ROSCOE, William (1753--1831)
The life and pontificate of Leo the Tenth. In four volumes. By William Roscoe. ...
Liverpool, printed by J. McCreery; for T. Cadell and W. Davies, London,, 1805.
4 vols ; 27.0 cm. (4º)
I: [4], xxxvii, [3], 336, 24, 96 p., engr. frontis. port. : wd-engr. illus.
II: [4], 333, [3], 144 p., engr. frontis. port. : wd-engr. illus.
III: [4], 381, [3], 120 p., engr. frontis. port. : wd-engr. illus.
IV: [4], 346, 87, [3], xxix, [3] p., engr. frontis. port. : wd-engr. illus.

First edition of Roscoe's biography of Pope Leo X, the second son of Lorenzo de' Medici, published nine years after his successful biography of the subject's father (q.v.), but not as well received. Leo X, whose papacy coincided with the rise of the Protestant Reformation, is also remembered as a patron of the arts. The frontispiece portraits of Leo X, Aldus Manutius, Martin Luther and Raphael are by Moses Houghton, and the vignettes at the head of each chapter are designed by John Thurston and engraved by Henry Hole. 'Dissertation On ... Lucretia Borgia' (vol. I) and 'Francisci Arsilli Senogalliensis De poetis urbanis ad Paulum Jovium Libellus' (vol. III) are separately paginated, as are the appendices in each volume. With a description of the prints and an index to the whole at the end of vol. IV. The final leaf bears an advertisement by John McCreery dated May 1805, concerning his intention to open a printing office in London in August 1806.

Copy Notes Imperfect; wanting the half-titles in each volume. Frontispiece plates with tissue guards.

Binding C19th diced russia, thick-thin gilt-ruled borders with small trefoil corner ornaments, thick-thin gilt-ruled spine direct-lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers. Bound by Peter Low at for £2 8s., 14 April 1806. (Spiers Box).

Reference Number 892

Additional Names Peter Low, bookbinder; Leo X, Pope (1475--1521); Borgia, Lucrezia (1480--1519)