[OVID (20 March 43 B.C.-17 A.D. or 18 A.D.); Heinsius, Nicolaus (1620-1681) (ed.)]. Publii Ovidii Nasonis Operum tomus I.[-tomus tertius]. Amstelaedami [Amsterdam]. Ex Officina Elzeviriana. 1658-1661.
FIRST EDITION THUS [edited by Nicolaus Heinsius], complete in three volumes, leather-bound, hardcover, small format - duodecimo (13cm x 7.5cm), tomus I (dated 1658) pp. 234; tomus II (dated 1659) pp. 356, [10] index; tomus tertius (dated 1661) pp. 365. Latin text in roman letter. Handsomely bound in contemporary full morocco gilt, marbled page edges and endpapers, each volume has an individual title-page with printer's device, head- and tail-pieces, woodcut initials, index in double columns. Volume I contains: Heroides, Amorum, Artis Amatoriae, Remedium Amoris, De Medicamine Faciel Fragmentum, Fragmentum Halieutici, Epistolae Tres Quae Sabino Ad Scribuntur, Incerti Auctoris Nux Elegia, Consolatoria Incerti Elegia Ad Liviam Augustam, De Morte Drusi. Volume II contains: Metamorphoseon Libri XV + index. Volume III contains: Fasti, Tristia, Ponticæ Epistolæ, and Ibis. Condition: VERY GOOD. Bindings tight and secure, the hinges and joints perfectly intact. Covers very well-preserved. Interiors excellent, with very light intermittent toning, and without previous ownership markings.
Notes: A handsomely bound three volume Elzevir edition of Ovid’s works, including his beloved Metamorphoses.
"In the Metamorphoses Ovid attempts no less a task than the linking together into one artistically harmonious whole all the stories of classical mythology. And this he does, until the whole range of wonders is passed in review, from the dawn of creation, when chaos was changed by divine fiat into the orderly universe, down to the age of the poet himself… Every important myth is at least touched upon… The poem thus forms a manual of classical mythology, and is the most important source of mythical lore for all writers since Ovid's time" (Miller, Ovid III:xi-xii, Loeb Classical Library). In 1629 Bonaventura and Abraham Elzevir expanded the family business, initiating their famed pocket editions of Latin classics. The aim was to ensure wide circulation of accurate texts for everyday use; the books were printed with engraved title pages, narrow margins and a distinctive font of type, cut by Christoffel van Dijck, that had a great influence on subsequent printers through the centuries. The first Elzevir edition of Ovid appeared in three volumes in 1629; this edition appeared 1658-61, the Latin text edited by Nicolaus Heinius. Excellent condition.
