEDRUS ALTER [...] FABULAE](https://typepunchmatrix.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/55531_1.jpg?auto=webp&v=1786656961)
![PHAEDRUS ALTER [...] FABULAE](https://typepunchmatrix.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/55531_2.jpg?auto=webp&v=1786656962)
![PHAEDRUS ALTER [...] FABULAE](https://typepunchmatrix.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/55531_3.jpg?auto=webp&v=1786656962)
![PHAEDRUS ALTER [...] FABULAE](https://typepunchmatrix.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/55531_4.jpg?auto=webp&v=1786656962)
![PHAEDRUS ALTER [...] FABULAE](https://typepunchmatrix.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/55531_5.jpg?auto=webp&v=1786656962)
PHAEDRUS ALTER [...] FABULAE
First edition published in France of this influential Latin collection of Aesopian-fables — almost certainly the edition used by fairy tale-popularizer Charles Perrault for his French translation of 1699.
Very good.
Price: $2,500.00
PHAEDRUS ALTER [...] FABULAE
"La beauté du stile dont Faërne a écrit ces Fables l'a fait nommer le second Phèdre" [The beauty of style in which Faerno wrote these Fables has given him the name 'the Second Phaedrus'] — Charles Perrault, 1699
Faerno's Neo-Latin fables were first published in 1563 as FABULAE CENTUM and soon became the most successful original work in the Aesopian tradition until La Fontaine; like La Fontaine, Faerno adapted classical sources like Aesop as well as writing his own fables. In fact, this edition's name refers to another important fabulist and celebrated Latin translator of Aesop, Phaedrus, whose work was rediscovered in the Renaissance; Faerno's fables were considered so good that many thought he cribbed them from Phaedrus — a charge against which Perrault defended him in his French translation of 1699. This edition was published the same year as Perrault's book of fairy tales, HISTOIRES OU CONTES DU TEMPS PASSÉ (1697). Perrault appears to have begun his translation of Faerno around the same time, suggesting that Perrault saw his fairy-tale work as linked to the fabulist tradition going back to Aesop.
This edition, the first printed in France (according to the anonymous preface), was meant especially for the education of children, rearranging some of the entries to start with those easier to comprehend. Ashby notes that "Aesop's fables were not originally created for children" (6), but rather were intended as lessons for adults. Yet Faerno's own Aesopian fables were seen as a pedagogical tool from the beginning (especially for teaching students Latin); it was works like this one that helped transform the wisdom tradition of the Aesopian fable into what we now see as a children's genre, side by side with the fairy tale tradition.
Read more: Ashby, The Fox and the Grapes: Aesop Through the Ages. A Checklist of Aesopic Fables in The Pierpont Morgan Library; Maldonado, "Traductio and Imitatio' in Faerno's Neo-Latin Fables," in Humanistica Lovaniensia, vol. 51 (2002).
The Object
Paris: Widow of Claude Thiboust [Madeleine Thévenon] / Augustin Leguerrier, 1697. Full title: Phaedrus Alter, Seu Gab. Faerni Cremonensis Fabulae Ex Aesopo, aliisque priscis Autoribus; Pii. IV. Pont. Max. hortatû scriptae, & jussû editae, Anno 1564. Nunc primùm in Gallia, novóque ordine prodeunt, ad Usum Scholarum accommodato. 12mo, 5.5'' x 3.25''. Contemporary vellum, green goatskin spine label. [22], 156, [12] pages. Boards bowed, with notable soil. Faint dampstaining to text, a couple small losses to rear endpaper. Tight.
The Fine Print
We work hard to meet our ethical responsibility to describe our material accurately. All items are guaranteed as described and may be returned for any reason within 30 days. Please notify us before mailing a return.
We guarantee the authenticity of our items. All materials are original (meaning not facsimiles or reproductions) unless otherwise noted. First editions (meaning first edition, first printing) are explicitly stated. TPM is a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America and upholds their Code of Ethics.
All photographs are of the actual item for sale. We're happy to provide additional images on request.
All domestic orders ship gratis. For orders under $250, free USPS media mail shipping is included; orders $250 and over ship USPS Ground Advantage. International orders over $1000 also ship gratis. Expedited, overnight, as well as other carriers (UPS, Fed-Ex, etc.), may carry additional costs beyond quoted rates. All orders receive tracking information and a direct contact in case of any questions.
International buyers are responsible for any customs, taxes, and related import fees. Please note that we are unable to accomodate requests to misrepresent, misdeclare, or otherwise falsify customs documents when shipping internationally. We appreciate your understanding.
We accept all major credit cards, Paypal, Venmo, check, money order, and bank wire. We are happy to bill institutional buyers' needs. Sales tax will be added to applicable purchases. Items subject to prior sale.
If for any reason you are dissatisfied with your purchase, please contact us. We prioritize our long-term relationships far above any individual purchase, and we want you to love your item as much as we loved cataloguing it.
