1756 ❧ Foulis Press, titles ruled in gold. HOMER. The Iliad & the Odyssey (Greek: Ἰλιάς [and] Ὀδύσσεια). Glasgow: Robert and Andrew Foulis, 1756-1758. 4 volumes, small folio (362 x 230 mm). Printed in Greek type, ruled in red throughout, half titles and titles with blue and gold rules added. Some toning and occasional browning. Modern calf antique gilt, red and green lettering pieces gilt. Provenance: Abe Lerner (note on flyleaf). LARGE PAPER COPY, with decorative ruling on half titles and titles. Widely considered the proudest achievement of the Foulis Press and a masterpiece of 18th-century printing, and based textually on the work of Samuel Clarke, the edition represents a historic break from the dense, heavily ligatured 16th-century Greek printing traditions of Aldus and Estienne. Astronomer-turned-typefounder Alexander Wilson designed a cleaner, simplified Double Pica type that significantly reduced contractions, resulting in a text praised by typographic historian Harry Carter as 'fluent and rhythmical.' To ensure absolute textual accuracy, the Foulis brothers famously had every single page proofread six times prior to printing-including an examination by Andrew Foulis himself. This large paper copy, augmented by its striking contemporary colored rulings and pristine typographic pedigree, is a premier artifact of classical scholarship, not to mention connoisseurship. Dibdin II, 58; Gaskell, Foulis 319; Scholderer, Greek Printing Types p.12. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing