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Principj della Stampa in Perugia e suoi Progressi per tutto il secolo XV

Principj della Stampa in Perugia e suoi Progressi per tutto il secolo XV

Vermiglioli, Gio. Battista 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. .
  • $1,101
  • $1,101
Lettera dell'Abate Andrea Zannoni Custode perpetuo della Biblioteca Comunale di Faenza Accademico Italiano al Ch. Sig. Abb. Gio. Battista Zannoni

Lettera dell’Abate Andrea Zannoni Custode perpetuo della Biblioteca Comunale di Faenza Accademico Italiano al Ch. Sig. Abb. Gio. Battista Zannoni, Secondo Bibliotecario della Magliabecchiana, contenente la relazione di alcune Edizioni del Secolo XV. no conosciute finora dai Bibliografia

Zannoni, Andrea [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. .
  • $750
Notizia de'Novellieri Italiani

Notizia de’Novellieri Italiani

Borromeo, Anton-Maria 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. .
  • $950
Bibliografia dei Romanzi e Poemi Cavallereschi Italiani. Secondo edizione correta ed accresciuta

Bibliografia dei Romanzi e Poemi Cavallereschi Italiani. Secondo edizione correta ed accresciuta

Melzi, Gaetano 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. .
  • $600
Catalogus Librorum in Bibliotheca Societatis Medicae Edinburgenae

Catalogus Librorum in Bibliotheca Societatis Medicae Edinburgenae, Secondum Auctorum Nomina Dispositus

Medical Society of Edinburgh 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. .
  • $750
Della Prima Promulgazione de'Libri in Firenze

Della Prima Promulgazione de’Libri in Firenze, Lezione Istorica

Manni, Domenico Maria 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. .
  • $350
Osservazioni sulla Chirotipografia ossia Antica Arte di Stampare a Mono

Osservazioni sulla Chirotipografia ossia Antica Arte di Stampare a Mono

Requeno, D. Vincenzo 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.    .
  • $1,301
  • $1,301
Serie dell'Edizioni Aldine per Ordine Cronologico ed Alfabetico. Seconda edizione con emendazioni e giunte

Serie dell’Edizioni Aldine per Ordine Cronologico ed Alfabetico. Seconda edizione con emendazioni e giunte

(BURGASSI, Antonio Cesare) 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.
  • $750
Raccolta degli scritti del sig. AB. D. Isidoro Bianchi

Raccolta degli scritti del sig. AB. D. Isidoro Bianchi, Regio Professore e Censore in Cremona. [Drop title]

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. .
  • $575
Catalogo di commedie italiane

Catalogo di commedie italiane

Morelli, Jacopo 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.     .
  • $2,851
  • $2,851
Indice Ultimo de los Libros Prohibidos y Mandados Expurgar: Para todos los Reynos y Señorios del Catolico Rey de las Españas

Indice Ultimo de los Libros Prohibidos y Mandados Expurgar: Para todos los Reynos y Señorios del Catolico Rey de las Españas, el Señor Don Carlos IV

Cevallos, Augustin Rubin de 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 .
  • $3,502
  • $3,502
Catalogo di Libri Rari e Preziosi che sono Vendibile nel Gabinetto di Giuseppe Colbacchini in Venezia

Catalogo di Libri Rari e Preziosi che sono Vendibile nel Gabinetto di Giuseppe Colbacchini in Venezia

(Colbacchini, Abate Don Luigi) 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.  .
  • $350
Browning's Italy: A Study of Italian Life and Art in Browning

Browning’s Italy: A Study of Italian Life and Art in Browning

Clarke, Hellen Archibald 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.
  • $75