Title devised from contents.
First colophon (leaf [201b]): Iosephi historiographi viri clarissimi, libri antiquitatum numero vigi[n]ti, per Iohannem schu[e]sler. Ciuem Augustensem finiunt feliciter non scriptorum qui dem arte, sed qua nostra tandem etas dotata est impressoria [fc;] exarati. Anno a natiuitate currente dominica Millesimoquadringentesimo septuagesimo, kale[n]das vero iulias quarto.
Second colophon (leaf [287b]): Iosephi historiographi viri clarissimi, libri de bello iudaico septem. finiunt feliciter, per. Ioha[n]nem schu[e]ssler ciuem Augustensem impressi, kalendas septembris decimo. Anno vero a ptu virginis salutisero Millesimoq[ua]dringentesimoseptuagesimo.
Translated by Rufinus Aquileiensis.
First Latin edition.
Large capitals supplied in different colors, the first illuminated; scroll-work along three sides; small capitals, paragraph-marks, and underlines in red.
First and last leaves blank; printed in 2 columns; 50 lines to a page; without signatures.
Hain, 9451
Label copy from the 1950s of the vellum manuscript was edited with pencil to reflect this edition: The glass sands of the Belus. From his country estate in Judaea, given him by Emperor Vespasian, the Jewish historian Josephus could view at first hand the curious glass sands of the river Belus, which were the wonder of the ancient world. Josephus tells of this sand pit in his Jewish Wars, written about 75 A.D.: "Numerous boats put into this spot and empty the basin of its sand, whereupon it is filled up again by the winds, which, as if by design, drift into it the common sand outside, the latter being all promptly converted by this mine into vitreous matter. But the phenomenon which to my mind is even more remarkable is that the excess particles of glass which overflow from the pit become ordinary sand as before."
Digitized by Boston Photo Imaging in September 2009.
De bello Judaico includes a description of the glass sands of the Belus River.
Digital version counts pages instead of leaves ; incipit 202a corresponds with digital p. 402.
