Go to transcription of text
TITLE PAGE, LISTER EDITION, AMSTERDAM, 1709
Lister’s second edition was printed at Amsterdam, 1709, by very able printers, the Jansson-Wæsbergs. It is a very worthy book in every respect which, as M. Græsse says in Trésor des livres rares et précieux, may be included in the collection of the Variorum.
See larger imageGo to transcription of diagram
DIAGRAM
of Apicius Manuscripts and Printed Editions, showing relation to each other and indicating the sources of the present translation.
INCIPIT CONDITUM PARADOXUM
Opening recipe No. 1, Book 1, Apicius. From the manuscript of the 9th century in the Library of the Vatican at Rome.
A Bibliography of Apician Manuscripts and Printed Editions
New York, Library of the Academy of Medicine, until 1930 in Cheltenham, Gloucester, Biblioth. Phillipps, 275, in the library of Sir Thomas Phillipps, acodex ca. Ninth century, 4to, parchment, 275 pp., originally bound up with Phill. 386, which is said to have come from the Benedictine Abbey of St. Ghislain, founded at the end of the 7th century in the diocese of Cambrai; partly in Continental, but mostly in Anglo-Saxon minuscle of the 9th century, not unlike the Anglo-Saxon minuscle of Fulda.
Title missing. Cf. Vollmer, Studien, pp. 5-6.
The writer who has hastily inspected the manuscript in 1931 is of the opinion that three different hands wrote this book. Part of the index is gone, too. The book commences with lib. VII of the index. Bound in an 18th century French full leather binding. It was brought to America by Dr. Margaret B. Wilson and presented to the library of the A. of M. in 1931.
Rome, Vatican Library. Vat. Vrbinas, lat. 1146, Ninth century. 58 sheets, 2 blanks in the beginning and 2 at the end. Size 23.75 × 18.75 cm., heavy parchment, 20-21 lines to the page, not numbered. Sheet 1 R, illuminated by square panel in purple and gold letters (capit. quadr.) INCP|| API || CÆ ||—Nothing else. Sheet 1 V—3 R the title, EPIM e || LES LI || BER I, and the titles of Book I, illuminated with columns, flowers and birds. Sheet 3 R between the foot of the columns EXPLICIVNT CAPITVLA. Sheet 3 V a panel in purple similar to sheet 1 R with inscription, INCP|| CONDITV|| PARADOXV. Sheet 4 R commences the text with the title, I, Conditum Paradoxum. Captions, marginal figures and initials in red. The captions are written in good uncials throughout, the first text words usually in half uncials, continuing in an even and beautiful minuscle. The Explicits and Incipits invariably in capitalis rustica. Sheet 58 V end of text with EXPLICIT LIBER X.
Traube, Vollmer and others believe that this manuscript was written in or in the vicinity of Tours in the 9th century.
Paris, lat. 10318. 8th century. Codex Salmasianus, pp. 196-203, Apici excerpta a Vinidario vir. inl. (Seeillustration.)
Excerpts from Apicius, 31 formulæ not found in the traditional Apicius and quite different in character. Cf. Notes on Vinidarius, preceding theExcerptawhich follow the end of BookXof Apicius.
Rome, Vatican Library, Vat. Vrbinas, lat. 1145, parchment, 15th century. 51 sheets, 20 lines to the page, title, Apicius.
Paris, lat. 8209, paper, 15th century. 131 sheets, 30 lines to the page.
Florence, Laur. 73, 20. 15th century. 84 sheets, 26 lines to the page.
Florence, Laur. Strozz. 67, 15th century. 50 sheets, 23 lines to the page. Title, Apicius.
Florence, Riccardianus, 141 (L III 29), paper, 179 sheets, irregular number of lines, pp. 123-179, Apicius. 15th century.
Florence, Riccardianus, 662 (M I 26), finished April 4th, 1462, paper, 79 sheets, 26 lines to the page. Pp. 41-79 Apicius, written by Pascutius Sabinus, Bologna, 1462.
Oxford, Bodl. Canon, lat. 168 4to min. 78 pp. dated May 28th, 1490. (In fine) scriptum per me Petrum Antonium Salandum Reginensem die xxviii Maii MCCCCLXXXX.
Oxford, Bodl. Add. B 110, 15th century, Italian, cf. H. Schenkl, Bibl. Britann. I. p. 79 n. 384 and F. Madan, A Summary Catalogue of Western Mss. in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, 1905, p. 660. Vollmer says that this Ms. belonged to a son of Humelbergius, as proven by P. Lehmann.
Cesena, bibl. municip., 14th century.
A manuscript in the library of the Sforza brothers at Pesaro which burned in 1514, known only from the catalogue. Cf. A. Vernarecci, La Libreria di Gio. Sforza in Archivio storico per le Marche e l’Umbria, III, 1886, 518, 790.
A manuscript used by Bonifaz Amerbach and Joh. Sichardus. Cf. P. Lehman, Joh. Sichardus, Quellen und Untersuchungen, IV, 1, p. 204.
The two manuscripts mentioned by Albanus Torinus, in his edition of Apicius, Basel, 1541. In 1529 Torinus found an Apicius “codex” on the island of Megalona (Maguellone) which he used for his edition of Apicius. It is almost certain that this was not a very ancient manuscript. The way Torinus speaks of it and of the (first) Venetian printed edition in hisepistola dedicatorialeaves even doubt as to whether his authority was handwritten or printed. A first edition, printed ca. 1483, may have well been a dilapidated copy such as Torinus describes in 1529. Torinus admits taking some liberties with the text and failed to understand some phrases of it. Despite this fact, his text, from a culinary pointof view seems to be more authentic than the Humelbergius and Lister versions.
The other codex according to Torinus, was found in Transsylvania by Io. Honterus of Coronea. This codex may have served as authority for the first edition printed ca. 1483 by Bernardinus, of Venice. No other mention is made of this codex anywhere, which according to Torinus, was sent to Venice from Transsylvania. The text of the Editio Princeps, by the way, is thoroughly unreliable.
Ms. Rome, Vatican Library, lat. 6803, 15th Century.
Munich, lat. 756. Ex bibl. Petri Victorii 49. 15th century. This codex is particularly valuable and important for the identification of the Apicius text. Cf. Vollmer, Studien, pp. 10seq.
Albanus Torinus, 1541, describes Mss.XVandXVI.
A. Vernarecci describes Mss.XIII.
P. Lehmann describes Mss.XIandXIV.
F. Vollmer describes Mss.I-XVIII.
Dr. Margaret B. Wilson describes Ms.I.
Georges Vicaire describes editions Nos.1,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,11,14,15.
Theodor Drexel (Georg) describes editions Nos.1,5,6,7,9,10,12,13,14,15.
Elizabeth R. Pennell describes editions Nos.1,3,9.
Bernhold describes editions Nos.2,10,11,12.
Fabricius describes edition No.2.
Baron Pichon describes editions Nos.3,21.
In the author’s collection are editions Nos.4,5,6,7,8,9,10,15,16,17,18,19,20,23,27,28,29.
These summaries and descriptions of the known manuscript books and printed editions of Apicius are presented with a desire to afford the students a survey of the field treated in this volume, to illustrate the interest that has existed throughout the past centuries in our ancient book.
Copies of any Apicius edition and commentaries are scarce; famous collectorspride themselves in owning one or several of them. Of the well-known collections of cookery books the most outstanding perhaps is that of Theodor Drexel, of Frankfurt on the Main, who owned nine different editions of Apicius. The Drexel catalogue forms the basis of a bibliography—Verzeichnis der Litteratur über Speise und Trank bis zum Jahre 1887, bearbeitet von Carl Georg, Hannover, 1888, describing some 1700 works.
The Drexel collection, combined with that of Dr. Freund, is now in the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin and is undoubtedly the finest collection of its kind.
Another famous collection of cookery books is described in My Cookery Books, by Elizabeth Robins Pennell, Boston, 1903, listing three of the Apicii.
The Pennell collection was destroyed by a flood in London while being stored away in a warehouse during the world war.
The most important bibliography, well-known to bibliophiles, is the Bibliographie gastronomique par Georges Vicaire, Paris, 1890. Vicaire mentions eleven Apicius editions.
The Baron Pichon and the Georges Vicaire collections are both dispersed.
Despite ardent efforts over a period of many years the writer has been unable to secure either an Apicius manuscript or the editions No.1and2. The existence of No.2on our list is doubtful. Therefore, we do not pretend having inspected or read each and every edition described herein, but by combining the efforts of the authorities here cited we have gathered the following titles and descriptions in order to present a complete survey of the Apician literature.
Apitii Celii de re coquinaria libri decem || Suetonius Trāquillus De Claris Grāmaticis. || Suetonius Trāquillus De Claris Rhetoribus || Coquinariæ capita Græca ab Apitio posita hæc sunt || Epimeles, (etc. In Fine) Impressum Venetiis per Bernardinum Venetum.
No date, but attributed to ca. 1483-6. Given as the earliest edition by most authorities. 4to, old vellum, 30 sheets, the pages not numbered. Georg-Drexel, No. 13; Pennell, p. 111; Vicaire, col. 29.
Apicius Culinaris (sic) (cura Blasii LancilotiIn fine) Impressum Mediolani per Magistrum Guilierum de Signerre Rothomagensem. Anno Domini M CCCC LXXXX die VIII mensis Januarii.
Large 8vo. Edition disputed by bibliographers.
Ex Bernhold,præfatio, p. IX, who (we are translating from his Latin text) says, “Here is the exterior of the book as extant in the Nuremberg library, most accurately and neatly described by the very famous and most worthy physician of that illustrious republic, Dr. Preus, a friend of mine for thirty years; whose integrity, of course, is above reproach; these are his own words—The book is made in the size called large octavo. It must be mentioned that the sheets areindeed large, so that the size might be styled an ordinary quarto. Fabricius, in his Bibliotheca, the newest edition, quotes a copy under this name. The entire book consists of five parts [sheets, folded into eight leaves—sixteen printed pages—stitched together] and two leaves. These five parts contain the text proper; these two sheets preceding them, are occupied by the title page, the dedication and a kind of poetic address. The text itself commences with p. 5, I should say, though there is no regular pagination. However, there are nevertheless in the lower ends of the leaves, called the limp parts, some conspicuous letters on the first four leaves of the sheets, while the remaining four leaves though belonging to the respective parts, are blank. For instance aI., aII., aIII., aIIII. Then follows the next sheet or part, signed, bI., II., III., IIII. in the same manner, with the four following leaves blank. And thus in the same manner follows sheet c, d, e. The two leaves preceding the five parts which comprise the text proper, contain the title of the book, Apicius Culinaris [sic] nowhere, to be sure, appears a note of the place or the date where and when the book was made, and on this whole first page, aside from the words already noted, there is nothing else in evidence than the picture of an angel, in the center of which there is the sign, IHS, and around the circle the following words are read, ‘Joannes de Lagniano M.’ At the feet of the angel spaces may be seen that are inscribed with the letters, I.O.L. The next page, or the verso of the title page, exhibits the dedication of Blasius Lancilotus, extending to the upper part of the third page. On this very same page occurs the poem by Ludovicus Vopiscus, addressed to Joannes Antonius Riscius, comprising five very beautiful distichs. The remaining part of the third page is finished off with the word, ‘Finis,’ while the fourth page is entirely blank. The text of Apicius commences with the fifth, as mentioned above, and from now on the leaves are numbered by letters, as previously described. At the end of the text, on the last page of the book, a poem is conspicuous, entitled, ‘Antonius Mota to the Public,’ consisting of four neat distichs, followed by another composition, containing five distichs by Joannes Salandus. And conclusion of the entire work is made with these words, ‘Printed at Milan by Master Guiliermus de Signerre Rothomagensis, in the year of the Lord 1490, on the 8th day of the month of January.’
“From this edition, the oldest as well as the rarest—with no other known earlier edition—all the variants given herewith have been collected by Goezius.” Thus far Bernhold.
The existence of this edition is doubted by Brunet, according to Vicaire. This ancient description corresponds substantially to that of Vicaire of the following edition of 1498 which Vicaire proclaims to be the first dated Apicius edition. It is interesting to note, however, what Bernhold has to say of this 1498 edition.
“Without a doubt a repetition of the preceding edition,” says he; and he goes on quoting the Bibliotheca Latina Fabricio-Ernestina (Jo. Alberti Fabricii Bibliothec. Latin. edit ab Ernesti 1708) to the effect that two editions were printed at Milan, one of 1490 by Blasius Lancilotus and one of 1498 by Guiliermus de Signerre Rothomagensis.
Our inquiry at the Municipal library of Nürnberg has revealed the fact that this copy of 1490 is no longer in the possession of the library there.
Apicius Culinarius (in fine) Impressum Mediolani per Magistrum Guilerum Signerre Rothomagensem, Anno dni Mcccclxxxxviii, die xx, mensis Ianuarii.
(Ex Pennell, p. 111) First dated edition, 4to, 40 sheets, pages not numbered.
Go to transcription of text
COLOPHON, MILAN EDITION, 1498
From the Lancilotus edition of Apicius, printed by Signerre, Milan, 1498, the first dated edition. The poems by Mota and Salandus are identical with the colophon of the 1503 Venice edition.
Note the date of this colophon and observe how easily it can be read for “the 8th day of January, 1490” which date is attributed to our Apiciana No.2. This edition, as is noted, is doubtful, although several bibliographers speak about it.
This copy has on the fly leaf the book plate of “Georgius Klotz, M.D. Francofurti ad Mœnum” and the autograph of John S. Blackie, 1862.
Bernhold, p. XI. Not in Georg-Drexel. Vicaire, 28; he reads Appicius [sic] Culinarius. Pennell and Vicaire read Guilerum, Bernhold Guilierum.
Vicaire’s description of this edition tallies with that of Bernhold’s and his collaborator’s account of the preceding edition. There are certain copies of this edition, bearing the following titles, Apicius de re coquinaria and Apicivs in re qvoqvinaria. Cf. Vicaire, 28-29.
Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke, Leipzig, 1926, II, p. 510, places as the first printed edition Apicius in re quoquinaria [sic] printed by William de Signerre at Milan, on the 20th day of January, 1498. The second place is givenApicius de re coquinariaprinted by Bernardinus de Vitalibus at Venice, no date, circa 1500 (our No.1). This classification follows that of Brunet in 1840. Neither the Gesamtkatalog nor Brunet make any mention whatsoever of the doubtful 1490 Milan edition (our No.2).
Vicaire, col. 33, mentioning this edition citing Bernhold, quotes Brunet as doubting the existence of this 1490 edition, but we fail to notice this expression of doubt since our Brunet is altogether silent on the subject, same as the other bibliographers.
Vicaire, col. 28-29, quotes Brunet as saying that the undated Apicius (our No.1) despite its sub-titles of Suetonius, contains only the Apicius text, a statement confirmed by Pennell.
A search of all the available works of Joh. Alb. Fabricius—Bibliotheca Latina [Classics], Hamburg, 1722, Bibliographia Antiquaria, ib. 1760 and the Bibliotheca Latina mediæ et infimæ [middle ages], ib. 1735, has failed to reveal a trace of the 1490 Apicius, displayed by Bernhold, as described by Fabricius and as seen by Preus in the Nürnberg Municipal Library.
Our facsimile of the 1498 colophon shows how easily its date can be mistaken for “the 8th day of January, 1490,” Bernhold’s very date! Evidently an error of this kind made victims of Preus, Bernhold and Fabricius (if, indeed, he quoted it) and caused us some ardent searching among dusty tomes. We have therefore come to the conclusion that either this 1490 edition disappeared between the year 1787 and our time or else that it never existed.
Apitii Celii de re Coquinaria libri decem. || Coquinariæ capita Græca ab Apitio posita hæc sunt. || Epimeles: Artoptus: Cepurica: Pandecter: Osprion || Trophetes: Polyteles: Tetrapus: Thalassa: Halieus || Hanc Plato adulatricem medicinæ appellat || [in fine] Impressum uenetiis p Iohannem de Cereto de Tridino alias Tacuinum. M.CCCCC.III. die tertio mensis Augusti.
4to, 32 sheets, 30 lines to the page, pages not numbered, signed a-h, by 4.
Go to transcription of text
TITLE PAGE, VENICE EDITION, 1503
From the Blasius Lancilotus edition, printed by Johannes de Cereto de Tridino alias Tacuinus, Venice, 1503. This is the second dated edition of Apicius, resembling very closely the undated edition and also the Milan edition, printed by Signerre 1498, the first to bear a date. Same size as the original. This is a first timid attempt at giving a book a title page. Most books printed before this date have no title pages.
On the last page of our copy are the two poems mentioned in the 1490 Milan edition (No.2) “Antonius mota ad uulgus” (4 distichs) and “Iohannes salandi Lectori” (5 distichs). The verso of this page is blank. The dedication, on the verso of title page, is likewise by Blasius Lancilotus. It appears that this edition is closely related to No.2.
Vicaire, 30; unknown to Georg-Drexel and Pennell.
In the collection of the author.
Cælii Apitii || svmmi advlatricis medi || cinæ artificis De Re Cvlinaria Libri X. re || cens è tenebris eruti & à mendis uindicati, || typisque svmma diligentia || excusi. || Præterea, || P. Platinæ Cremo || nensis viri undecvnqve do || ctissimi, De tuenda ualetudine, Natura rerum, & Popinæ || scientia Libri x. ad imitationem C. Api || tii ad unguem facti. || Ad hæc, || Pavli Æginetæ De || Facvltatibus Alimentorvm Tra || ctatvs, Albano Torino || Interprete. || Cum indice copiosissimo. || Basileæ || M.D.XLI. [in fine] Basileæ, Mense Martio, Anno M D X L I.
4to, old calf, 16 pp., containing title, dedication and index, not numbered but signed in Greek letters. The body of the work commences with p. 1, finishing with p. 366, the sheets are signed first in small Roman letters a-z and numbers 1-3 and then in capital letters A-Z, likewise numbered 1-3. The titles of the books or chapters, on verso of the title page, under the heading of “Katalogos et Epigraphè Decem Voluminum De Re Popinali C. Apitii” are both in Greek and Roman characters. German names and quotations are in Gothic type (black letter). The book is well printed, in the style of the Froschauer or Oporinus press, but bears no printer’s name or device.
The Apicius treatise is concluded on p. 110, and is followed by “Appendicvla De Conditvris Variis ex Ioanne Damasceno, Albano Torino Paraphraste,” not mentioned on the title. This treatise extends from p. 110 to p. 117, comprising fourteen recipes for “condimenta” and “conditvræ”; these are followed on the same page by “De Facvltatibvs Alimentorvm Ex Pavlo Ægineta, Albano Torino Interprete” which book is concluded on p. 139; but with hardly any interruption norwith any very conspicuous title on this page there follows the work of Platina: “P. [sic] Platinæ Cremonensis, viri vndecvnqve doctissimi, De tuenda ualetudine Natura rerum, & Popinæ scientia, ad amplissimum D.D.B. Rouerellam S. Clementis presbyterum, Cardinalem, Liber I.” The ten books of Platina are concluded on p. 366; the type gracefully tapering down with the words: “P. [sic]Platinæ libri decimi et vltimi Finis” and the date, as mentioned. The last page blank.