[Plantijn edition in Plessis-Sorbonne prize binding] C. Cornelii Taciti Opera quae extant

Iustus Lipsius quintùm recensuit. Additi Commentarii meliores pleniorésque cum Curis secundis. Antwerp, C. Plantijn, 1589, 3 volumes in one binding, (16),335,(9); (8),194,(2 blank); (2),LXIIII,(15)p., with woodcut printer's marks on the titles, one folding letterpress table (tear on fold), 17th-century marbled and gilt calf, both boards with centered coat of arms of the Plessis-Sorbonne college (with the arms of Richelieu incorporated) and on all corners the monogram "PS", also recurring in the compartments of the ribbed back, all edges gilt, folio.

Lacks the prize; endpaper and first 6 leaves with wormholes in the blank bottom corner, here and there old underlinings in pen in the text. Expertly rebacked using the original backstrip. Good, attractively bound copy. The arms and the name reflect the history of the Parisian college Plessis-Sorbonne. This college was originally founded under the name Collège de Saint Martin du Mont, during the early 14th century, by Geoffroy du Plessis-Balisson. The coat of arms incorporates such images as the arms of Cardinal Richelieu, patron of the college and the figure of Saint Michael. Elsewhere, the monogram "PS" has at times been (incorrectly) attributed to Pierre Séguier (1588-1672), even when the copy concerned contained a school prize of Plessis-Sorbonne. Rare edition, simultaneously published in Leiden, by Plantijn and Raphelengius. The volumes following the main work contain commentaries and historical annotations by Lipsius, each with its own title page.