The department of books and manuscripts inaugurates 2023 with a composite and rich selection of illustrious editions, offering bibliophiles volumes of exceptional prestige,
including one of the most important editions of Dante Alighieri's "Divina Commedia", a masterpiece of 15th-century Brescian typography edited by Bonino Bonini (lot 33, estimate € 30,000 - 50,000).
Lot 33
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)
La Commedia. Brescia: Bonino Bonini, 31 maggio 1487.
Estimate € 30,000 - 50,000
In the section dedicated to the 16th-century some rare books that are difficult to find on the market, such as Pietro Aretino with the first edition of his irreverent love comedy entitled “Talanta comedia” (lot 10, estimate € 5,000 - 8,000) and the second edition of the “Genesi” (lot 9, estimate € 3,000 - 5,000), both published by the Venetian typographer Francesco Marcolini in 1542 and 1539 respectively.
Also of interest is the rare first edition of the “Libro terzo degli amori” by Bernardo Tasso, also published in Venice by Bernardino Stagnino in 1537 (lot 107, estimate € 3,000 - 5,000).
Lot 10
Pietro Aretino (1492-1556)
Talanta comedia.
Venice: Francesco Marcolini, 1542.
Estimate € 5,000 - 8,000
Lot 107
Bernardo Tasso (1493-1569)
Libro terzo degli amori. Venice: Bernardino Stagnino, 1537.
Estimate € 3,000 - 5,000
The afternoon session opens with a homage to the Enlightened Age through important copies, including an elegant copy of the largest collection of anatomical reproductions by Leopoldo and Floriano Caldani of 1801-14 (lot 168, estimate € 4,000 - 6,000) and a parchment-bound version of the Encyclopédie by Diderot and d'Alembert (lot 178, estimate € 5,000 - 8,000) published in Lucca between 1758-76, almost simultaneously with the French princeps.
Lot 168
Leopoldo Marco Antonio Caldani (1725-1813) - Floriano Caldani (1772-1836)
Icones anatomicae: 3 tomi di testo rilegati in 5 volumi e 3 tomi di tavole rilegate in 4 volumi.
Venice: Giuseppe Picotti, 1801-14.
Estimate € 4,000 - 6,000
Lot 178
Denis Diderot (1713-1784) - Jean D’Alembert (1717-1783)
Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers.
Lucca: Vincenzo Giuntini, 1758-1776.
Estimate € 5,000 - 8,000
In the field of cartography, we find the most important map of Italy by Giacomo Gastaldi that appeared in the 16th century (lot 266, estimate € 8,000 - 12,000) and the "Novus Atlas Sinensis" by Joannes Blaeu and Martinus Martini: the first European atlas to offer descriptions and geographic coordinates of the fifteen Provinces of the Chinese Empire (lot 210, estimate € 8,000 - 12,000).
To make this section even more of collectible interest are other splendid maps, including the one of Asia Minor, also by Gastaldi (lot 227, estimate 8,000 - 12,000) and the first edition of "Theatrum orbis terrarum" of 1579 by the Belgian cartographer Abraham Ortelius (lot 233, estimate € 10,000 - 15,000).
Lot 226
Giacomo Gastaldi (1500-1566)
[Mappa dell'Italia] - Il disegno della geografia moderna de tutta la provincia de la italia.
Venice: Fabio Licinio, 1561.
Estimate € 8,000 - 12,000
Lot 210 Joannes Blaeu (1596-1673) e Martinus Martini (1614-1661)
Theatrum orbis terrarum, sive Novus Atlas. Pars sexta. Novus Altas Sinensis. Amsterdam: Blaeu, 1655.
Estimate € 8,000 - 12,000
Unmissable are the illustrations and artist books.
Giovanni Battista Piranesi with an edition of his "Carceri d'invenzione" published between 1778-79 (lot 258, estimate € 20,000 - 30,000), followed by Carlo Collodi with a second edition of 1886 of the "Avventure di Pinocchio" (lot 117, estimate € 3,000 - 5,000); culminating in the 20th-century of the great masters such as Salvador Dalì, of whom we find an ad personam copy of the "Biblia Sacra vulgatae editionis" containing an original gouache (lot 280, estimate € 40,000 - 60,000), Joan Mirò, Agostino Bonalumi and Bruno Munari.
Lot 258
Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778)
Carceri d'invenzione. [Rome: G.B. Piranesi, tra la metà e la fine degli anni '70 XVIII secolo].
Estimate € 20,000 - 30,000
Lot 280
Salvador Dalì (1904-1989)
Biblia Sacra vulgatae editionis.
Milan: Rizzoli, 1967-1969.
Estimate € 40,000 - 60,000