Vermiglioli, Gio. Battista
Perugia, 1820
Perugia: Presso la Tipografia Baduel, 1820. 8vo. viii, 209 pp. Later 19th century cloth spine over marbled paper board, original front wrapper bound-in. With the book label of Tammaro De Marinis.
Second edition,originally published in 1806 in only 66 pages. Vermiglioli's Principj begins with a lengthy history of the origins of printing in Perugia, followed by descriptions of 21 books printed during the incunable period. Each entry is well described with considerable annotations referring to these publications. This is the second bibliography of printing in Perugia, Pietro Brandolese published research in 1807 listing 18 incunable editions. The final nine pages of the book contains a list of works published by the author, who was a member of the faculty at Perugia and director of the Museo Antiquario.
Giovanni Battista Vermiglioli (1769-1848), was born and educated in Perugia and took degrees in art and law. He was drawn to the history of Perugia and published a number of important works on Etruscan culture which flourished long before the Romans dominated the territory. He was the author of at least nine bibliographical works on early printing in Perugia. "Vermiglioli's culture and production always retained the encyclopedic approach of his eighteenth-century education and the prevailing interest in the most varied aspects and almost all eras of the history of his city" (Polverini).
G. Ottino e G. Fumagalli, Bibliotheca Bibliographica Italica, 392-93. Brunet Manuel du Libraire, V, p. 1143. Bigmore & Wyman, Bibliography of Printing, III, p. 47. Besterman, World Bibliography of Bibliographies, III, 3429. See Leandro Polverini's short biography in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, V. 98.
OCLC lists copies at the Library of Congress and the Folger Library. .
Zannoni, Andrea
[Faenza], 1808
[Faenza]: presso Michele Conti, 1808. 8vo. 196 x 125 mm., (7 ¾ x 5 inches). 46, 2 pp. Modern wrappers. From the Library of Tammaro De Marinis.
Only edition. Rare pamphlet written by the librarian of Faenze and addressed to a young Gio. Battista Zannoni (1774-1832), "Second Librarian" at the Biblioteca Magliabecchiana in Florence, who was to become the Director of the Uffizi Gallery. I have not been able to identify Andrea Zannoni, but based on his date of birth, (1754-1811), he maybe the uncle of Giovanni Battista.
In this rare work, Andrea Zannoni examines twenty-three books printed in Italy during the fifteenth-century and provides bibliographical details that helps to identify where a particular edition fits in the publishing history of a given title.
For example, the first book that Zannoni describes is Nicolai de Tudeschis edition of Consilia, which he identified as being printed in Ferrara, by Petrus de Aranceyo and Johannes de Tornaco in 1475. He does so by making a detailed description of the type face, the composition of the type on the page, the number lines of type per page, the quality of the paper stock, &c., and then discusses the work of printers work in Ferrara in the 1470's and concludes based on other works printed by Aranceyo and Tornaco, that this unsigned edition is by this pair of printers. Zannoni also cites the bibliographical work of Giovanni Battista Audiffredi and his catalogue of the collections of early printed books in the Biblioteca Casanatense, Rome, which was the copy which he examined.
Besterman World Bibliography of Bibliographies, 3343-4. British Library, Incunable Short Title-Catalogue, item ip00029500. Rare: OCLC cites copies at the Grolier Club and the Newberry Library only. .
Rossetti, Domenico De'
Trieste, 1826
Trieste: Dalla Tipografia Marenigh, 1826. 8vo. 56 pp. Illustrated with a facsimile page of incunable printing of Petrarch's poetry. Original blue paper wrappers.
Rossetti was a bibliographer of early Italian literature, a founding member of the L'Accademia Minerva in Trieste, and a book collector who left his collection, "Biblioteca Rossettiana, to the public library of that city. His Edizione Singolarissima examines in detail an unidentified edition of Petrarch's works and includes numerous references to Dibdin, Melzi, and Meerman, and their bibliographical work on editions of Petrarch. In 1834 he published one of the earliest bibliographical studies of Petrarch that included descriptions of 1343 items.
Besterman, World Bibliography of Bibliographies. 3165. OCLC cites 4 copies in America; Yale Harvard, Cornell, and the Newberry Library. .
Borromeo, Anton-Maria
Bassano, 1794
Bassano, 1794. 8vo. xxi, 3, 243 pp. Late 19th century red morocco spine and tips over marbled paper boards. Beautifully printed on thick paper, with wide margins.
First edition of this catalogue of books of fiction in the library of Anton-Maria Borromeo. Borromeo (1724-1813), son of an illustrious family, was born in Padua and educated in the classics and science. He became a great collector of manuscripts and printed books and formed one of the first collections of Italian fiction. His Notizia de'Novellieri contains descriptions of 250 works, mostly of the 16th and 17th centuries, and includes significant commentary on the writers and subjects of this early novelistic tradition including Luigi Alamanni, Giovanni Battista Amalteo, Giulia Bigolina, Pietro Fortini, Vicenzio Rota, and other. It is the first bibliographical catalogue of its kind and was republished in 1805. After his death in 1813, his books were purchased by Payne and Foss in London and sold at auction in 1817.
Brunet. Manuel du Libraire, I, p. 1121. Besterman. World Bibliography of Bibliographies, II, p. 1374. Taylor, Book Catalogues, p. 138. Gian Franco Torcellan, "Borromeo, Antonio Maria", in Dizionario biografico degli italiani, vol. 13.
OCLC does not list a copy of this edition in the U.S. but there appears to be a copy at the Library of Congress and Harvard cites a copy of the 1805 edition. .
Melzi, Gaetano
Milano, 1838
Milano: Paolo Antonio Tosi, 1838. Second edition of this standard work on the early romances and chivalric poetry written by Italian writers during the 15th and 16th centuries. It includes descriptions of 820 editions, with an extensive index of authors and titles included. This is the one of the earliest annotated bibliographies listing the editions with notes of the works of Ludovico Ariosto, cited 241 printed editions. He also describes with annotations editions of the works of , Matteo Maria Boiardo (20 editions), Luigi Pulci (31 editions), Pietro Aretino, Lodovico Dolci, Torquato Tasso and dozens more. The concludes with a useful index and a list of bibliographies used in his research.
Gaetano Melzi (1786-1851) began his career as a bookseller, describing incunabula and early Italian books and offering them to libraries and private collectors. He was instrumental in building the Biblioteca Braidense and the private library of the English Collector Frank Hall Standish. His skill at writing biography was soon recognized and his this is his first important publication, followed his still useful work, Dizionario di opere anonime e pseudonime di scrittori italiani o come che sia aventi relazione all'Italia, Milano, 1848-1859,
Brunet, Manuel du Libraire, p, 1593-94. Besterman, World Bibliography of Bibliographies, 1373. (1134) See Tammaro De Marinis biography, "Melzi, Gaetano", in Enciclopedia Italiana, Roma, 1934. .
Medical Society of Edinburgh
Edinburgi, 1804
Edinburgi: Excudebant Jacobus Pillans & Fillii, 1804. 12mo. 175 x 100 mm., [7 x 4 inches]. 186 pp. Bound in 19th century ¾ black morocco, leather spine and corners, marbled paper boards; joint cracked but expertly repaired with tissue; text block brown with age but in good condition. A few pencil marks appear in the margins. Nineteenth- century ownership stamp of George R. Brush, M.D./US Navy of Sayville, N. Y. on title-page. With faults a good, sound copy.
This catalogue of approximately 2,500 titles, is organized alphabetically and is exclusively devoted to medicine and the related sciences. The collection is strong in 16th and 17th century titles and as one might expect a very good collection of 18th century books, especially titles printed at the end of the century. There are also a good number of dissertations and pamphlets included, which add to the comprehensive nature of this catalogue's holdings.
The first publication of the University of Edinburgh medical library appeared in 1773 and included over 4,000 titles. It was updated in 1798 with a new edition which doubled the listing of holdings to over 8,000 titles. In 1805 a 55-page addendum was published that included 750 title. The entire library was sold in at Sotheby's in 1969 and much of it was purchased by the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
This 1804 catalogue appears to an independent publication, complete in itself. It does not appear that this title is listed in the British Library Catalogue, OCLC or NUC. Not listed in the Grolier Club Library Catalogue It is also not in the University of Wisconsin on-line catalogue, but an 1812 edition with a similar title is listed.
Besterman II, p. 2521 for early editions of the catalogue. .
Manni, Domenico Maria
Firenze, 1761
Firenze: Stamperia di Pietro Gaetano Viviani, 1761. 4to. 235 x 170 mm., [9 ¼ x 6 ¾ inches]. viii, 16 pp. Later colored paper wrappers. Book label of Tammaro De Marinis.
Manni (1690-1778), a noted historian of printing and literature, was the son of a Florentine typesetter, whose interest in the history of printing was fostered by his familiarity with the printing trade. His scholarship was recognized by his contemporaries, and he was elected to the Accademia della Crusca, the leading academy in Florence, and became the director of the Biblioteca Strozzi. In addition to his numerous essays on printing and Florentine history, he was a serious scholar of the writing of Boccaccio and published his most important work, Istoria del Decamerone in 1742 to critical acclaim.
This rare essay on the first printer in Florence, was part of a phenomena taking place all over Italy by antiquarians searching through archives for documentation on the origins of printing in Italy. It is an example of the development in scholarship that sought to establish methods and techniques for using local archives and repositories of government documents as sources for fact based research. In this case Manni not only used the publications of Bernardo Cennini as documents for establishing precedence, but also contracts and other government documents that survived in the archives in Florence. Subsequent research by Roberti Ridolfi in the 20th century using newly found documents suggest other possible printers may have preceded Cennini and therefor the question remains open as to who was the first printer in Florence.
Ottino and Fumagalli, Bibliotheca Bibliographica Italica, no. 267. See Ridolfi, "Nuovi contribute all storia della stampi nel secolo XV" published in La Bibliofila (1954). Laterza III, p. 480. Giuseppe Crimi, "Manni, Domenico Maria", Dizionario Biographico degli Italiani, Volume 69.
OCLC cites copies at Penn, Yale, Amherst, Harvard and Illinois. Not cited in the Library of Congress. .
HAYM, NICOLA FRANCESCO
In Venezia ed in Milano, 1741
In Venezia ed in Milano: Michel' Antonio Panza, 1741. Second edition revised and augmented. 4to. 16, 266 pp. Contemporary limp vellum showing some wear, with a minor repair to the lower part of the spine; some light foxing to the text.
Biblioteca Italiana, the first catalogue of its kind published as a guide for collectors, was originally published by Haym in 1726 in London for the benefit of English collectors and librarians. It was highly successful and was reprinted in Italy several times. It is based on the work of Giusto Fontanini, the noted Italian librarian, collector, and author, who wrote and compiled a catalogue describing books from the collection of Cardinal Imperiali that was published in 1711.
Haym arranged his catalogue by subject for easy use and quick reference and includes descriptions of over 3500 titles. His work is introduced by an essay on Italian printing by Fontanini dated 1706 and is notable for its geographical table of contents and an extensive index. It became a standard work for most of the 18th century.
Brunet, Manuel du Libraire, III, p. 66. Ottino & Fumagalli, Bibliotheca Bibliographica Italica, no. 606. Besterman, World Bibliography of Bibliographies, p. 548. .
Requeno, D. Vincenzo
Roma, 1810
Roma: Da' Torchi di Mariano de Romanis e Figli, 1810. 8vo. 210 x 130 mm. (7 ¾ x 5 inches). (2), 106 pp. Contemporary vellum; vellum uniformily soiled, title in ink on the spine.
Only edition. Interesting work which discusses the development of hand formed letters during the Medieval period and hypothesizes that many manuscripts from that time were actually printed long before Gutenberg's invention of the black art. Requeno examines the uniformity of letter forms designed that appear in early manuscripts and tries to demonstrate that as early as the 10th century letter forms were engraved and pressed by hand onto sheets of vellum and paper by scribes work in the various monasteries in Germany and Italy. A new edition of his Chirotipografia was published in 2020, with an introductory essay by Antonio Castronuovo. In his essay Castronuovo suggests that Requeno's devotion to the classical world, blurred his understanding of the great strides in art and printing that had taken place during the Renaissance and led to make unfounded pronouncements about art processes, especially printing, that upon closer examination proved false.
Vincenzo Requeno (1752-1811) was born in Zaragoza study with the Jesuits and after their expulsion from Spain in 1767, he moved to Italy and was ordained a priest in Modena in 1769. His academic work was focused on classical subjects, especially art and music. He also experimented with early art techniques and wrote a treatise on encaustic brush painting that reintroduced this technic into the art vocabulary of the time.
Rare: OCLC lists copies at Princeton and Library of Congress only.
Brunet, Manuel des Libraire, IV p. 1244. Bigmore and Wyman, Bibliography of Printing, II, p. 253. Not in Besterman. Vincenzo Requeno. Osservazioni sulla chirotipografia ossia antica arte di stampare a mano, a cura di Antonio Castronuovo, premessa di Edoardo Barbieri. Macerata: Biblohaus, 2020.
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(BURGASSI, Antonio Cesare)
In Padova, 1790
In Padova: Presso Pietro Bandolese, 1790. Small 8vo. iv, 182, 2 pp. 8vo. Contemporary paper wrappers, soiled, spine reinforced at an early date; an otherwise fresh, uncut and unopened copy with large margins.
Very good copy of the second edition, published the same year as the first. It is revised and enlarged by Jacopo Morelli (see his publications below), the noted Venetian librarian and scholar of 15th-century printing. Burgassi's work was considered the most sophisticated bibliography of the Aldine Press published to date. It is a descriptive catalogue of imprints arranged chronologically from 1494 to 1595, with a list of titles that appeared without publication dates and an alphabetical index. It is based on research that he conducted in the library of Cardinal Lomenie de Brienne which contained a rich collection of Venetian printing in the 15th and 16th centuries.
When Burgassi's book first appeared, Renouard decided to abandon his own plans to write a bibliography of the Press, until a few years later when he purchased the Cardinal's collection and made it the basis for his own research. "Although it (Renouard's Annales) had eighteenth century precursors, these were of little value, except perhaps for Antonio Cesare Burgassi's Serie dell'edizioni Aldine per ordine cronologico (Pisa, 1790), especially in its second edition."
Breslauer & Folter, Bibliography, 115.
Manini, Lorenzo
N. p., 1780. 12mo. 170 x 105 mm., [6 ½ x 4 ¼ inches]. 14, [2] pp. Later wrappers; with markings in ink in the margins; these marginal notes in red indicate corresponding volume and pagination.
An unusual survival of this publishers subscription prospectus for a seven volume work, by Regius Professor Isidoro Bianchi, that collects his monographs from journals and other publications on all subjects, from the fine arts, education, economics, science, epigraphy, and antiquarian studies. The work is unusual in that all his writings are cited with their first place of publication and date. Subscriptions of 50 soldi of Milanese money are solicited for which subscribers will receive a free copy. This prospectus was written by Bianchi's contemporary :Lorenzo Manini, a reformer himself and correspondent of Benjamin Franklin.
Educated by the Jesuits in Cremona and taking holy orders in 1756, Isidoro Bianchi (1731-1808) showed an aptitude for language and studied Greek and Latin, with an emphasis on antiquarian studies. His skill was recognized, and he was invited to the monastery of Saint Gregory in Rome where he began corresponding with many of the Italian intellectuals of the day, including such luminaries as Beccaria, Pietro and Alessandro Verri, and Joseph Baretti. In the 1760's he was influenced by enlightenment ideas and became a contributor and supporter of the Milanese periodical l Café, and his connections with reform movements in Italy became of paramount importance to him. He became involved with the Florentine periodical edited by Giovanni Lami La Novelle Letterarie , and the Venetian publication, La Minerva. This brought him into conflict with his superiors and he was sent from Rome to Gubbio where he was instructed to meditate on his calling to holy orders and his commitment to the Church. This period of exile strengthened his resolve, and he dedicated his life to helping to create a society where the happiness of mankind was the central focus of government and individual freedom was the goal of everyman. This was to take the form of economic justice for artisans and peasants and culminated in the radical idea of distribution of land and property to those who produced the goods and services that geneated the wealth in Italian society.
To learn more about this fascinating writer and thinker see Franco Venturi's biographical sketch cited below. Venturi, the most important historian of the Italian Enlightenment is responsible for documenting this critical period in Italian history and resurrecting the life and works of the men and women who contributed participated.
Franco Venturi. Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, v. 10. Dino Carpanetto and Giuseppe Ricuperati, Italy and the Age of Reason, p. 266. No copies of the are prospectus is cited in any of the online databases or opacs. .
Morelli, Jacopo
Venezia, 1776
Venezia: Nella Stamperia di Modesto Fenzo, 1776. 8vo. 210 x 120 mm., [8 x 4 ¾ inches]. vi, [2], 179 pp. Illustrated with an etched vignette of a coat-of-arms on the title-page. Bound in original paste-paper boards; some light soiling to covers, otherwise a very good copy.
Only edition of this rare bibliography of Italian comedy in the Library of Tommaso Giuseppe Farsetti, written by the one of the most important librarians and cataloguers in Venice during the later years of the 18th century. The books are classified by types of comedies, including sacred plays, tragedies, pastorals, fables, and rustic comedies. The works are organized by author and in some cases, by characters from the play. In addition to the short title description Morelli includes information on format, biographical information on the author, some notes on its reception and position vis-à-vis other works in the genre.
Jacopo Morelli (1745-1819) was born in Venice, educated in the Church, but made his mark as a bibliographer and later Librarian of the Biblioteca Marciani in Venice. Morelli is most well-known for his manuscript catalogues, his discoveries and identification of ancient texts in the libraries of Venice and Bassano, and the catalogue he wrote of the Pinelli collection published in 1787. In addition to this catalogue written for Farsetti, Morelli wrote a catalogue of his manuscript collection (1771-1780), a catalogue of Italian local history based on the Farsetti's library (1782: see below) and his own catalogue of books that he left to the Biblioteca Marciani upon his death, amongst other publication. Tomasso Giuseppe Farsetti was a passionate writer and translator who built a very large library and commission Morelli to document his collection. He also left a collection of books and manuscripts to the Marciani.
Carlo Frato. Dizionario Bio-Bibliografica dei Bibliotecari e Bibliofile Italiani, pp. 379-384. Gianna dell Bono. Storia delle Biblioteche fra Settecento e Novecento. Saggio Bibliografico. (Roma, 1988) no. 16. G. Ottino and G. Fumagalli, Bibliotheca Bibliographica Italica, 3897. .
Sallust
Madrid, 1772
Madrid: For Joachin Ibarra, Impresor de Camara del Rei Nuestro Señor, 1772. Folio. 350 x 265 mm., [13 ¾ x 10 inches. pp. [2], pp. 337-378, [2] pp. Illustrated with three full-page engraved plates and images of coins and calligraphy throughout the text. Bound in full Spanish morocco, double fillet borders on boards, raised bands, red leather title label; marbled paper pastedowns and end leaves; some minor rubbing to the binding and some minor discoloration to the edges of the paper. Very nice copy with very large margins, printed on thick paper.
Translated from the Latin into Spanish by Gabriel Antonio Bordón, Infante of Spain. Beautifully produced archeological work by the Infante of Spain, that reproduces the ancient language of the Phoenicians from reliques, coins, and papyrus fragments. The appears to be the final chapter printed in folio of the Ibarra edition of Sallust's La conjuracion de Catilina y La guerra de Jugurta originally printed in quarto. The Harvard College Catalogue states that the essay was written by Francisco Pérez Báyer. .
Cevallos, Augustin Rubin de
Madrid, 1790
Madrid: En la Imprenta de Don Antinio de Sancha, 1790. 4to. 290 x 200 mm., [11 ½ x 7 ¾ inches]. [4], xl, 305 pp. Bound in contemporary full mottled calf, raised bands, red leather label on spine, marble paper pastedowns and end sheet. Fine copy printed on very good paper with wide margins.
Augustin Rubin de Cevallos, Inquisitor General of Spain, contributed to the policy of Count Floridablanca to establish a "corridor of cleanliness" within Spain, to prevent the spread of revolutionary ideas in the south of the Pyrenees. The Index "contains in summary all the books placed in the Expurgation Index from the year 1747, and in the subsequent Edicts, until December 1789. Formed and arranged with all clarity and diligence, by order of the Hon. Mr. D. Agustin Rubin de Cevallos, Inquisitor General, and Lords of the Supreme Council of the Holy General Inquisition; printed of his order, in accordance with the Exemplar seen and approved by said Supreme Council."
The text of the Index begins with a recitation of the general rules governing the selection of books to be listed in this volume and a transcription of the Prefaces from the previously three published indexes. It includes instructions for how Inquisitors are to judge printed works, and methods for expunging lines of text from a given volume. Cevallos writes, "This would close the door on the excesses of printers and booksellers, and also to wrongful actions on the part of private persons and would prevent the evils, consequent upon the introduction into the Kingdom of such pernicious commodities as heretical books."
The introduction also come with a statement to publishers that they are able to petition the Office of the Inquisitor to have titles to be removed from the list, "as has always been the case." This is followed by a list of XVI "Reglas" which determined who does the selection, how the selection is conducted, and which books are to be condemned. Following the rules are 305 pages of short-title entries of banned books.
George Haven Putnam, The Censorship of the Church of Rome pp. 299-304 .
Sardini, Giacomo
Firenze, 1793
Firenze: Presso Giuseppe Molini, 1793. 4to. 242 x 180 mm., (9 ½ x 7 inches). Illustrated with one engraving one final leaf. Contemporary decorated paper paste paper wrappers; some soiling and minor foxing to the text.
Only edition of this rare bibliographical study, which poses that printing began in Lucca in the year 1468 and offers evidence that Lucca follows Subiaco and Rome as the birthplaces of printing in Italy. His Congetture is a challenge to Ferdinardo Fossi's, bibliography, Catalogus codicum Saeculo XV (3 volumes, 1793-95), which give Florence precedence over the city of Lucca.
Count Giacomo Sardini was from a noble family in Lucca, a collector of Lucchese history, whose archive was incorporated in the State Archive of Lucca at its formation in 1804.
According to OCLC there are copies at Yale, Newberry, Morgan, Grolier Club and Columbia. .
(Colbacchini, Abate Don Luigi)
Bassano, 1866
Bassano: Tipografia e Calcografia Sante Pozzato, 1866. 8vo. 210 x 140 mm., [8 ¼ x 5 ½ inches]. [8], 292 [1] pp. Title-page in Italian and French. Original printed paper wrappers; some light soiling to wrappers, spine expertly repaired with Japanese tissue. With faults a good to very good copy of a rare sale catalogue, with pencil marks in the margins indicating use at the sale or after the sale.
Extensive catalogue with printed prices of books on art, architecture, and prints, as well as early printed books of literature, history, and science. The collection includes five incunable editions of the Bible, numerous incunable editions of Greek and Roman authors, a significant collection of Aldines, early guides and histories of Florence, Venice, and Rome, travel and voyages, and local history. Surprisingly very few titles relating to religion, theology, and the Papacy.
Luigi Colbacchini, (1806 -1877), was a local Abbott to the diocese of Bassano and author of works of local history focusing on the history of church in Bassano. He wrote some poetry commemorating the visits of local dignitaries and a discourse on the recovery of the Pope after a threatening illness. He was the brother of Giuseppe, Pietro and Antonio Colbacchini, all of whom were involved in the art and antiquities trade. .
Vernazza, Baron Giuseppe
Bassano, 1807
Bassano: Tipografia Remondiniana, 1807. 8vo. 215 x 135 mm., (8 ½ x 5 1/4/inches). 91 pp. 19th century decorated stiff paper wrappers from Remondini. With the ex-libris of Tammaro De Marinis. Very nice copy
Rare history of printing in the Piedmont, based on his short essays published in 1778 and 1787 under the title, Lezione Sopra la Stampa, but greatly expanded. It is the first work of its kind to focus on Piedmont printing and it was published over 100 years before Francesco Cosintini's work was published in Torino in 1914. Vernazza includes biographies of Jean Glim and Christophe Beggiamo, early printers in the Piedmont.
Brunet V, p. 1144, "tiré à petit nombre". Bigmore & Wyman III, p. 48. No copies of this edition are listed in OCLC. .
Giacometti, Paolo
New York, 1867
New York: John A. Gray & Green, Printers, 1867. 8vo. 240 x 160 mm., [9 1/4 x 6 1/2 inches]. 40 pp. Original printed wrappers, chipped at edges and a bit of the spine, lightly soiled; otherwise a good copy.
Born into a family of comedic actors, Adelaide Ristori (1822-1906) excelled in tragedy and gained world-wide recognition for her portrayal of famous women, included Elizabeth I, Mary Stuart, Medea and played opposite Edwin Booth in his New York performance of Macbeth. Ristori made two tours of the United States, the first in 1866-67 and the second in 1884. She also toured South America twice, and performed in Paris and London and other capitals of Europe.
Paolo Giacometti (1816-1882) was a lawyer turned playwright who was the author of numerous plays written for strong actresses like Ristori. His play Marie Antonette was written expressly for her, and the premiere was in New York during her first visit to the City.
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Abbott, John S. C.
New York, 1973
New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1973. 8vo. 200 x 130 mm., [7 3/4 x 5 1/4 inches]. 638 pp. Original brown publisher's cloth, head and tail of spine frayed, cloth boards a bit faded and marked.
First edition. Dedicated "To all who are opposed to the aristocratic privilege of the Old Feudal Dynasties, and who are in favor of equal rights for all." History of Italy in 33 chapters beginning with the founding of Rome and ending with the unification of the country in 1860. Chapters 27 - 33 bring the history to modern age and provide a very detailed account of impact of the French Revolution on the cities of Italy and the gradual emancipation from French, Spanish and Austrian control as the 19th century progressed.
John Stevens Cabot Abbott (1805-1877), was historian and pedagogical writer who studied at Bowdoin College during the time of Longfellow, and received a degree from Andover Theological Seminary in 1830. "He was a voluminous writer of books on Christian ethics, and of histories, which now seem unscholarly and untrustworthy, but were valuable in their time in cultivating a popular interest in history" (Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition)..
Levi, Carlo
New York, 1951
New York: Farrar, Straus, and Young, 1951. 8vo. [xvi], 442 pp. Publisher's black cloth boards, green cloth spine, label in black and gold on spine. Dust jacket fragile, chips to head and tail of spine, some tears; secured by mylar wrapper.
Second America printing. Levi's novel, set in Rome and Naples, is based on his own experience after the War trying to reestablish himself as a writer and artist. Recovering from the disaster that was the fascist government of Mussolini and his black shirts, Levi recounts the attempts to form a society that abandoned the past and rid the country of government of the rich, for the rich, and by the rich. His story, set in 1946, "when the last Cabinet of 'Men of the Resistence' gave way to the first De Gaspari Government, and the hopes of a radical reform of political life were shelved. . ." His story resonates with the impact that fascism, the war, and recovery had on the everyday person in Italian society.
Carlo Levi (1902-1975), the award winning author of Christ Stopped in Eboli (which recounted his time as a prisoner of government) was a editor, newspaper man, journalists and artist whose career was dedicated to the eradication of fascism in Italy and the establishment of a balanced, reform minded government. In 1963 he became a member of the Italian Senate, a post he filled until 1972.
Clarke, Hellen Archibald
New York, 1907
New York: The Baker & Taylor Company, 1907. 8vo. 210 x 135 mm., [8 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches]. [16], 382 pp. Illustrated with frontispiece and 20 photographic reproductions. Bound in publisher's green cloth, with color printed pastoral scene pasted to the upper board, gilt title on spine; binding showing light wear to tips and spine, some soiling to the cloth, spine faded with some discoloration. With faults a nice copy.
First edition. A study of the Brownings' travels to Italy in 1838, 1844, and there nine year stay in country from 1846 and 1855 and the influence these experiences had on their writing. Included are detail on the people and places they visited and the impact of political and societal changes that were taking place in Italy during the middle years of the century. Clarke's work is considered a significant contribuiton to of the poetry and prose of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Helen Archibald Clarke (1860-1926) was the editor of the works of Robert and Elizabeth Browning, and author of critical biographies of Hawthorne and Longfellow. She was also the founder of the journal Poet Lore with Charlotte Porter. Her father was a professor of music at the University of Pennsylvania and through his influence Charlotte was able to study for two years at Penn, then still a male only institution, and she earned a certificate in music in 1883.
