Biografia Istorica del Prigioniere di S. Elena : con una descrizione topografica di quest'isola. Estratta dalla Galleria de' contemporanei di Luigi Jullian ; prima versione italiana eseguita sull'ultima edizione francese da Domenico Solito Bound with: Massime e pensieri del prigioniere di Sant-Elena, manoscritto trovato nelle carte de Las-Casas Napoli, 1820

Napoli [Naples, Italy]: Raffaele Miranda. Very Good. 1831. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. 246 & [2, blank] pages; TWO interesting contemporary accounts of Napoleon Bonaparte (both first editions - one published in 1820; the other in 1831) bound together in a handsome octavo volume. The binding is in the Romantique style: quarter black calf over marbled paper covered boards, flat spine richly decoratively stamped in gilt, plain laid endpapers, edges decoratively sprinkled blue. Ad I: 'Biografia istorica del prigioniere di S. Elena : con una descrizione topografica di quest'isola / estratta dalla Galleria de' contemporanei di Luigi Jullian ; prima versione italiana eseguita sull'ultima edizione francese da Domenico Solito.' Napoli : Raffaele Miranda, 1831. This copy is signed in ink by Domenico Solito, the Italian translator, on the verso of the half title page, underneath a printed notice to the effect that purchasers should consider copies offered for sale without the signature as counterfeits. The French original was published in several editions as: 'Notice biographique sur Napoléon. Extrait de la galerie historique des contemporains.' (This title had appeared in a third edition by 1822: "Troisième édition, augmentée jusqu'a sa mort..." Bruxelles : Auguste Wahlen et compagnie, 1822). The larger work referred to was written by Pierre Louis Pascal de Jullian: "Galerie historique des Contemporains, ou nouvelle Biographie, seule e´dition, dans laquelle se trouven re´unis les hommes morts ou vivans, de toutes les nations, qui se sont fait remarquer a la fin du 18-me sie`cle et au commencement de celui-ci, par leurs e´crits, leurs actions, leurs talens, leurs vertus ou leurs crimes..." This work eventually grew to several volumes. The 1831 first edition in Italian is quite scarce, to the point that it does not appear in OCLC. (There are copies in a few Italian institutions, located in the OPAC SBN). There is some diffuse foxing throughout, probably associated with the quality of the paper used in this edition as the binding is well preserved. Ad II: 'Massime e pensieri del prigioniere di Sant-Elena, manoscritto trovato nelle carte de Las-Casas. Tradotto dal francese da Felice Miola.' Napoli: Dalla tipografia di Porcelli, 1820. 8vo: 115 & [1, blank] pp. This was presented at the time of publication as written or dictated by Napoleon himself. Now, historians generally accept the notion that the text reflects mostly the work of the man to whom it was supposed to have been dictated -- Emmanuel-Auguste-Dieudonne´ comte de Las Cases. In the same manner as the first volume bound here, this copy is signed by the Italian translator, this time on the verso of the title page. This title does appear in OCLC ( see number: 18586354 -- four locations only: 2 copies at Harvard, 1 each at UC Berkeley, and the University of Manchester (UK) Library). There was another Italian version published during that same year of 1820, in Palermo (That one appeared without a translator's name specified, but stated: "Novissima traduzione interamente riformata e ricorretta." The Palermo edition is most likely the sort of thing that Felice Miola and his Neapolitan publisher were hoping to avoid by signing the "genuine" copies like ours. (OCLC locates a copy of the Palermo verso at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin). Two rare Italian contributions to the vast literature of Napoleon, one published while the former Emperor was still held by the British on remote Saint Helena. There are no marks of ownership other than the faint number "959" stamped at the upper corner of the first title. Both titles have diffuse, moderate foxing; there is some toning to the upper portions of the leaves of the second title. The splendid binding is well preserved, apart from some erosion of the marbled paper at the edges and corners of the boards. ; Signed by Translator .