CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, Miguel de (1547-1616) - El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid: Joaquin Ibarra, 1780.   The most famous illustrated edition of Cervantes' "Don Quijote", a Spanish literary masterpiece printed by Joaquín Ibarra, perhaps the greatest Spanish printing company. In 1773 the writers of the Real Academia Española began to think about a new edition of the most famous novel in their national literature. In the two previous centuries, in fact, various prints and translations had brought the text to a subversion, full of spelling errors and variations from the original. Hence the desire to produce an ultimate, perfect and philologically correct edition from every point of view.   The text of the present edition is based on the first editions of 1605 and 1608 for the first part and on those of 1615 and 1616 for the second. The publisher used the best Spanish craftsmanship for the material realization of the work: the paper was from the paper mills of Llorens, the illustrations were by artists of the caliber of Carnicero and Josè del Castillo and the characters were specially fused by Jeronimo Gil. Vincente de Los Rios was entrusted with the task of writing an accurate biography of Cervantes.   The extreme search for perfection led the publisher to make printing plates larger than the sheets to avoid showing the plate mark which in fact is not present. The result is a pure and elegant editorial layout for a philologically perfect edition of one of the masterpieces of the literary history of humanity in which the author satirically expresses the clash between the idealized world and real life, a clash ultimately summarized in the opposite personalities of the two protagonists, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.   4to (293 x 210mm). Portrait of the author, double-page map of Spain, 4 frontispieces and 31 engraved plates, engraved head-and-tail pieces and initials (small tear to inner margin of the map, 2G4 of third volume with marginal paper flaw, some light waterstaining and traces of humidity in the first and final volume, some foxing). Contemporary marbled calf, title on label and gilt decorations on spine and covers, gilt edges, marbled endpapers (light wear, some small wormtracks, traces of humidity to first volume, third volume with small restorations, fourth volume with slight losses to spine ends). Provenance: RM (gilt monogram on spine). (4)

Estimate € 5,000 - 8,000

Sold € 5,000