8vo, pp. [44], 847, [253]; with 13 engraved plates (6 folding), 1 folding map and engraved tail-pieces throughout; contemporary full brick red goatskin, covers tooled in gilt with a double fillet border, an outer panel of a fillet with floral tools at the outer corners and centre of each side; raised bands, spine richly decorated and scrolled gilt in compartments, direct lettered gilt, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers; head and tail of spine chipped with loss, front hinge lightly cracked and a little worn; still a very nice copy with the armorial bookplate of the Earl of Ashburnham. Quintus Curtius Rufus was a Roman historian, writing probably during the reign of the Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD) or Vespasian (69-79 AD). His only surviving work, Historiae Alexandri Magni, is a biography of Alexander the Great. Fluently written, while not completely accurate, it enjoyed popularity in the High Middle Ages, and is the main source for Walter of Chatillon's epic poem Alexandreis.