Forum Rare Books

Humanizing the abstract

DONI, Anton Francesco. Pitture. Nelle quali si mostra di nuova inventione: amore, fortuna, tempo, castità, religione, sdegno, riforma, morte, sonno & sogno, huomo, republica, & magnanimità; divise in due trattati.
Padua, Perchacino, 1564. 4to. With a printer's device on the title page, and 26 decorated woodcut initials. Contemporary Italian or Iberian limp vellum, with the manuscript title on the spine. 64 ll. Full description

€ 3,000

Early Printing - 16th century Italian Literature Italy

Illustrated volume of an important work in Macaronic verse, bound by François Bozerian

[FOLENGO, Teofilo]. Opus Merlini Cocaii poetae mantuani macaronicorum.
Amsterdam [or possibly printed in Naples?], Abraham van Someren, 1692. 8vo. With a full-page engraved portrait of the author as a frontispiece, 26 engraved illustrations in the text (ca. 6 x 5 cm), a woodcut floral vignette on the title page, woodcut decorated initials, and woodcut floral and ornamental tailpieces. Early 19th-century elaborately gold-tooled black morocco, with a floral frame on both boards, detailed floral designs in the compartments on the spine and the title, year of publication, and name of the binder lettered in gold on the spine, gold-tooled board edges and turn-ins, gilt edges, marbled endpapers. [30], 419, [4], [1 blank] pp. Full description

€ 1,250

Bindings Italian Literature Italy

Most beautiful and influential (but also censored) edition of 13th-century stories, including several borrowed and reworked by Boccaccio in his Decameron

GUALTERUZZI, Carlo (compiler) and [Vincenzo BORGHINI (“corrector”)]. Libro di novelle, et di bel parlar gentile. ... Cento novelle ... Di nuovo ricorrette.
Florence, Filippo & Jacopo Giunta, 1572. 4to (21.5 x 16 cm). With the Giunta's woodcut device on the title-page and a different one on the last page and about 120 woodcut decorated initials (about 7 series) including some repeats. With the main text set in roman type but the extensive preliminaries in italic. Contemporary limp sheepskin parchment. [26], [2 blank], "153" [= 165], [3] pp. Full description

€ 2,500

Early Printing - 16th century Italian Literature Italy Literature

"Arabian Nights"-style stories, set in Central Asia

[GUEULLETTE, Thomas Simon]. Novelle tartare tradotte dal francese nell'idioma italiano.
Venice, Francesco Andreola for Gaetano Martini, 1882. 3 parts in 1 volume. 12mo. Contemporary gold-tooled half calf, decorated paper sides, with the title lettered in gold on the spine. 156; 156; 150 pp. Full description

€ 800

Central Asia Italian Literature Italy

Beautifully bound fundamental Italian translation of Homer's Illiad

HOMER. Iliade di Omero. Traduzione del Cav. Vincenzo Monti.
Milano, Dalla Stamperia Reale, 1812. 2 vols. Large 8vo (23.5 x 16 cm). Contemporary elaborately gold-tooled green calf (or sheepskin), with a light brown title-label on the spine lettered in gold. All boards show the large gold-tooled crowned coat of arms (of the French Barons Pavée de Vendeuvre - see to Rietstap 5, Pl. XXIII) within a gold-tooled frame, brown marbled endpapers, gilt edges. [1], [1 blank], [1], [1 blank], [4], 366; 386 pp. Full description

€ 4,500

Greek & Roman Classics Italian Literature Italy

Highly detailed and brightly coloured botanical emblematic fore-edge painting
taken from Camerarius's Symbolorum et emblematum

MARCHESE, Duca Annibale. Tragedie Cristiane.
Naples, Felice Mosca, 1729. 2 volumes in 1. Large 8vo. With two title-pages in red and black, an engraved frontispiece by Jeremias Jakob Sedelmayr after Francesco Solimena, an engraved author's portrait by Antonio Baldi and 11 engraved plates by Sedelmayr and Baldi after Solimena, accompanying the 10 tragedies and the dedication. Also with some engraved initials, woodcut tailpieces and 40 pages of engraved polyphonic music for the choruses. Contemporary gold-tooled brown goatskin morocco, gilt and gauffered edges with an intricate fore-edge painting, incorporating both a closed and fanned design for the fore-edge. The head and foot edges are painted with floral and botanical designs. [4], [16], 502; [4], 504, [2]; pp. plus 40 pp. of engraved music. Full description

€ 8,500

Bindings Drawings & Watercolours Italian Literature Italy Literature

Rare Dutch edition of a popular anti-Jesuit satire

[OLIVIER, Abbé Jean]. D'ongelukkige Napolitaan, of zeldzaam levensbedrijf van Rozelli. Behelzende een historisch verhaal van zijne geboorte, Turkze slaverny, klooster leven, zitten in de inquisitie, en wat figuren hy verder in Italien, Vrankrijk, en Holland gemaakt heeft. Uit het Frans vertaald.
Utrecht, Jakob van Poolsum, 1716. 3 parts in 1 volume. Small 8vo. With a full-page engraved frontispiece, a letterpress title in red and black, 16 full-page engraved plates, several woodcut head- and tailpieces, and woodcut initials. Contemporary gold-tooled calf, sewn on 5 supports with the corresponding raised bands on the spine, a red morocco title label on the spine with the text "Leven van Rozelli" lettered in gold, red sprinkled edges. VI, 484, 36 pp. Full description

€ 2,750

Caricature & Satire Dutch Literature French Literature History / 17th Century Italian Literature Italy Slavery Travel & Voyages Middle East Turkey & Ottoman Empire

One of the few illustrated books printed by Bodoni, splendidly bound

[ROSSI, Giovanni Gherardo de]. Scherzi poetici e pittorici.
(Colophon: Parma, Giambattista Bodoni, 1795). 8vo (22 x 14 cm). With engraved title-page and 40 engraved plates (plate size: ca. 7 x 11 cm). Richly gold-tooled red morocco by Rémy Petit (active 1855-1900), spine with 5 raised bands resulting in 6 compartments, one with black title-label and the other five gold-tooled with black oval inlays; the sides with gilt triple fillet borders, corner ornaments with same oval inlays and a central oval ornament (gold on green); further with gilt fillets on board edges and richly gold-tooled turn-ins with a floral motive, gilt edges. [52] ll. Full description

€ 7,200

Bindings Book History, Printing & Typography Italian Literature Italy

Famous Italian verse translation of the Oedipus, set to music by Rossini

[BODONI]. SOPHOCLES and Giambatista GIUSTI (editor). Edipo Coloneo ... recata in versi Italiani dal Cavaliere Giambatista Giusti.
Parma, Co 'Tipi Bodoniani, 1817. 2 works in 1 volume. 8vo. With: GIUSTI, Giambatista. All'Amica. Odi ... Terza edizione riveduta e corretta dall'autore.
Parma, Co 'Tipi Bodoniani, 1817. Contemporary orange boards. [4], LI, [1 blank], 170, [1], [1 blank]; [4], 87, [1 blank] pp. Full description

€ 950

Greek & Roman Classics Italian Literature Music, Theatre & Dance

Important for the development of French poetry in the 16th century
and the promotion of the use of the vernacular languages

SPERONI DEGLI ALGAROTTI, [Sperone]. Dialoghi del sig. Speron Speroni nobile Padovano, di nuovo ricorretti; a quali sono aggiunti molti altri non più stampati. E. di più l'Apologia de i primi.
Venice, Roberto Meietti, 1596. 4to. With a woodcut printer's device on the title page. Contemporary red morocco, spine with gilt rulling, covers with gilt fillets and gilt oval central piece decorated with floral ornaments, 4 gilt floral cornerpieces. [8], 596 (=604), [2 errata] pp. Full description