16th-Century Edition of Boccaccio's On the Genealogy of the Gods of the Gentiles

16th-Century Edition of Boccaccio's On the Genealogy of the Gods of the Gentiles

Giovanni Boccaccio; Gioseppe Betussi, trans. LA GENEOLOGIA DE GLI DEI DE GENTILI. Venice: Appresso Giouan. Antonio Bertano, 1574. Later quarter vellum over paper boards. 4to; *8 A-2I8 2K8 (lacking final blank? leaf); ff. [8] 263. Italic type with Roman; text in Italian. With woodcut device on title page, woodcut initials, and ornaments. Edit16 6362; USTC 814876.
7 7/8 x 6 in.
Giovanni Boccaccio (Tuscany, 1313-1375) was an Italian writer best known for The Decameron. Like Dante and his friend Petrarch, his influence on literature - both in Italy and beyond - was significant and still studied today. He wrote La Geneologia de Gli dei de Gentili, or On the Genealogy of the Gods of the Gentiles, in the mid 14th century. It quickly became the standard handbook on mythology, indicating the important humanist influence of its compiler.
From the Collection of Professor Roberto Severino, Washington, D.C.
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Condition Report: Boards with edgewear, scuffs, faint writing, and staining, corners bumped, slight loss to tail of spine; title page with small stains, pages lightly toned with scattered foxing, minor edgewear to several pages and minor cracking at hinges, occasional small stain or damp stain with residue on 03-O5 and X8; an excellent and extremely clean and crisp copy of this significant reference.