Anachreontoz Teiou Mele
praefixo commentario qvo poëtae genvs traditvr et bibliotheca Anacreonteia advmbratve. Additis var. lect.
by Anacreon
Identifying the book
Anachreontoz Tēiou Melē / praefixo commentario qvo poëtae genvs traditvr et bibliotheca Anacreonteia advmbratve. Additis var. lect. (Anachreontoz Teiou Melē / fixed commentary on which type of seclusion and handed ANACREONTEA adumbratue library. Adding ssp. led.) by Anacreon. Published by Giambattista Bodoni in Parmae in aedibus Palatinis, 1791. The MSU library call number is XX PA3865.A1 1791
Physical State of the book
The book is in a high quality state. The cover is shiny cranberry red vellum with a decorative golden border. In some areas the red color is not as strong and replaced with a deeper washed out brown. In some areas the book has given way and the wear and tear is visible.
The pages are gilded on all the sides, and retains a shiny golden glint.
On the edges of the book is an elaborate golden border with a repeating pattern and on the front pages is a marbled design. This design is also found on the last pages of the book.
Content of the book
Anacreontea is the title of a collection of greek poetry that centers on love, wine, beauty, Dionysus, etc. The author, Anacreon, was born in c. 582, was an ancient Greek lyric poet. Anacreon spent much of his time in the court of Polycrates. After the death of Polycrates, he returned to his home and was later buried there. Unlike much of Anacreon’s earlier work, the poems were not written in the lonic Greek dialect. The poems illuminated the light-hearted nature of his work. His writings about love were never dramatic, but bizarre, graceful, and light.
Assessing the material qualities of the book
This book was crafted very finely. The marbled pages in the beginning and the end showcase the attention given to detail and artistry. The cover has a bright red color, one that has been preserved well. The condition of the book is in part due to the printer, Giambattista Bodoni (1740-1813). He was a well-known and prolific printer in Parma, Italy. Napoleon even favored his works. Bodoni produced his most notable works during and after 1791, the year he printed Anacreontea.
Provenance
The book has been kept very clean with few marks and annotations. On the first marbled page, there is a bookplate with the letters E, L, and B. Above the design is a price written in that reads, “$68.50.” On the first few page there are some written notes and signatures, as well as another bookplate. The signatures at the beginning seem to read William Arden and then Alumni Archibald Macdonald, 1800. Archibald Macdonald (1747-1826) was a Scottish lawyer and politician. The bookplate belongs to John Chipman Gray (1839-1915). He was an American scholar of property law and a professor at Harvard Law School. He served in the Union Army in the Civil War. To the left of that are markings that read, “ga 5/6 32.” There are other similar markings. On the last pages of the book, “P 4/6 178” is written on the lower half of the page. On the next page, “VC” is written with a line over it. These markings may indicate codes that booksellers used to communicate with other booksellers about the value and price of this book. Ultimately this book was crafted beautifully and has held up very well and has had an interesting ownership history.
Made by Durga Shanker 2019
Photos retaken by Max Levanduski 2025
