Simon Pelegromius. Synonymorum Sylva. London; Norton & Whitaker, 1632.

Synonymorum Sylva, by Simon Pelegromius (Pelgrom). London: Ioyce Norton & Richardum Whittaker (Joyce Norton & Richard Whitaker), 1632.

A scarce early Stuart edition of this influential Latin thesaurus of synonyms, originally issued in London in 1585 and dedicated to Sir Francis Walsingham. Edited and arranged by "H. F.," the work is designed as a rhetorical and poetic aid, running alphabetically with entries under the heads "Sylva" and "Synon," and closing with a section titled "Poetica." The dedication to Walsingham is preserved here, linking this 1632 reprint directly with the Elizabethan courtly milieu.

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The author, Simon Pelegromius (Pelgrom), was a 16th-century Flemish humanist and teacher whose synonym dictionary became a standard tool for Latin composition. Intended for students, poets, and orators, it was widely reprinted across Europe and valued for its utility in rhetorical and literary training.

Small octavo (approx. 165 × 114 × 36 mm). Collates [16], 493 pp., double column throughout. Bound in contemporary calf, worn but unrestored, with red-speckled edges. Joints are rubbed and hinges cracked, but holding. With expected age-toning, some marginal stains, and signs of use, but remains clear and legible throughout.

Ownership marks include the Ogilvy family of Cortachy Castle, adding distinguished Scottish provenance. Despite the loss of the title leaf in this copy, the preliminaries (14 pp.) and full text are otherwise intact and complete.

A well-preserved example of a rare London imprint, valuable both as a humanist lexical tool and for its association with Elizabethan and Jacobean intellectual life.

Provenance: Cortachy Castle Library (book label to front pastedown), seat of the Ogilvy family, Earls of Airlie, Angus, Scotland. Early inscription “Ogilvy his book” to rear endleaf, likely a 17th-century family hand.

Although this 1632 edition was printed in the reign of Charles I and properly belongs to the early Stuart period, it retains the original Elizabethan dedication to Sir Francis Walsingham from the first London edition of 1585. This continuity reflects the work's enduring relevance to English humanist scholarship across successive reigns.

Text in Latin.

Dimensions: approximately 165mm high x 114mm wide x 36mm deep.
Weight: approximately 384g (unpacked weight).