Phaedri, Fabularum Aesopiarum (Aesop’s Fables in Latin) Libri V, 1718 Second Edition. 

Size: 6 1/4 X 4 X 1 in. 

This book is titled Phaedri, Aug. Liberti, Fabularum Aesopiarum, Libri V - The Fables of Aesop by Phaedrus, Book V - and it’s the second edition that was edited by David Hoogstratani and published in Amsterdam in 1718 by Gerard Onder de Linden. The book has vellum covers over board, blank endpapers, the front paste-down has faint writing probably done with an old quill pen, followed by an engraved frontis showing a figure of Phaedrus writing about a scene from Aesop’s Fables, the frontis reads Fabulae Aesopiae Notis  illustratae cura David Hoogstratani … Apud G. onder de Linden, which means the book was illustrated with notes and edited by David Hoogstratani and published by Gerard Onder de Linden. The title page is printed in red and black letters and under the title, it says In gratiam Studiosae Juventutis notis illustrati, which means for the benefit of studious youth, illustrated with notes, and cura Davidis Hoogstratani, editio altera, which means the book was edited by David Hoogstratani, editio altera means a second edition, and the engraved vignette on the title page says Tiliae Sub Tegmine Titus, which means Titus reclining under the shelter of the lime tree. Gaius Julius Phaedrus, or Phaeder (circa 15 BC - 50 AD) was a Greek slave who lived in Rome in the 1st-century AD and had a very important role in the history of fable - he was considered the first person to put Aesop’s Fables into verse. He was a slave of Thracian descent, and Aug. Liberti means he was a freedman who was formerly owned - a slave - by Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Nothing is recorded of his life except for what can be gleaned  from his poems, and there was little mention of his work from the late third century up to the Middle ages. It was not until a few of his manuscripts were discovered during the Renaissance that his importance emerged, both as an author and as a fabulist. From what we can tell, he composed five books (probably incomplete) of fables in verse, and this is the fifth book. His tales with beasts were adaptions of the fables of the Greek poet Aesopus from the sixth century B.C., and Phaedrus elevated the fable into an independent genre of literature. When you see the word Phaedri instead of Phaedrus, that is the genetive case in Latin to show that someone owned something, so a book written by Phaedrus became Phaedri and whatever the title of the book was. The book has a five-page dedication (Dedicatio), a seven-page preface (Praefatio), nine pages about the life of Phaedrus (Vita Phaedri), three pages of judgments and testimonies about Phaedrus (Judicia et Testimonia), three pages listing the titles of the fables (Phaedri Fabularum Inscriptiones), 144 pages of text with 91 fables, followed by a six-page appendix that goes up to page 151, a 32-page Index, and a page addressed to the reader by David Hoogstratanus at the end (Lectori Benevolo). The book is unillustrated, except for the engraved frontis and title page and a floral design on pages 36, 127, and 151. David van Hoogstraten (1658-1724) was a Dutch poet, physician, and linguist known for his work as conrector (deputy principal) at the Latin School of Amsterdam and for editing classical authors, with his Phaedrus edition of 1701 considered his masterpiece. Gerardo Onder de Linden was a publisher working in Amsterdam. The book measures 6 1/4 x 4 inches wide and is in very condition. It has a tight binding and clean pages and text, all the pages are present, a couple of pages have small corner creases, with light brown spots in the Index, the covers have light soiling and the tips are slightly curled in, and the rear paste-down has some loss at the top. The first and second editions by Hoogstraten are hard to find - we found only eight listed on the rare book website we use; first editions from 1701 run anywhere from $375 in poor condition to almost $2300, while the second edition from 1718 runs from $400 to $1250 for a copy with a fore-edge painting, and the book is a solid copy of Aesop’s Fables by Phaedrus.