Posthumous Italian edition of Gallands French translation of the Humayun-Nameh, the Turkish version of the Kalila wa-Dimnah or 'Anwar-e Soheyli. The ancient Sanskrit "Panchatantra" fables, classics of their genre, are thought to have been assembled ca. 200 BCE out of stories from an even older oral tradition. The stories became known in Europe through Hebrew translations of Arabic versions under the name of Bidpai. Featuring animals as a mirror for human behaviour, the fables were intended to educate people, especially young rulers.
The present Italian edition of 44 fables is based on the French edition of 1724, titled Contes et Fables Indiennes, de Bidpaï et de Lokman: "Cette édition, qui a été publiée par Th. S. Gueullette, ne donne que les quatre premiers chapitres. Cest à tort que le nom de Louqmâne figure sur le titre, le livre ne contenant rien de lui; dans le manuscrit autographe de Galland, on ne trouve pas la mention de ce nom [...] Cest donc déditeur qui a ajouté le nom" (Chauvin).
With two different ownership stamps of the numismatist and archaeologist Emile Taillebois (1841-92) on the title page (1 covered with an old library shelf mark). The work is evenly browned throughout due to paper stock, otherwise well preserved. OPAC SBN IT\ICCU\LO1E\013438 (3 copies, incl. 1 incomplete); cf. Chauvin II, p. 52, no 76A (French ed.); not in WorldCat.