editio princeps
Original published version
Editio princeps is Latin for "first edition," used in bibliography and book collecting for the earliest printed version of a text.
The term typically applies to works that existed in manuscript before the printing press: The editio princeps of Homer appeared in Florence in 1488.
These first printings are prized by collectors and scholars as foundational texts.
Original text before publication
- codexAncient bound manuscript
- vellumPrepared calfskin for writing
- parchmentTreated hide for manuscripts
- illuminatedMade visible by light
palimpsest · scribe · scriptorium · uncial · minuscule · gloss · variant · archetype
Earliest European printed books
- colophonBook's production statement
- imprintMark from applied pressure
- folioSingle-fold page format
- quartoFour-leaf printing format
octavo · recto · verso · typeface · letterpress · Gutenberg · woodcut · frontispiece
Scholar of old artifacts
- auctionCompetitive public sale
- Sotheby'sMajor fine art auctioneer
- Christie'sMajor art auction firm
- provenanceRecord of ownership
condition · foxing · restoration · bookseller · catalog · valuation · inscription · slipcase
European cultural reawakening
- ReformationReligious movement splitting Christianity
- VesaliusFather of anatomy
- CopernicusRenaissance astronomer, heliocentrism
- ErasmusDutch Renaissance humanist
humanist · classical · antiquity · vernacular · Latin · Greek · Venice · Basel
Study of historical texts
- annotationAdded explanatory comment
- collationSystematic arrangement by rules
- bibliographyList of cited works
- apparatusEquipment for a task
paleography · facsimile · attribution · authorship · canonical · definitive · urtext
manuscript
Original text before publication
- codexAncient bound manuscript
- vellumPrepared calfskin for writing
- parchmentTreated hide for manuscripts
illuminated · palimpsest · scribe · scriptorium · uncial · minuscule · gloss · variant · archetype · copyist
incunabula
Earliest European printed books
quarto · octavo · recto · verso · typeface · letterpress · Gutenberg · woodcut · frontispiece · catchword
antiquarian
Scholar of old artifacts
- auctionCompetitive public sale
- Sotheby'sMajor fine art auctioneer
- Christie'sMajor art auction firm
provenance · condition · foxing · restoration · bookseller · catalog · valuation · inscription · slipcase · points
Renaissance
European cultural reawakening
- ReformationReligious movement splitting Christianity
- VesaliusFather of anatomy
- CopernicusRenaissance astronomer, heliocentrism
Erasmus · humanist · classical · antiquity · vernacular · Latin · Greek · Venice · Basel · Paris
philology
Study of historical texts
- annotationAdded explanatory comment
- collationSystematic arrangement by rules
- bibliographyList of cited works
apparatus · paleography · facsimile · attribution · authorship · canonical · definitive · urtext
- originalsoriginal, authentic, genuine, prototype, archetype
- book collectingbibliophiles, first editions, rare books, antiquarian, bookplates
- rare booksGutenberg Bible, rare editions, rare books, first editions, first printing
- early booksincunabula, folios, quartos, octavos, first folio
- early printingmovable type, typography, incunabula, folio, quarto
- Latin scholarshipLatin poetry, philology, classical texts, paleography, lyric poetry
editio princepsreprint
New copy, same content
revised edition · second edition · facsimile · definitive edition · collected works
prince, principal, editor, edition, editing, edited, editorial, edits, editorship