LA GERUSALEMME LIBERATA

Venezia [Venice]: Stampata da Giambattista Albrizzi, 1745. First Edition with these Illustrations. 465 x 325 mm. (18 1/4 x 12 3/4"). 14 p.l. (including two frontispieces), 253, (i.e., 252), [1] leaves, followed by the final plate (complete).
SPLENDID CONTEMPORARY MARBLED CALF, VERY PROBABLY A PRESENTATION BINDING BY THE PUBLISHER, expertly restored incorporating original sides and backstrip, covers quite ornately gilt with wide frame composed of two intricate rolls and gilt rules, central panel with elaborate cornerpieces of curling leaves, volutes, and floral tools, very large oval centerpiece composed of two concentric Baroque-style frames heavy with plumes, scallop shells, flowers, volutes, and many small tools encircling a similarly framed center oval topped with a coronet; raised bands, spine attractively gilt in compartments with large central fleuron and lavishly scrolling cornerpieces, two red morocco labels, densely gilt turn-ins, Albrizzi's special daubed endpapers, all edges gilt. WITH 84 ELEGANT ENGRAVINGS: two frontispieces (one of Apollo and the muses, with flying angels holding a tondo portrait of the author, the other of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, to whom the edition is dedicated), charming vignette on title page of Tasso riding on a half shell into a Venetian dock (and being welcomed by a female personification of Venice petting one of a pair of lions), 20 vignette initials, 20 large vignette headpieces, 20 vignette tailpieces (19 large and one smaller), and FEATURING 20 EXQUISITE LARGE PLATES, each within a decorative frame, as well as a final large plate showing Tasso and the publisher Albrizzi out in nature, all BY GIAMBATISTA PIAZZETTA. A Large Paper Copy. Front pastedown with (early 19th century?) armorial bookplate of "Marcuard." Cohen-de Ricci 978; Brunet V, 666; Graesse VI (pt. 2), 33. ◆Covers with some faint scratches, gilt on centerpieces a little rubbed, with minor loss (perhaps in an effort to efface), other minor signs of use to the leather, but the exceptionally handsome binding remarkably impressive (even with restorations and minor defects), the gilt dazzling and the volume generally giving off a feeling of grandeur. Occasional minor foxing, smudges, or small stains, but still QUITE A FINE COPY, crisp and bright internally, with vast margins and excellent impressions of the plates.

This is a remarkably fresh and clean contemporary copy of one of the finest illustrated books of the 18th century. It is a wonderful oversized illustrated Venetian printing of a great Italian classic, which the normally reserved Graesse describes as a "magnificent edition in regards to the printing and the paper: the 20 plates and the headpieces by Piazzetta are beyond all praise." The engravings are highly detailed, romantic Rococo illustrations of a major artist, Giambatista Piazzetta (1682-1754). Palluchini (as reported by Benezit) comments on the "subtle unity and vibrant luminosity" of Piazzetta's chiaroscuro, and he remarks that "Piazzetta's striking use of light, together with the bold compositions and handling seen in some of his works, make him an important precursor of Tiepolo." As for the author, Britannica says it as well as anyone: in his "Jerusalem Delivered," Tasso (1544-95) "aimed at ennobling the Italian epic style by preserving strict unity of plot and heightening poetic diction. He chose Virgil for his model, took the first crusade for [his] subject, [and] infused the fervor of religion into his conception of the hero Godfrey." But his inclination toward romance clashed with his original epical intentions, and the work became a classic early example of the poetry of sentiment. "This sentiment, refined, noble, natural, steeped in melancholy, exquisitely graceful, pathetically touching, breathes throughout the episodes of the 'Gerusalemme,' finds metrical expression in the languishing cadence of its mellifluous verse, and sustains the ideal life of those seductive heroines whose names were familiar as household words to all Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries." Unfortunately, the work, while still in manuscript, was condemned by contemporary critics on both religious and literary grounds, and the sensitive and conscientious author suffered a nervous breakdown, was later visited by a violent insanity, and was confined for seven years. When he was released, he discovered that his masterpiece had been published and that he was now famous. He was to have received the laurel crown with which Petrarch alone had been honored, but he died just before the presentation. As recorded by Doyle in the catalogue for their November, 2010, sale, other copies are known to exist in this same splendid binding, a fact that strongly suggests they came from the publisher and were intended for dedicatees. (That Doyle copy--measuring three-quarters of an inch shorter than ours and with cracked joints and missing an inch of spine leather--sold for $11,250.)..