A Leaf from the First Printed Edition of Homer

A leaf from the exceedingly rare and important first printed edition of Homer — the most important Greek book printed in the Renaissance. The text was prepared by Demetrios Chalcocondyles, a disciple of Cardinal Bessarion. Having established his reputation lecturing in Padua, Demetrios was invited to Florence by Lorenzo de' Medici to teach at the Florentine Academy founded by Cosimo. The Homer of 1488 was dedicated to Lorenzo, and served as the basis of subsequent Renaissance printings, including the Aldine editions of 1504, 1517, and 1523. Demetrios' text was not superseded until the publication of Henri Estienne's edition of Greek hexameter poetry in 1556.

The present leaf is from Book 22 of the Odyssey, with lines 143–180 on the recto and 181–220 on the verso. The leaf is framed with the verso visible from the front and the recto from the back. A seminal passage in Odysseus' revenge, in which his son Telemachus and the loyal swineherd Eumaeus help Odysseus prepare to slaughter the suitors in the great hall of his palace.

Very good condition, with light foxing to the margins not affecting the text. A contemporary marginal annotation appears in the lower left margin of the recto. Presented in a two-sided modern moulded gilt frame.

A vanishingly rare leaf from one of the greatest books ever printed.