COYSSARD, Michel. P. Virgilii Maronis opera in locos communes ad academiae Turnoniae iuventutis utilitatem digesta. Douai, ex officina Balthasaris Belleri, 1595.

8vo (the leaf 155x95 mm), nice contemporary binding in dark brown calf, covers richly gilt to a panel design (incorporating floral rolls and tools, fleurs-de-lys, and stars) with central lozenge, spine gilt in compartments, golden edges, later marbled endpapers; binding worn with loss of gilding on boards and spine; inscriptions of Jean Baptiste Peperstraete to title and rear endpaper (dated 1696), modern book label of L. Froissart (faint ink doodle of man to rear endpaper, small wormhole/track to blank outer margins from p. 497 to end, a few light marks). Generally good. Woodcut Jesuit device to title, initials; pp. 568.


Scarce second edition (first Lyons, 1587) of this concordance to the works of Virgil, produced for students at the Collège de Tournon, in the Ardèche in southeast France, in an attractive contemporary binding.  The concordance was edited by Michel Coyssard (1547–1623), the French hymn writer, who joined the Society of Jesus in 1562. This edition was published by Balthazar Bellère of Antwerp (1564–1639) who established his press at Douai in 1590. Sommervogel II, 1600; USTC 111090. No copies in the US on OCLC. Library Hub (Copac) finds a single copy, at Senate House Library.