Giovanni Bocccaccio / Paolo Rolli / Giuseppe Buonamici - Il Decameron Di Messer Giovanni... Lettera Critica del Signor Buonamici - 1725/1728

ONE OF THE MOST DESIRABLE EDITIONS OF THE ‘DECAMERON’ OF BOCCACCIO IN THE ORIGINAL ITALIAN, PRINTED IN QUARTO AT LONDON BY EDLIN IN 1725, EDITED BY PAOLO ROLLI AND CONSTITUTING A REMARKABLY EXACT EMULATION OF THE FAMOUS 1527 GIUNTA BOCCACCIO (including the woodcut printer’s mark) THE VOLUME IS ADORNED WITH A BEAUTIFUL FRONTISPIECE ILLUSTRATION BY BARON AFTER SRISONI, AND FURTHER FULL-PAGE PORTRAITS OF BOCCACCIO AND ROLLI. BOUND WITHTHE 1728 FIRST EDITION OF BUONAMICI’S CRITICAL LETTER TO ROLLI CONCERNING THE BOCCACCIO, TOGETHER WITH ROLLI’S RESPONSE. COMPLETE IN ALL RESPECTS AND IN VERY GOOD TO EXCELLENT CONDITION. BEAUTIFULLY BOUND IN FULL MID-18TH CENTURY ENGLISH CALF. The full title of the ‘Decameron’ reads as follows: “Il / Decameron / Di Messer / Giovanni Boccaccio. / Del MDXXVII. ”The original colophon of the ‘Decameron’ reads as follows: “Il Decamerone di M. Giovanni Boccaccio Nuovamente Corretto et Con Diligentia Stampato. / M. D. XXVII. ”The 1725 colophon reads as follows: “Londra per Tommaso Edlin. / MDCCXXV. ”The full title of Buonamici’s ‘Lettera Critica’ reads as follows: “Lettera Critica del Sig. Buonamici / Sulle Osservazioni Aggiunte all’Edizione / Del Decamerone del Boccaccio / Fatta in Londra nel MDCCXXV / Esattissimamente Simile / Pagina per Paginea e Linea per Linea / Alla Rarissima Edizione de I Giunta / In Firenze nel MD – XXVII. / E / Lettera Rispondente del Sig. Rolli. / In Parigi per Giovanni Battista Coignar nella strada di San Giacomo al libro d’Oro, / MDCCXXVIII. ”This is the celebrated and immensely faithful 1725 London reproduction of the 1527 Florentine edition produced by the Giunta, which is often considered the best of all the editions of the ‘Decameron. ’BUONAMICI’S LETTER AND ROLLI’S RESPONSE ARE VERY RARE. They constitute the most important contemporary discussion of Rolli’s editorship and the 1725 Boccaccio, with Buonamici criticizing Rolli’s textual emendations, and Rolli responding by showing the regional prejudice at the foundation of Buonamici’s critiques. OF GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO AND THE ‘DECAMERONE’Giovanni Boccaccio (1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian author, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and important Renaissance humanist. Boccaccio wrote a number of notable works, including the Decameron and On Famous Women. As a poet who wrote in the Italian vernacular, Boccaccio is particularly noted for his realistic dialogue, which differed from that of his contemporaries, medieval writers who usually followed formulaic models for character and plot. The Decameron (Italian: Decamerone) , subtitled Prince Galehaut (Italian: Prencipe Galeotto) , is a collection of novellas by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375) . The book is structured as a frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men sheltering in a secluded villa just outside Florence to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city. Boccaccio probably conceived the Decameron after the epidemic of 1348, and completed it by 1353. The various tales of love in The Decameron range from the erotic to the tragic. Tales of wit, practical jokes, and life lessons contribute to the mosaic. In addition to its literary value and widespread influence (for example on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales) , it provides a document of life at the time. Written in the vernacular (the language of Florence) , it is considered the masterpiece of classical early Italian prose. THE VOLUME IS IN VERY GOOD TO EXCELLENT CONDITION. The 18th century English calf binding shows minor wear at the edges and moderate wear at the corners. The spine is divided by raised and gilt bands into 6 compartments. The borders are attractively gilt and the spine shows a gilt dove in 5 of the compartments. The original red morocco label has been retained. The outer hinges are cracked, but the cords hold very firmly. The book-block is a little weakened by the book’s girth, but nevertheless remains strong. Internally, the leaves are clean and bright, with clear print and ample margins throughout. The engraved portraits are excellent impressions. The portraits leave a little minor offsetting, and the Buonamici/Rolli work is very mildly toned. BOTH WORKS ARE COMPLETE IN ALL RESPECTS. The ‘Decamerone’ is foliated as follows: [frontispiece] , [4 ff] , [portrait of Boccaccio] , [7 ff] , 284 ff, [6 ff] , 49 pp. , [1 p.] . Buonamici’s letter and Rolli’s response are paginated as follows: [frontispiece portrait of Rolli] , [iv] , 72. [2] . The volume measures 20. 5 cm by 15. 5 cm by 4. 4 cm; each leaf measures 200 mm by 147 mm.