BOCCACCIO, Giovanni
Folio (290 x 200 mm.), [4], 128 leaves, title-border with dolphins, a continuous design in four parts derived from the one used by Tacuino in the 1511 edition of Vitruvius; Tacuino border is the original one and it was one of the most influential pieces of ornamentation of the sixteenth century; near half page woodcut at the beginning of prima giornata repeated at the beginning of all the subsequent giornate; the woodcut is divided in two by a column placed in the center of the image, on the right side we have a young man playing the lute in front of a company of seven women and three men, on the left side there is a man wearing a wreath ? possibly Boccaccio himself as a poet laureate ? seated before a fountain in a garden with the same company of seven woman and three men for the telling of the tales. Eighty-two smaller woodcut vignettes in the text with scenes from the tales, white on black initials. Some lower corners repaired without touching the printed surface, some staining and spotting, lightly browned, front hinge restored, but a good copy in early twentieth century red crushed paneled morocco gilt by J. Leighton, spine in compartments with gilt title.A very scarce and profusely illustrated folio edition of the Decameron. It boasts over eighty in-text woodcut vignettes salvaged from an earlier edition printed in 1510 by Bartolomeo de Zanni, as well as ten half-page woodcut illustrations within architectural borders opening each new day, derived from those of the first Venetian illustrated edition of 1492 by Gregorius de Gregoriis. ?The figures in this edition are simple in outline, and [?] of the purest taste.'' (Brunet I 997)Written between 1349 and 1353, the Decameron is a seminal work of Italian vernacular literature, shaped by Boccaccio's first-hand witnessing of the devastation of the bubonic plague in Italy. It consists of one hundred tales told by ten young people - seven women and three men - who flee the pestilence in Florence to a countryside villa and attempt to use storytelling to pass the time. Over ten days, each narrator recounts a story that varies in tone, ranging from lewd and comedic to solemn and philosophical, with roots in ancient and medieval literature, as well as folk tales.The text from this edition is taken from De Gregori's 1516 Venetian edition, compiled and edited by Nicolò Dolfin. It has been acclaimed as one of the most accurate versions of Boccaccio's masterpiece at the time of its publication, showing unprecedented philological diligence. Dolfin ?claimed to have restored the work ?to its whole and clear reading' selecting readings from ?many very ancient texts'. In practice this meant following the 1472 edition with some recourse to manuscripts. Dolfin's edition proved the more influential. Its text was the main source for the Venetian Decameron of 1522, which was then adopted for two further Venetian editions of 1525 and 1526, although both editions gave readers to understand that the text had been improved by collating authoritative copies.'' (Richardson, p. 44)An appendix is included, comprising three popular Renaissance novellas erroneously attributed to Boccaccio, first published in conjunction with the Decameron in 1516. These are the Bonaccorso di Lapo Giovanni, the Bianco Alfani, and Grasso Legnaiolo.USTC lists only 3 copies in the world: none in the US, one in Italy (Lucca), two in the UK (BL & Bodleian); Edit16 lists an additional copy in Biblioteca Rilli-Vettori. Adams F-687; Brunet, II: 1317; Sander 2832.
PETRARCA, Francesco
Quarto (233 x 145 mm.), [26] leaves, 667 [i.e. 683], [1] pages. ?Architectural title-border including Giolito's phoenix device. The title is set in two cartouches in the upper half of the border. The imprint is set in a smaller cartouches below the device. Portraits of Laura and Petrarca on a woodcut funerary urn surmounted by the Giolito phoenix. The cut measures 85 x 70 mm. and illustrates the Sonetto sopra le sacre ceneri del Petrarca e di Laura [?]. The portraits are based on the Laurentian miniatures [?]. Full page map of Vacluse [?], a reduced copy of the double-page woodcut map in the first Vellutello edition, Venice, Giovanni Antonio de'Nicolini da Sabbio and brothers, 1525? (Mortimer) The second part of the book, containing the Trionfi, has a separate emblematic title-page with Giolito's phoenix and is illustrated with six woodcut vignettes. A very fine, large paper copy in nineteenth-century brown English calf, panels with gilt and blind frames, spine gilt in compartments, gilt edges. From the collection of Charles Fairfax Murray (ex libris).Very rare large paper copy of the third edition of Gesualdo's acclaimed commentaries on Petrarca, revised in light of Vellutello's critical publication and with additional illustrations by Enea Vico (1523-1567). Printed by Gabriele Giolito, this edition follows the general structure of the two earlier ones published by the Sabbio brothers in 1533 and 1541, without the giunta of five sonnets. It is divided into two parts with separate title-pages, the first with commentary on the Canzoniere, the second on the Trionfi. It adds, however, an ornate frontispiece in a classical style for the first section and an emblematictitlepage with the motto ?De la mia morte eterna vita io vivo', surrounded by a phoenix rising from the flames to the second section. Additionally, numerous historiated initials populate the text, while each triumph is introduced by a woodcut vignette, and an anonymous sonnet with a portrait of Petrarca and Laura facing each other precedes their biographies. Giolito's edition also includes a full-page woodcut map of Vaucluse and Avignon ? where Petrarca lived both in his youth and later years ? which had been first published accompanying Alessandro Vellutello's (b. 1473) commentaries."Giolito faithfully kept his promises in the said title, since this is truly a beautiful edition, and worthy of praise. Its existence was questioned for some time, and in fact it is very rare.'' (Marsand, p. 64)A fine copy from the workshop of Gabriele Giolito (c.1508-1578), a prominent publisher of Classical works in the lingua volgare, or the Italian vernacular. In its prime, his workshop produced a vast number of editions of Petrarca and commentaries on his poetry, reaching up to 24 editions in the sixteen-year period between 1544 and 1560. (Daniels, Printing Petrarch) His shop in Venice, the Libreria della Fenice was often frequented by men of letters such as Orazio Lombardelli (1545-1608) and Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (1538-1587). Giolito's publications were celebrated for his typographical excellence and he was ranked among the greatest printers of his time, being equated by Torquato Tasso (1544-1595) to Aldus Manutius (1450-1515).Francesco Petrarca (1304?1374) was an Italian humanist scholar and poet, crowned Poet Laureate, and often considered the "Father of Humanism" due to his discovery of a manuscript of Cicero's letters in the Biblioteca Capitolare of Verona. His most well-known work, Rerum vulgarium fragmenta or Canzoniere, is included in the first part of this edition, completed with extensive commentary by Giovanni Andrea Gesualdo (b.1496). It is a collection of love poetry with sonnets, chants, and madrigals dedicated to his unrequited love for Laura, divided in two halves: the first 227 poems proclaim his love while Laura is alive, while the other 108 mourn her death. The second work included in this commentary is the Trionfi. Written later in his life, it is an
TAEGIO, Francesco
Folio (270 x 178 mm.), XXX leaves, Gothic types, very fine four-part woodcut white-on-black title border, sides with leafy and floral Renaissance ornaments, at bottom two griffins holding a shield; seven 12-line portraits initials depicting famous men, four 12-line elaborate Renaissance ornamental initials, numerous smaller initials, woodcut printer's device at the end. Small oval heraldic paper ex libris pasted on title page, a very fine copy bound in XVIII century brown calf, covers with blind and gilt geometric decoration, rebaked.Very rare miscellaneous edition of ten philosophical texts, nine of which are spurious works of Greek philosophy, while the last one is a speech delivered by Francesco Taegio in defence of natural philosophy. The first two writings (Aurea verba and Symbola), curiously attributed to Socrates acually are Pythagorean, followed by two Platonic works (De omnium rerum diffinitionibus and De morte) and five Aristotelian ones (three from the Secretum secretorum, De plantis, and Magna moralia).Francesco Taegio was a physician, philosopher, and knight, from Novara. In 1520 he became professor of philosophy at the University of Pavia. In his posthumous autobiography, the mathematician Gerolamo Cardano (1501? 1576), recalled attending some of Taegio's lectures.In the preface to the volume, Taegio claims the provenance of these works from a manuscript in the library of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola.The Aurea verba consist of a series of rules of life that members of the Pythagorean sect were required to observe: ?much of the advice is common to all of Greek ethical thought (e.g., honoring the gods and parents; mastering lust and anger; deliberating be fore acting, following measure in all things), but there are also mentions of dietary restrictions typical of early Pythagoreanism and the promise of leaving the body behind to join the aither as an immortal.? (C. Huffman, "Pythagoreanism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Similarly, the Symbola, traditionally attributed to Pythagoras, consist of a list of rules particularly concerning personal virtue, with frequent exhortations to practise moderation in all areas of life.The Secretum secretorum, originally the Arabic Sirr al-Asrar translated into Latin from the 12th century onwards, circulated in Europe as a letter addressed by Aristotle to Alexander the Great. Three texts are drawn from it here: De animae rationalis immortalitate, De conservatione sanitatis, and De regimine principum. A Neapolitan edition of the Secretum (1555) by Francesco Storella (1529? 1575) directly references the text presented by Taegio, specifying that ?Ticinii liber, qui secretum secretorum Aris totelis inscribitur, fuit excussus a praesenti tamen longe diversus, liber siquidem ille in treis partes est scissus, in quibus, tribus Alexandri postulationibus fit satis, in prima agitur de immortalitate animae, in secunda de conservatione sanitatis, in tertia vero de regimine principum.?The De plantis is also pseudo-Aristotelian: ?most modern opinion follows Meyer in attributing the work to Nicolaus of Damascus (fl. 37-4 B.C.)? (S.D. Wingate, The Medieval Latin Versions of the Aristotelic Scientific Corpus, London 1931). The text in this volume, which Taegio claims is a recent translation from Greek, ?is of considerable interest, but whose author and date are as yet unknown. [?] [It] is in reality a commentary in which fragments of the Latin version of Alfredus [de Sareshel] are embedded. After two pages, the commentary ceases in the first book of De plantis, and the rest of the work is a commentary on the last section of the De coloribus (a section which itself is not infrequently entitled ?De plantis? in the manuscripts)? (Ivi).Closing the volume is a discourse by Taegio on ?the excellence, dignity and great usefulness of natural philosophy?: tracing the first centuries of the history of Greek philosophy, Taegio's intention is to indicate the value of Aristotelian thought to the
ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI
Quarto (175 x 122 mm.), [128] leaves, the first leaf, blank except for the title, is an old facsimile on ancient paper; Gothic type 3:114G, 27 lines per page with L.R. device at the end. A few spots, short upper margin, but a very fine copy bound with a contemporary vellum manuscript page, spine renewed, manuscript title on spine, from the library of the famous British explorer Apsley Cherry Garrard (1886-1959). Modern half morocco box.Exceedingly rare edition of Saint Francis's Fioretti. ?Little Flowers of Francis of Assisi is the name given to a classic collection of popular legends about the life of St. Francis of Assisi and his early companions as they appeared to the Italian people at the beginning of the fourteenth century. Such a work, [?], can hardly be said to have one author; it is the product rather of gradual growth and must, [?], remain in a certain sense anonymous, because it is national. There has been some doubt as to whether the Fioretti were written in Italian in the first instance, [?], or were translated from a Latin original [?]. The latter seems altogether more probable, and modern critics generally believe that a larger Latin collection of legends, which has come down to us under the name of the Actus B. Francisci et Sociorum Ejus, represents an approximation to the text now lost of the original Floretum, of which the Fioretti is a translation. A striking difference is noticeable between the earlier chapters of the Fioretti, which refer to St. Francis and his companions, and the later ones which deal with the friars in the province of the March of Ancona. The first half of the collection is, no doubt, merely a new form given to traditions that go back to the early days of the order; the other is believed to be substantially the work of a certain Fra Ugolino da Monte Giorgio of the noble family of Brunforte, who, at the time of his death in 1348, was provincial of the Friars Minor in the March. Living as he did a century after the death of St. Francis, Ugolino was dependent on hearsay for much of his information; part of it he is said to have learned from Fra Giacomo da Massa who had been well known and esteemed by the companions of the saint, and who had lived on terms of intimacy with Fra Leone, his confessor and secretary. Whatever may have been the sources from which Ugolino derived his materials, the fifty-three chapters which constitute the Latin work in question seem to have been written before 1328. The four appendixes on the Stigmata of St. Francis, the life of Fra Ginepro, and the life and the sayings of the Fra Egidio, which occupy nearly one half of the printed text of the Fioretti, as we now have it, form no part of the original collection and were probably added by later compilers. Unfortunately the name of the fourteenth-century Franciscan friar who translated into Italian fifty-three of the seventy-six chapters found in the Actus B. Francisci and in translating immortalized them as the Fioretti, remains unknown. The attribution of this work to Giovanni di San Lorenzo rests wholly upon conjecture. It has been surmised that the translator was a Florentine. However this may be, the vernacular version is written in the most limpid Tuscan and is reckoned among the masterpieces of Italian literature. The Fioretti have been described as ?the most exquisite expression of the religious life of the Middle Ages.? That perhaps which gives these legends such a peculiar charm, is what may be called their atmosphere; they breathe all the delicious fragrance of the early Franciscan spirit. Nowhere can there be found a more childlike faith, a livelier sense of the supernatural, or a simpler literalness in the following Christ than in the pages of the Fioretti, which more than any other work transport us to the scenes amid which St. Francis and his first followers live, and enable us to see them as they saw themselves.These legends, moreover, bear precious witness to the vitality and enthusiasm with which
CITTADELLA, Cesare
4 parts in 2 volumes, octavo (179 × 114 mm.). 197 [i.e. 198] pages; vi, 246 pages, [1] leaf; vi, 326 pages, [1] leaf; iv, 344 pages, [1] leaf. Engraved title page signed Luigi Ughi in each part. With 25 plates, some of which signed Luigi Ughi. Contemporary stiff vellum binding with two lettering pieces on each spine, marbled edges. A good copy.First edition. A fundamental source for the city's artistic history, it contains the biographies of about two hundred Ferrarese artists active from the XII to the XVIII century. Cittadella quotes Girolamo Baruffaldi's Vite de' pittori e scultori ferraresi ? only published in 1844-46 ? as a source for his work; Baruffaldi's manuscript also featured several portraits drawn by Giuseppe Maria Moretti which inspired Luigi Ughi's 25 engravings. Here, the most prestigious artists of Ferrara are portraied, including Cosmè Tura, Ercole Grandi, Dosso Dossi. Cesare Cittadella ed il patrimonio artistico ferrarese, Bologna 1985; Cicognara 2240; Grässe II p. 189.
SCARAMUCCIA, Luigi
Quarto (224 × 165 mm.). [13] leaves, 216 pages, [6] leaves, half-title. Several woodcut initials and headpieces throughout the text. Contemporary calf binding with gilt decorations. Title on spine, raised bands and compartments decorated with gilt tools. Four pages in quire H misprinted, and without, as usual, the author's portrait. A good copy. Provenance: Macclesfield Library.First edition. The account of a journey through Italy, in which a young Girupeno (anagram of the author's name) examines works of art by the most important Italian painters, guided by Raphael. The second part of the book is a series of recommendations that Scaramuccia addresses to young aspiring painters. "Notevole interesse bibliografico ha il Catalogo degli autori ch'hanno scritto d'arte, che lo S. ha fatto seguire al suo volume." (Argan). Cicognara 205; Edizioni pavesi del Seicento: 1631-1700, 2003; G.C. Argan, SCARAMUCCIA, Luigi Pellegrino in Enciclopedia Italiana (1936); Schlosser-Magnino pp. 537- 538.
ACCADEMIA VENETA
Quarto (200 × 143 mm.). [8], 176 [i.e. 174], [2] leaves, with the five blanks. Title page with the Accademia's device. Provenance: ?Colleg. Paris Societ. Jesu.? and ?Nicolaus Noguette literarum in collegio ludovici Magni Professor? (manuscript annotations on title page); Paolino Gerli, Giorgio Di Veroli, Gianni De Marco (three ex-libris). Modern red morocco binding; cover with triple fillet frame, spine in five compartments with gilt title, gilt edges, marbled endpapers. Spine lightly worn, small tears on *3 and Aa1, a very good copy.Très rare (Renouard) collection of speeches by some of the most renowned scholars and poets of Italian Renaissance: among the others, Pietro Bembo, Tito Vespasiano Strozzi, Angelo Poliziano, Ermolao Barbaro, Marco Antonio Sabellico, Giovanni Battista Ramusio. It was printed by the Accademia Veneta, a short-lived cultural institution: founded in 1558, and financed, by Federico Badoer (1519-1593), the son of an important Venetian politician, it was shut down after only three years of activity, as Badoer was arrested for debts; it consisted of one hundred members and its chancellor was the humanist Bernardo Tasso. The printing press, an essential part in Badoer's cultural project, was directed by the sons of Paolo Manuzio, using their father's types. BMSTC 717; Renouard I p. 319; S. Romanin, Storia documentata di Venezia, VI pp. 457- 458, Venice 1857.
Folio (320 x 220 mm.), [6], 161, [1] leaves; engraved title within an architectural border with a vignette at foot, full-page engraved device of Philip II of Spain, the dedicatee, engraved device of the Accademia degli Affidati, and one hundred and fourteen engraved devices of the members of the Accademia; historiated initials and Cosimo Bartoli's device on the colophon page. The book was initially planned to end on leaf Qq4, but the work was extended to include another 8 leaves (Rr signatures) at the end. The original final leaf Qq4 (which contained the register, errata, and table) was reprinted onto the recto and verso of leaves Rr1 and Rr8, respectively, and leaf Qq4 was to be discarded as in our copy. A few spots, a few pages browned, overall a very good copy in seventeenth century Italian vellum richly gilt.First edition of one of the most uncommon and beautiful emblem book printed in Renaissance Italy. The work, dedicated to Philip II King of Spain, starts with a very useful general discussion of the imprese and then continues with a detailed discussion of the devices of the members of the Accademia degli Affidati in Pavia. ?Contile's Ragionamento, composed for the Accademia degli Affidati (Pavia), was published in 1574. This work is valuable both for its former section, theoretical, and for the latter, illustrated and devoted to the interpretation of a series of imprese belonging to noblemen and members of the accademie. It offers a magnificent exemplification of the role that the Italian accademie, whose members were used to conceive and exhibit imprese as distinctive marks, played in the reflection on the imprese, in their circulation outside the courtesan milieu, in keeping alive the fashion of that witty symbolic form.? (University of Glasgow. The study of italian emblems. 2006) The book is illustrated with full page engraved device of Philip II of Spain showing in the center the planisphere, engraved device of the Accademia degli Affidati and one hundred and fourteen engraved devices of the members of the Accademia. The devices, designed with elaborate borders on the copperplate, include the motto and the academic pseudonym of the owner. Among these devices we should mention Contile's own device and those of Saint Charles Borromeo and Emanuele Filiberto Duke of Savoy.Luca Contile (Cetona, 1505 ? Pavia, 1574) was a poet, playwright and a diplomat. After studying in Siena and Bologna he started working for princes and cardinals; he first was at service of Cardinal Agostino Trivulzio in Rome from 1527 to 1542 where he attended the Accademia della Virtù and met Annibal Caro and Francesco Molza, members of the same academy. Later he was at the service of Alfonso d'Avalos Marquis of Vasto and in 1548 he worked for Ferrante Gonzaga, Governor of Milan, and for the Archbishop of Trento, Cristoforo Madruzzo. After leaving Trento he went to Venice where he entered the Accademia Veneziana and then, in 1560, he returned at the service of Marquis d'Avalos in Milan. Thanks to the recommendation of the Marquis of Pescara he was appointed by the Spanish as commissioner in Pavia, where he remained until his death, dedicating himself to historical studies and actively participating in the Accademia degli Affidati. EDIT16 - CNCE 13187; Praz, p. 307; Mortimer (it.) 136. Adams C-2588; University of Glasgow, The study of italian emblems, 2006.
Folio (329 x 217 mm.), 9 - 462 pages, as issued without title and preliminaries. ?Double-rule border on each page of text. One hundred forty-nine woodcuts, by repetition of sixty-seven blocks, approximately 100 x 125 mm. Fourteen of these blocks are signed with the monograms of Antonio Tempesta as designer and Leonardo Parasole as cutter, and four other blocks have Parasole's signature alone. An early attribution of the ?LP? monogram to Luca Penni is incorrect. [?] The Arabic types are those designed by Robert Granjon for Domenico Basa, and Granjon was employed by the Typographia as type designer in the last years of his life.? (Mortimer). Occasional light spotting, some browning; a good copy in contemporary limp vellum with manuscript title on spine.First printing of the Gospels in the interlinear Arabic and Latin version, printed by the Typographia Medicea at the same time of the publication of the Gospels in Arabic only. The Arabic text, printed in Robert Granjon's famous large font, regarded as the earliest satisfactory Arabic type, is based on the Alexandrian Vulgate and is edited by Giovanni Battista Raimondi; the Latin version is by Leonardo Sionita. The book begins at page 9 without a title-page or any preliminary matters: ?the reason for the apparent omission of pages of preliminaries is explained by Schnurrer quoting Bandini (C.F. de Schnurrer, Biblioteca Arabica, Amsterdam, 1968); G.B. Raimondi hoped to dedicate the volume to some great person, but failed to do so. In casting off the pagination, therefore, pp. 5-8 were omitted. The book was printed in Rome, but the unsold sheets went to Florence sometime about 1610, and any copy sold after that was sold in Florence. In the reissue of 1619 the gap in the pagination was seized upon and Schnurrer says that it has a leaf with dedication to Cardinal Madruzzi and a portrait together with the leaf "Typographus lectori" separately printed, without the colophon and with a different ornament. In all this makes four leaves, i.e. [8] pages. However it is clear that copies were made up on a very ad hoc basis. The sheets were again reissued in 1774.? (Sotheby's The Library of the Earls of Macclesfield Part VII: Bibles 1477-1739. 2006) This is the second book issued by the Typographia Medicea established in 1584 by Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici, later gran duke of Tuscany from 1587, supported by Pope Gregory XIII and directed by the Orientalist and mathematician Giovanni Battista Raimondi (1536?-1614). The ultimate purpose of the Typographia Medicea was, in the Pope's mind, the printing of sacred and religious texts in Oriental languages that were to be disseminated throughout the Mediterranean and the Near East. Antonio Tempesta (1555 - 1630), Italian painter and engraver of the early Baroque era, was the author of the illustrations of both editions of the Gospel in Arabic printed by the Typoraphia Medicea. CNCE 5987; Darlow/Moule 1637; Mortimer 64 (note); Graesse II, 531.
Octavo (158 x 98 mm.), four parts bound in two volumes; [16] leaves, 63, [1] pages, [4] leaves, 64 pages; [4] leaves, 61, [3] pages; with general title within large woodcut border with figures designed for this text and used here for the first time, 3 woodcut vignettes to section titles: I Cicalamenti, Le baie and Le chiachiere, 3 woodcut tail-pieces, 2 woodcut portraits, Doni and Burchiello, and 21 woodcut illustrations, some full-page among them one with Dante, Petrarca and Boccaccio; [16] leaves, 185, [3] pages with general title within large woodcut border with figures, 3 woodcut borders to section titles, one woodcut portrait of Doni and 18 illustrations, one of which full page, woodcut printer's device at the end; [8] leaves, 174, [2] pages with general title within large woodcut border with figures, 3 woodcut borders to section titles, one woodcut portrait of Doni and 16 illustrations, one of which full page, woodcut printer's device on last page; [1], 87 leaves with general title within large woodcut border with figures, one small portrait of Francesco Petrarca, two woodcut borders to section titles and woodcut printer device on last page. A very fine copy in late eighteenth century stiff vellum with gilt title on spine.First edition, very rare, of Doni's popular satirical work and sharp societal critique, named La Zucca or ?the pumpkin'. Originally published in 1551 as three parts, the work is divided into I cicalamenti della zucca del Doni, Le baie della zucca del Doni and Le chiachiere della zucca del Doni, to which a later chapter was added in 1552, Fiori della Zucca. The work is introduced with separate frontispieces for each chapter taken, from the designs of Lorenzo Torrentino (1499-1563), as well as scattered playful woodcut illustrations, such as a figure of a woman covering her face with a mask, accompanied by the motto: Quel che più molesta mi ascondo e taci (What bothers me the most I hide and keep quiet). A final edition was published in 1565 with an additional fifth chapter not included here.Doni presents the reader of ?The Pumpkin' with a panoply of short stories, jokes, letters, playful tales, artistic reflections, and grotesque speeches through a unique and chaotic experimental blending of prose and verse. The work belongs to the genre of ragionamenti, a fashionable literary style in Renaissance Italy where philosophical, moral, and satirical themes are developed through fictional dialogue, set to point out the incongruences of societal norms and ideas. The title itself carries symbolic weight, as La Zucca, or the pumpkin, as a vegetable was often associated with shallow concepts such as vanity, simplicity and emptiness. Doni employs common tropes and proxy characters to critique his contemporary society, human nature, institutions, and norms in a dynamic and playful manner. Anton Francesco Doni (1513?1574) was an Italian writer, editor, and scholar, renowned for his wit and innovative contribution to sixteenth century literature. Born in Florence, Doni was first educated as a clergyman, a lifestyle he abandoned in order to pursue the more bohemian life as a writer and intellectual. Doni's career was marked by frequent travels across Italy, including stays in Florence, Venice, and Rome, where he engaged with the literary and artistic communities, despite his struggles with financial instability and an erratic temperament. His most famous works include I Mondi (1552), a philosophical exploration of utopian and dystopian worlds, and La Zucca. Doni's writings offer a vivid window beyond the conventional Classical works published during the Renaissance, into the vivid intellectual and cultural dynamism of 16th century Italy. Complete sets in uniform antique binding are nowadays extremely rare.USTC records only 2 copies in United States institutions (Duke and New York Public Library). USTC 827596; EDIT16 CNCE 17687; Adams D835; BMSTC Italian p. 226; Gamba 1367; Graesse II 424; Mortimer Italian 164; Brunet
Quarto (207 x 152 mm.), 92, [6], [4] leaves (in our copy the index is bound at the end), Gothic types. 35 lines + headline. White-on-black wood-engraved and floriated initials, a few black-on-white wood-engraved initials. Four-piece historiated architectural border. Woodcut author portrait on title page and repeated inserted in a historiated and floriated border at the beginning of index, 67 woodcuts illustrations of saints (29 blocks, 38 repeats), woodcut printer's device; first page entirely illuminated by a contemporary artist. A few spots, several marginal annotation by a contemporary hand, overall a very fine copy in contemporary limp vellum with manuscript title on spine.First edition of "the most important of the Pavian books with woodcuts" (Kristeller, "Books with Woodcuts Printed at Pavia", Bibliographica, I, 1895, pp. 347-372). Papie sanctuarium which provides information on saints and relics in the churches of Pavia is in effect a sort of Mirabilia Papiae, correspondent to that given in the numerous Mirabilia Romae editions for Rome. As former residence of Theodoric the Great and capital of the Lombard empire, Pavia's claims to ecclesiastical antiquity were strong, and constantly opposed to those of Milan. Gualla's text includes a bibliographic element, for there are lists of the writings of major saints, including Augustine and Severinus, with incipits of their work. ?Jacobus Gualla's lives of the saints of Pavia a guide to the reliquaries in the churches of the city was printed after the author's death in early 1505. It was edited by G.F. Picius and printed for Paulus Morbius by Jacobus de Burgofrancho. It is illustrated with a woodcut portrait of the author, repeated twice, and sixty-seven small woodcuts from twenty-nine different wood blocks. The text is printed in black and is decorated with simple line and black-ground foliated initial letters of very fine quality and Burgofrancho's printer's device. This edition of Papie sanctuarium is described by Kristeller as ?undeniably the most important of the Pavian books with woodcuts.' The woodcuts in Burgofrancho's Papie sanctuarium are well documented by Kristeller who writes: ?In them the characteristics of the style of woodcut as practiced at Pavia and especially in the office of Jacobus de Burgofrancho are seen in full distinction.' The portrait of the author ? is an excellent example of the Pavian style. It combines the influence of Milanese portrait painting with the thinly cut outline border design of the Ferrarese masters. The portrait is delicately cut with lines of varied thicknesses resulting in a figure of individual character. The folds of the cloak incorporate curved lines, with loop and angle cuts, highlighted with parallel lines of varied lengths cut in different directions. The border, cut in outline without shading, is distinguished by the thinness of the line and the clarity of the image. The use of roundels and curved-line design for flowers and the figures of the putti with musical instruments and the two satyrs at the base of each column are in the popular style of the Venetian design. The eyes of the figures in the roundels are quite large, with lids half closed and dark centers. The overall effect is a light, airy border of original character. This border first appeared in Laurentius Rubeis's of Francesco Negri's Pullata printed in Ferrara early in 1505. The same border style is repeated here in another finely cut frame, surrounding a small portrait of Saint Jerome found at the end of the text. Of the remaining twenty-nine woodcuts, most are portraits cut in outline and highlighted with shading and some cross-hatching. The portrait of Saint Jerome was originally used by Laurentius Rubeis in his famous edition of Vita epistole of Saint Jerome printed in 1497. Two other cuts, Saint Siro and the Statue of Regisole, appeared first in Burgofrancho's Statuta of Pavia, published in August 1505. They were copied, and in the case of the Regisole, the
Quarto (193 x 142 mm.), [24], 680 (i.e. 682), [10] pages, illustrated with an engraved allegorical frontispiece, an engraved portrait, and 25 full-page engravings. Old signature on title page, a few spots but a very good copy in contemporary stiff vellum with manuscript title on spine from the library of the famous British art historian Kenneth Clark (ex libris).Rare first edition of the most influential works on Italian art of the seventeenth century.?The Carta del navegar pitoresco is a poem of five thousand three hundred and seventy quatrains in the Venetian language, divided into eight cantos that correspond to the eight parts of the compass rose. Each "Wind" is preceded by a summary, whose author, according to Anna Pallucchini, (A. Pallucchini, in M. B., La Carta del navegar pitoresco, Venezia-Roma 1966) would be a friend of Boschini, the Paduan painter Dario Varotari. The protagonist of the poem is a Venetian senator (probably Giovanni Nani) to whom a "Professor of painting" - Boschini himself - teaches how to recognize and evaluate the technique of painting and how to distinguish the style of the various authors. In front of the works of art, which the two protagonists of the didactic poem encounter on their path, a discussion is intertwined in which the artistic superiority of Venice over Florence is continually demonstrated. Boschini compares Venetian painting with music, rather than with poetry; fully adhering to the sensual character of baroque art, he evokes olfactory suggestions and even gastronomic comparisons. To the plasticity of the Tuscans' drawings and chiaroscuro he contrasts the life and excitement of Venetian colour; to the officialism of Vasari he prefers dialogue and improvisations that sometimes have the vivacity of news reporting. As a good Venetian he tends to use everyday language, proposes comparisons and adopts terms that any academic would have rejected. To remain faithful to his commitment as a populariser and ardent propagandist of Venetian art he must resort to every means to attract the interest of his readers; to be more effective and "Venetian" and to free himself from any Tuscan complex, he resorts to the use of the dialect of his beloved city, and of the richness of this language, indeed, he weaves the highest praise. The continuous passing from one place to another, the calm conversation of the two protagonists through the streets of Venice, correspond to the exuberant and colorful animation of the city. But however witty and lively, it must be said that the poem, from a literary point of view, does not correspond at all to the genius of the critical intuitions of Boschini, who for many of the greatest Venetian and Veneto artists has come to propose illuminating interpretations and so precise as to form in our memory a whole with the work of art they illustrate.? (transaled from DBI) Marco Boschini (1613-1678) was a Venetian painter, engraver and art dealer. ?Boschini's main "client" was Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici who, following Galileo's principles, intended to organically assemble a collection where all the schools were present and each artist was represented by a self-portrait, some drawings and a painting that well documented his style. Alongside Baldinucci, in charge of the Tuscan school and Malvasia for the Bolognese one, Boschini was entrusted with the task of completing the documentation relating to the Venetian school.? (translated from DBI) Cicognara 976; Schlosser-Magnino 547; Borroni I, 1619; Gamba 118.
Quarto (194 x 142 mm.), [40] leaves, Roman type; collation: a-e8. Two small water stains in the upper and lower white margins of the last few pages, a few spots; overall a good copy in seventeenth century stiff vellum.First edition of this Latin grammatical treatise by the Italian classicist Julius Pomponius Laetus (1428-1497). A simple and clear textbook, Laetus discusses in its introduction his intention to teach young children the foundations of Latin, having ?reframed that which can be contained by hand, so that the one who reads frequently and especially at a tender age may reap the fruit'', and delivers the promise to his students that they will soon be able to read the works of Cicero. The work is divided into plain syntactic sections, starting with nouns and declensions, delving into pronouns, verbs, adverbs and prepositions. The treatise opens with the passage: ??Grammar is an art necessary for children, pleasant to the aged, and a sweet companion of secrets. It is divided into two parts: the correct speaking and writing; and the interpretation of poets with accurate reading.?Pomponius Laetus was, fundamentally, a teacher and educator. Born in Salerno, he was the illegitimate son of Giovanni Sanseverino and the brother of Roberto Sanseverino (ca.1430-1474), prince of Salerno. Fascinated with the ancient Roman world, Laetus studied in Rome and became a pupil of the humanist Lorenzo Valla (1407-1457), whom he succeeded as chair of eloquence at the university. Admired by his contemporaries for his knowledge of Roman antiquity, he gathered around him a circle of scholars and men of letters devoted to the study of Classics, Roman antiquarianism and archaeology. The Accademia Romana, as it became known, came under scrutiny by the Papal authorities in 1468 and its members were arrested and tortured at Castel Sant'Angelo due to suspicions of sodomy, heresy, paganism, and opposition to the Church. Released a year later, Laetus resumed his teaching post at the Sapienza, where he taught for most of his life. Only three copies in UK institutions (BL and Oxford: New College and Bodleian) ISTC il00023000; USTC 993691; Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke M16701; Goff L23; Hillard 1678; BMC V 323; Goff L23
Quarto (210 x 146 mm.) [22] leaves; title-page with an elaborate woodcut border, illustrated with a vignette of a sacrificial lamb, grotesque figures and the image of Minerva, goddess of victory, in a tondo, the printer's device of Jacob de Burgofranco is also included in the border; two historiated initials. A very fine copy in nineteenth-century paper boards with manuscript title on the front cover.First edition of the chronicle of the siege of Pavia written by Francesco Taegio, which was followed by an Italian translation edited by Ottavio Ballada and printed in Pavia (1655), and a third edition published in Nuremberg (1736). The chronicle, dedicated to Antonio de Leyva, the commander of the imperial army besieged in Pavia, begins with the French invasion of the Duchy of Milan. After easily taking the capital, Francis I advanced toward Pavia, already weakened by famine and the plague off the previous summer. The siege began on October 28th, 1524, and concluded on February 24th, 1525, with the battle between the French besiegers and the imperial reinforcements led by Charles III Duke of Bourbon, who had marched from Lodi. The events in Pavia marked a decisive moment in the 16th century: the bloody imperial victory forced Francis I, now a prisoner of Charles V, to sign the renunciation of all claims to Italy and Burgundy. Meanwhile, the highly unfavorable conditions of the Treaty of Madrid led to a new phase in the Italian Wars, with the War of the League of Cognac and the subsequent Peace of Cambrai. Ultimately, Pavia came to symbolize the definitive assertion of Spanish and Habsburg power under Charles V in Europe.The author, however, limits himself to outlining the events, following the chronology from the beginning of the siege to the end of the battle from the perspective of someone experiencing the events firsthand. He does not feel the need to frame the narrative with broader political or historical considerations, also due to the very short time passed between the events and the publication of the work. Taegio emphasizes this episodes highlighting the role played by the dedicatee, the Spanish captain de Leyva, in the victory against Francis I: these include de Leyva's decision to melt down his own gold to meet the payment demands of the Landsknechts and the speech in which he indignantly rejects the Spanish king's suggestion to surrender Pavia to the French to avoid its destruction. Also noteworthy is Taegio's attention to the use of arquebuses by both sides, reflecting their emerging importance as a key element in the composition of European armies.Francesco Taegio was a physician, philosopher, and knight, from Novara. In 1520 he became professor of philosophy at the University of Pavia. In his posthumous autobiography, the mathematician Gerolamo Cardano (1501? 1576), recalled attending some of Taegio's lectures.Taegio's chronicle is the last book printed in Pavia until 1539: the battle of 1525, along with a series of subsequent sackings, led to a prolonged interruption of all printing activities in the city, which did not fully resume until the 1560s. Jacopo da Burgofranco himself, who was a university custodian, bookseller, and printer-publisher specializing in academic works, left Pavia for Venice, where he worked from 1528 until his death in 1538. USTC records only two copies in institutions outside of Italy (BL and Bibliothèque Mazarine), although are records of a copy in the collections of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich. EDIT16 CNCE 56073; USTC 857920; BMSTC Italian 654; Brunet V 642 cites another edition of the same work under a different title, printed in the same year, as well as a Koln edition under this title. Argelati, I, pp. 1475-6; BNO I 1525; G. Tinazzo, Il tipografo-editore Iacopo Pocatela (Pavia 1490-Venezia 1538), in Atti e memorie dell'Accademia Patavina di scienze, lettere ed arti 70 (1957-1958); UNPAV p. 169.
Quarto (213 x 155 mm.), three parts in one volume. Roman, Greek and 'Utopian' types. Woodcut historiated border to title of each part and to preface, the first by Ambrosius Holbein, the others by Hans Holbein, full- page woodcut of Utopia and half-page woodcut of Clement, Hythlodaye, More and Gillies, by Ambrosius Holbein, a different woodcut printer's device at end of each part, woodcut historiated initials by A. and H. Holbein. A very fine copy in nineteenth century red crushed morocco by Francis Bedford, spine gilt in compartments with gilt title, gilt edges; from the library of Cardiff Castle (ex libris) and Livio Ambrogio (ex libris).The important third edition of Utopia with the author's revisions, including the first edition of More's Epigrammata, not present in the first 1516 Louvain publication by Peter Gillies and the following Parisian reprint by Gourmont in 1517. This early edition of More's Epigrammata includes verses that were removed from following printings, particularly those pertaining to Germain de Brie (c. 1490-1538). This is the first edition printed by Johann Froben, which was followed by an identical issue in November/December of the same year. Froben's editions have been described as ?'the most complete and most correct published in [More's] lifetime'' (Fairfax Murray, p. 494). This revised impression was arranged by Erasmus and it also contains his own Epigrammata, originally printed in Paris in 1506 in conjunction with the fourth edition of his Adagia.The title page is contained within a woodcut border showing Lucretia and Sextus Tarquinius, with additional separate title pages for each of the three works, as well as printers' devices. These works are often found separate, however it is rare to find them together as published. Utopia's architectural border is populated by Cherubs and signed by Hans Holbein. More's Epigrammata is set within a border also signed by Hans Holbein, the lower part occupied by scenes of the life of Gaius Mucius Cordus. The border for Erasmus' Epigrammata depicts St. John the Baptist and Salome. Utopia opens with a full-page woodcut map of the island, executed by Ambrose Holbein, depicting Raphael Hythlodaeus on the bottom left corner pointing towards it while speaking to More and Gillis. The opposite leaf contains the Utopian alphabet and several verses. An additional woodcut vignette is included at the beginning of the first section, showing Clement, More, Hythlodaeus, and Gillies.More's Utopia is presented as a imaginary dialogue between the author and the fictitious traveller Raphael Hythlodaeus, allegedly part of Amerigo Vespucci's crew. The first part is reserved for Hythlodaeus' critiques of European societies, particularly their greed, corruption, and inequality, blaming private property, harsh punishments, and class oppression. Conversely, the second part describes the island of Utopia that houses a society organized around communal property and rational governance. Utopians work only six hours a day, share resources, are not bound by materialism and practice religious tolerance. Their simple laws and elected leadership ensure fairness, while war and overpopulation are avoided, and slavery serves as punishment for criminals and prisoners of war. While on the surface Utopia appears idyllic, the work is infused with irony, leaving the reader to question whether such a society is attainable or a critique of human nature. "Utopia is not, as often imagined, More's ideal state: it exemplifies only the virtues of wisdom, fortitude, temperance and justice. It reflects the moral poverty of the states which More knew [?] But an ideal state is what it has come to mean [?] Utopia has become a fairy-tale.More, who was knighted in 1521, was later Speaker of the House of Commons, High Steward of Cambridge University, and Lord Chancellor. In 1535 he was executed for high treason. He is a saint to the Catholic, and a predecessor of Marx to the Communist. His manifesto is and will be
Octavo (160 x 98 mm.), 210, [4] leaves with Aldus' device on title page and on verso of last page. Small portion of the white corner of the last six pages restored but a very fine copy bound in late eighteenth-century red morocco, covers double ruled in gilt, with gilt Aldus' device at the center, spine with raised bands in six compartments, green morocco lettering piece, gilt edges.The extremely rare, corrected third edition of Virgilius, published by Aldus Manutius (1450-1515) and his father-in-law Andrea Torresano (1451-1528). Initially presented and dated as a 1514 publication, Renouard has proposed two separate issues: the initial third edition with a long errata list, rushed for printing in October likely due to the decline of Aldus' health, with his death following only a few months later in February; the second issue, the one presented here, is the later version corrected by Andrea Navagero (1483?1529) and without the four-page errata preceding the text, replaced by blanks; Renouard dates this imprint as later than 1519 due to the inclusion of the printer's mark as an open-mouthed dolphin wound around the Aldine anchor, a mark not used earlier. This is the rarest of the two imprints.First published in 1501, this collection of Virgil's complete works ? encompassing the Eclogues, Georgica, and Aeneid - marked a significant editorial milestone towards making classical literature accessible in smaller, more portable sizes that were previously confined to devotional works. It was the first classical book printed in octavo format, as well as the first to be primarily printed in Italic type, which was developed by Aldus based on the Italian cursive humanist script and cut by Francesco Griffo (1450-1518). ?The compact style of the Italic face enabled the printer to compress his subject matter into a smaller number of pages and thus reduce the physical size of the work. During the sixteenth century, it quickly became the fashionable vernacular type for Italian and French books, achieving such popularity that Aldus was soon forced to seek exclusive rights from the Venetian senate. These legal protections, however, were of little use; Aldus' Italic type was freely counterfeited by the Giunti at Florence, the Soncini in Fano, and the Lyon printers. Not until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries did the popularity of the type begin to wane.'' (Angerhofer, pp.11-12)This third edition is the first to include Aldus' preface dedicated to the learned Venetian patrician Pietro Bembo (1470-1547), which had been omitted in the two earlier publications. ?Here, Aldus explains that he first developed the idea of the smaller format after using the small-size manuscript copies of the classics in the library of Pietro's father, Bernardo. Seeing the utility of the smaller manuscripts, Aldus no doubt contemplated how smaller printed books might likewise be carried in a pocket, be less expensive, and thus more available for everyday use. As he later explained, these smaller books were intended not so much as a pocket-sized book as simply a book that would be "handy." Quite literally, he wrote, the octavos were in forma enchiridii ("in the shape of an enchiridion," a manual or handbook). The impact of the innovation of a smaller-sized book proved immediate and revolutionary.'' (Angerhofer, pp.11-12) Manutius' association with Pietro and Bernardo Bembo proved to be an incredibly rich partnership for the development of both book design and the spread of classical literature. ?The three men shared the same passion for classical culture and texts, enthusiasm for learning and love of books. Pietro collaborated with Aldus in the editing of some of the texts for publication, while Bernardo willingly lent to him manuscripts from his own library. From these ancient codices and humanistic manuscripts Aldus drew inspiration for the design, fonts and format of his editions. By virtue of his skills as a printer and publisher and his artistic talent as a boo
Two volumes, octavo (163 x 100mm), [268]; [190] leaves, with all the five blanks; Aldine anchor and dolphin device at end of each volume. Contemporary limp vellum, yapp edges, flat spine with manuscript title and paper lettering-pieces. Spine slightly darkened but a very fine set.Editio princeps of the most part of Euripides tragedies. Medea, Hippolitus, Alcestis and Andromache had been previously published at Florence ca. 1495 by Lorenzo de Alopa; Electra was not published until 1545. At the end of the second volume we find the Hercules Furens not mentioned in the title page, meanwhile included in the collection are the Resus, whose authorship is doubtful, and the Cyclops which is a satire and not a tragedy. In his preface to Demetrius Chalcondylas, Aldus indicates the edition consisted of one thousand copies and announces the imminent publication of the scholia to seven of the plays, but these were not printed until Giunta's edition of 1534. ?Dans sa préface à Demetrius Chalcondylas, Alde fait entendre qu'il tiroit ordinairement ses èditions in-8° a mille exemplaires environ: ?Mille et amplius boni alicujus auctoris volumina singulo quoq; mense emittimus ex Academia nostra.? Dans la préface du Catulle, Tibulle et Properce, du 1502, il dit cependent avoir tire de cette édition plus de trois mille volumes ad tria millia voluminum et plus. Effectivment Catulle, Tibulle et Properce, ètoient à la portée d'un plus grand nombre de lecteurs que les tragédies d'Euripide, et sont d'ailleurs maintenant moins rare de cette edition que l'Euripide, ou bien Alde considéroit les tres autores comme faisant chacun un volume, ce qui feroit justement le nombre de mille pour le tirage de l'édition. On se rappelle que, dans la fameuse liste de l' Evêque d'Aleria, les ouvrages en deux volumes, tirés à 275 exemplaires, soint ainsi désignés: DL volumina, en cumulant le nombre du tirage de chacun des volumes.? (Renouard). The Greek type used by Aldus here is the same introduced for the first time six months earlier for the Sophocles. It is the smallest Greek type so far and better cut than the previous ones; it is probably the best Greek type used by Aldus. Aldus' edition remained the most important printed text of Euripides until the 18th century. Renouard 43/10; Dibdin I 524
Quarto (225 x 160 mm.), [8] leaves, 432 pages including a full-page engraved allegorical frontispiece, full-page engraved emblem of the Academy and 106 engraved portraits of the Academy's members. A pale water stain in the upper white margin of the last pages, one restored tear; a very fine copy in contemporary stiff vellum with manuscript title on spine.First edition of this biographical compendium from the members of the Accademia degli Incogniti, an intellectual and literary circle founded in Venice, in 1630 by Giovanni Francesco Loredan (1607-1661). Loredan was a Venetian patrician who was extremely active in literary and political circles, becoming part of the Council of Ten and the Signoria of Venice. He formed the Accademia early in his life, while attending the classes of Cesare Cremonini (1550-1631) at the University of Padua. It was during the early 1620s that he gathered a large group of scholars, writers, and men of letters who, armed with pen and paper, defied censure and sought freedom of expression.The Accademia was a revolutionary intellectual circle in 17th century Venice. ?'At the heart of Venetian cultural life, the Incogniti [?] created an intellectual style that depended on ?conversation'. They created an ?academic' style that placed enormous emphasis on the virtuosity of word selection and the power of language, not just for self-expression, but as an instrument for perception and deeper cognition. [?] The Incogniti supported the most successful opera libretti, they published moral and religious tracts, philosophical essays, and especially novellas that have come to be labelled libertine. Their wide-ranging and eclectic works betrayed certain preoccupations, including an interest in kabbalistic magic, eroticism tinged with overt homosexuality, parodies of the Christian virtues, blasphemy, and religious speculations that were certainly heterodox and sceptical.'' (Muir, pp.71-72)Le glorie presents one hundred and six biographies of its members, each accompanied by a list of literary works published and those planned to be published, as well as full-page engraved portraits, mostly produced by Giacomo Piccini (c.1619-1660). The work stands as a panegyric of the cosmopolitan intellectual circle, which boasted members from all over Italy. A vast majority of the members were foreigners to Venice, predominantly from Bologna and Genoa, but also Corfu (then a Venetian territory), Florence and Spoleto, having in common their studies at the University of Padua and their passion for Cremonini's philosophy. These men included Alessandro Adimari (1579-1649), Nicolò Crasso (1585-1656), and Antonio Rocco (1586-1653). The introduction alludes to a potential ensuing publication, as the number of academicians was so great that ??to include them all in one volume would be like trying to reduce the greatness of the Ocean to one river'' however, such compilation was never published.Somewhat in contradiction with the publication of Le glorie, the Accademia degli Incogniti strove for anonymity and secrecy, hiding behind metaphorical language, allegory and pseudonyms in order to escape prosecution when reading or writing forbidden and censored books. This idea of concealment is evident in Le glorie's allegorical frontispiece, designed by Francesco Ruschi (c. 1600-1661). It depicts a female figure with a crescent moon headdress - possibly the goddess Selene - spearing a winged male figure, which holds a scythe engraved with the title of the work ?Le glorie degl'Incogniti'; in the foreground, a pensive Hercules sits naked on the skin of the Nemean lion, holding his club. Under his hand rests the emblem of the Accademia Incogniti, the Nile River flowing from an unknown mountain source, an allusion to the secrecy of the Incogniti, alongside their motto ?Ex ignoto notus' (?the known from the unknown'). The concept of secrecy is continued in the introductory poem penned by Baldassarre Bonifacio (1585-1659), declaring the origins of the
Quarto (214 x 136 mm.), [4], 230 leaves with Aldus' device on title page and on verso of last page. Title slightly dust soiled, two small worm holes in the upper white margin of the first tree leaves but a very fine copy in eighteenth century green morocco, panels with triple gilt border, spine in compartments with red and green morocco lettering pieces. First Aldine edition of Quintilian's comprehensive treatise on rhetoric and the education of an orator. Published only a few months before Aldus Manutius' (1450-1515) death, this edition of Quintilian is one of his last printed works and the only edition of this title printed by Aldus. It was reprinted in 1521 by his heirs. The volume is prefaced by a dedicatory letter written by Aldus in praise of Giovanni Battista Ramusio (1485-1557), a geographer and learned man who had helped him obtain ancient manuscripts for his publications, including the one for this Quintilian. Ramusio worked in partnership with the humanist Andrea Navagero (1483?1529) to edit this volume, working in great haste and under pressure according to Aldus' letter.De Institutiones Oratoriae exerted a high degree of influence on school curricula and in the development of pedagogy in Europe from Late Antiquity, through to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The work was read by authors such as John of Salisbury, Alexander Neckham and Petrarch, despite the survival of only fragments from the first five books and the last four books until the rediscovery of the complete text in 1416 by Poggio Bracchiolini in the library of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Gall in Switzerland. This discovery and the subsequent first publication of the complete work in 1470 marked a spike in scholarly interest and in-depth study of the work, as well as a growing influence of the work on society. Aldus' edition, printed 34 years later, in Italic type and quarto format, stands out as one of the few smaller format publications, more affordable than the common folio editions that became popular in the sixteenth century. Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (ca. 35 - ca. 100 CE) was a Roman lawyer and educator originally from Spain. He was sent to Rome to study grammar and rhetoric under Remmius Palemon and Domitius Afer, and after 68 CE began practicing as an advocate in the court of law, as well as establishing a school of oratory. For over twenty years he dedicated himself to the teaching of rhetoric, counting among his students Pliny the Younger and Emperor Domitian's heirs. De Institutiones was written during the last years of his life and remains his greatest legacy, encapsulating a wide breadth of the knowledge, history and culture surrounding the art of Roman rhetoric.Drawing from his experience as a teacher, the first volumes of the work delineate the ideal educational path of an orator from their infancy to the development of later pedagogy, emphasizing the nurture of a student's natural talents. The central chapters delve into the technical canons in the art of rhetoric, including inventio, dispositio, elocutio, memoria, and pronuntitio. The work culminates in the twelfth chapter with an analysis of the character of the ideal orator, adding a layer of moral value to the practice of rhetoric. The Quintilian is also notorious for deviating from the usual contemporary employment of silver Latin in favour of a clear and direct way of speaking. De Institutiones is a comprehensive treatise on the art of oratory that goes beyond an educator's manual to encompass a larger philosophy of rhetoric that became highly influential for more than a millennium after its writing. USTC 851765; EDIT16 CNCE 54150; Renouard p.68,5; Brunet IV, 1024; Ahmanson-Murphy 124; Adams, Q52; BM STC Italian p. 546; Isaac 12840; Schweiger II, 842.
Quarto (310 x 230 mm.), two volumes: [20], 331, [1] pages; [4], 337, [3] pages. In both volumes instead of first blank page there is a printed page declaring that ?quest'edizione appartiene alla biblioteca particolare di S.A.I. Eugenio Napoleone di Francia vice-re d'Italia? A very fine untrimmed copy bound in half red morocco, covers with gilt supralibros of Eugene Napoleon of France and his wife Augusta of Bayern, flat spines with gilt decoration green morocco lettering pieces.A very fine copy with an important provenance of Tasso's masterpiece. The Bodoni edition of La Gerusalemme liberata, is dedicated to the King of Spain Carlos IV de Borbon, who had gratified Bodoni with an annual pension and the title of Tipografo di Sua Maestà, and edited by Pier Antonio Serassi (1721 ? 1791) who revised the text upon the editions printed in 1581 and 1584, and on some autograph notes by Tasso in his personal collection. ?Sometime in the early 1790s, Bodoni conceived the idea of printing by subscription uniform editions of the four Italian poets Tasso, Dante, Petrarch and Ariosto. He detailed his plans in a prospectus circulated in 1793 (printed in English and Italian): 'Two Editions of each [author's work] will come out at the same time? Of the First in grand Folio, on a superfine, chosen paper and polish'd, there will be only fifty copies struck off? Of the same Edition in common Folio, on fine royal paper and polish'd, one hundred & fifty Copies will be printed? Of the second Edition in grand Quarto, on superfine chosen paper and polish'd, there will be 100 Copies? And of this Edition in common Quarto, on fine royal paper, polish'd, there will be two hundred Copies? And each Copy, if the subscriber chuses [sic] shall have a page of frontis¬piece with his name, surname and additions, which will be a lasting proof of the original propriety of the Book'. The first text to be printed was the Gerusalemme liberata. On 22 July 1794, Bodoni informed a correspondent that the work was well-underway (ho quattro torchi occupati attualmente nella stampa della Gerusalemme liberata) and that it would appear in September in cinque diverse forme, tutte eleganti e nitidissime. In fact, four (not five) editions were produced, and the quantities printed were not as specified in the 1793 prospectus. The earliest bibliographers of the Bodoni press, Francesco Fusi and Giuseppe De Lama, writing in 1814 and 1816 respectively, maintain that the four editions were printed in this order:(1) in two volumes, with three cantos printed on each page, foglio grande (page height 470 mm, or smaller), on laid paper with PB watermark (carta reale fina, detta di Napoli), 130 copies printed (100 copies reserved for subscribers or so-called ?Associati', and 30 for sale to others);(2) in three volumes, with two cantos printed per page, foglio mezzano (page height 450 mm, or smaller), on wove paper (velina), 100 copies printed;(3) in two volumes, foglio piccolo (page height circa 390 mm), on wove paper (di Londra);(4) in two volumes, quarto (page height circa 300 mm), on laid paper (reale fina detta di Napoli).Bodoni's ambitious project to print luxurious editions of the Italian poets was ultimately a commercial disappointment: the next work to appear in the series, Dante's Divina comedia, was published in 1795?1796, also in four editions (Brooks nos. 588, 653?654; Giani p. 53); Petrarch's Rime, published in 1799, appeared however in two editions only (Brooks nos. 733?734; Giani p. 61); and Ariosto never proceeded to press.? (Robin Halwas) Brooks 565.
Quarto (192 x 134 mm.), [6], 71, [7] leaves with the blank A6. Woodcut armorial of Ferdinando de' Medici on title-page, woodcut initials and tailpieces, woodcut printer's device at end. Light foxing but a very fine copy in late XVII century limp vellum, manuscript title on spine. Provenance: old shelfmark, QQ.IIII.20; Albani family, of Urbino (probably Alessandro Albani, 1692-1779), eighteenth-century Bibliotheca Albana armorial stamp at foot of title-page with letters BA; Pierre Deschamps (1821-1906), small engraved label of a donkey (his library sold in Paris in 1864); Giuseppe Martini of Lucca (1870-1944), bookplate and note "Duplicate" (lot 62 in his sale, Hoepli, Luzern, 20-26 August 1934, was another copy of this edition); Robert B. Honeyman (1897-1987), sale, Sotheby's, 30 April 1979, lot 659, £1,300, to Maggs; Robin Halwas, London, catalogue 4 (1999), item 36.; Bibliotheca Brookeriana (Sotheby's, 9 July 2024).First edition of the two treatises by Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571) on metalwork and sculpture, ?recording his technical experience of embossing, engraving, enameling, and gilding metals, alloying gold (with ground carbonate), tinting diamonds, minting coins, designing medals, modelling, casting, and chiseling bronze statues, among other subjects. The treatises contain also his observations on Michelangelo's techniques and on those of other contemporary artists? (R.Halwas, Cat. 4, 1999) At the end of the treaty on sculpture there are: Poesie toscane, et latine sopra il Perseo statua di bronzo, e il Crocifisso statua di Marmo fatte da Messer Benvenuto Cellini, some poems in praise of his Perseus and his crucifix, including two sonnets by Agnolo Bronzino, verses by Benedetto Varchi, Paolo Mini, Lelio Bonsi and Domenico Poggiani. ?Although traditionally neglected by scholars, the Trattati are a book anything but insignificant in the contest of Cellini's literary production. First and foremost, they are the only major writing of the author which was published when he was still alive and therefore his only contemporary recognition as a writer. In the second place, the Trattati played a central role in the most problematic part of Cellini's life, as they were conceived by the artist as an instrument through which he was trying to regain the favour of Francesco de' Medici in order to escape the morass of marginalization and irrelevance in which [?], he had spent his later years. Indeed, also because of his terrible relationship with some of the most powerful personalities at the Medici court, like Vincenzo Borghini and Giorgio Vasari, at the end of the crucial year 1565 Cellini lost the opportunity to play an active role in the Florentine artistic community, which was at the time almost entirely involved in the preparations for the sumptuous apparati for the marriage of the Prince Francesco with Joanna of Austria, daughter of the Emperor Ferdinand I. As the author recognized in the dedication letter of the Trattati, the book was therefore conceived and offered to Francesco de' Medici as a form of compensation, a gift which aimed to replace his unfulfilled works of art on the occasion of the nuptial festivities. Through the dedication of the Trattati, a text fundamentally technical and didactic, Cellini was hoping to capitalize on the Prince's well-known fascination for techne. The Trattati which mainly concerned the material procedures of the art making both goldsmithery and sculpture appeared a suitable gift for a lord who [?] found his only pleasures in the artisanal activities connected with mineralogy, gemology, numismatics, goldsmithing and sculpture. [?] Conceived by the time the Florentine artistic community was preparing the apparati for Francesco's wedding, the Trattati were completed by 1567, when the author donated the manuscript version of the book to the lord of Florence. [?] The volume published by the Florentine editors Valente Panizzi e Marco Peri in the first months of 1569 had very little in common wi
