Title from incipit in red (leaf a2r). Also published on vellum and illuminated. Variations in the incipit, dedication, headlines in the first signature, etc. are recorded, issued with the same colophon. Translated from Arabic by Adelard of Bath; edited by Campano da Novara. While books I-XIII are Euclid's (cf. Th. Heath. The thirteen books of Euclid's Elements. 1956, v.3, p. 519), Book XIV is a work of the 2d cent. by Hypsicles and book XV the work of a Roman land-surveyor of the 6th century. For a discussion by B.L. van der Waerden of Euclid's sources see Enc. Brit., 15th ed., Micro. IV, p 589. With dedicatory letter by Erhard Ratdolt. Imprint from colophon (leaf r7v), which reads: Opus elementorũ euclidis megarensis in geometriã artẽ. In id quoqz Campani p[er]spicacissimi Cõmentationes finiũt. Erhardus ratdolt Augustensis impressor solertissimus. venetijs impressit. Anno salutis M.cccc.lxxxii. Octauis. Caleñ. Juñ. Lector. Vale. Signatures: a¹⁰, b-r⁸. Woodcut initials, large and small, and diagrams in margins throughout; woodcut three-sided border on leaf a2r. Headlines: book numbers throughout, Liber I-Liber XV. Liber III, Propositio 18 (leaf c1r) reads: Si circulũ linea recta cõtingat: ...
Leaf r8, blank, lacking; gathering h bound between gatherings e and f; edges have been trimmed, affecting manuscript notes. Printed initials handcolored in alternate red and blue with a yellow background; paragraph marks in alternate red and blue, and capital strokes in red throughout. Numerous manuscript notes and diagrams in brown ink in different hands in Latin and Greek, with a few corrections in text, brackets and underlining; sets of notes and verses (some acrostic?) on front flyleaf and leaf a1, one of them with title "De authoribus Geometria". Inscription in outer margin of leaf a1v, blurred and partially illegible "ad Vsum [...?] Capucinorum Hildesiensium [?] catalogo [...?] 38o ĩscript. No. 19 F."; pencilled autograph on front flyleaf "S.[or J?] Digby[?]" ; autograph on another front flyleaf of William Maskell, his dates "1833. Bound 1840", and his notes (not located in the Sotheby sale catalogs of his library). 19th century calf binding, blind tooled with gauffered and gilt edges. Bookplate of W.T. Smedley; purchased in 1924. Curatorial file available.
