Page from the first edition containing nine of the eleven comedies by Aristophanes, edited by Marcus Mousouros and printed by Aldus Manutius in enice in 1498.
In the Library's section there are today 1658 titles of books printed between 1497 and 1899, and 19 registers. There are many editions and multiple copies of most of the old books, exceeding 3355 volumes in total. Most books are in Greek and Latin, while there are also books in French, Italian and German.
Frontispiece and the title of the 1st volume of the book "Epitome of Astronomy" by Lalande, translated by Daniel Philippides (Vienna 1803).
This collection of old books spans almost the entire history of the printed book until 1900. It includes rare and valuable editions, which are the work of great scholars, editors, printers, artists and craftsmen, from the major printing houses of Venice, Florence, Geneva, Basle, Paris, Vienna, Rome, Leipzig, Amsterdam and other intellectual centres.
Certain editions testify to the influence of the Enlightment era. There are dictionaries and encyclopaedias, items of classical and Byzantine literature, liturgical texts as well as texts concerning the modern sciences. In particular, the large number of geographical and scientific titles is characteristic of the founders' progressive ideas.
Page from the book "L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux" by Pierre Belon (Paris 1555).
Other features of the books are also interesting: seals, bookplates, the owners' notes and marginal comments narrate the history of specific copies or give information about the persons involved and their time.
In order to give a picture of the wealth, range and character of the Library, one could mention:- The two incunabula of 1497 (Aristotle) and 1498 (Aristophanis, printed by Aldus Manutius).
- An edition of Herodotus works, dating from 1502, also by Aldus Manutius.
- A 1516 edition of the Idylls by Theokritos printed by Zacharias Kalliergis.
- The Critical Remarks on Homers Iliad and the Odyssey by Eustathius, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, printed in Rome in 1542.
- A 1590 edition of the works of Aristotle
- Souda's dictionary of 1619.
- The Mathematical Route by Methodios Anthrakitis, printed in Venice in 1749.
- The 39-volume Geneva edition (1778-1779) of the Diderot's French Encyclopaedia.
- A Grammar Book by the Thessaliote scholar K. Karaioannou, which is the first Greek book published in Buda, Hungary in 1796.
- The New Atlas by Brouckner, printed in The Hague in 1759.
- Harmonia macrocosmica by A. Cellarius, printed in 1708.
- The Anatomical Atlas by M. J. Weber, printed in Dusseldorf.
- A book on ornithology by P. Bellon printed in 1555.
Text : Rania Tzortzi
Translated by Hara Mihalakopoulou