Search Results: Italian from George Robert Minkoff, Inc.

Soft cover. Near Fine. Woodcut title page; woodcut initials and head pieces. 8vo. Bound in old brown and beige soft cardboard, first plat a bit loosened. In Vinegia: Appresso Gabriel Giolito de Ferrari et fratelli. M D LIIII (1554). First Edition of Cinthios work about the composition of novels, poems, tragedies, etc. Cinthios literary work was ideologically influenced by the Catholic Reformation. In the theatrical works there appears a vein of experimentation that anticipates some typical elements of taste of the modern European theatre, for example the Elizabethan theatre and baroque styles, where psychological violence and horror are used in function and dramatic action structured in real time. Among the prose works of Cinthio is the Hecatommithi or Ecatomiti, a collection of tales told somewhat after the manner of Boccaccio, but still more closely resembling the novels of Cinthios contemporary, Matteo Bandello. Something may be said in favor of their professed claim to represent a higher standard… Read More

Illustrated with engraved title within a scrollwork border with the coat of arms of the dedicatee, Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandino; plus 51 plates of diagrams and illustrations of measurement, of which 44 are by Pomodoro and 7 by Giovanni Scala; plus historiated initials, vignettes and 6 different tailpieces. Folio. Limp reddish-brown 19th century Italian red marbled boards, rebacked. (Rome, Appresso Stefano Paolini, 1599). First edition, first issue, of this finely illustrated manual of Euclidean geometry, with practical applications for surveyors, architects and others. 16th century treatises on surveying and other aspects of 'practical' geometry were almost exclusively written for university men. Pomodoro's was the first work on practical geometry that made a genuine attempt to render the subject accessible to practical men. [Riccardi I, 300; Mortimer, Harvard Italian 394; Honeyman 2512; Macclesfield 1655 (1667 edition). Brusaporci, 'Giovanni Pomodoro (XVI Century),' pp. 201-222 in Distinguished… Read More

Illustrated with 15 mounted color illustrations after lithographs by Salvador Dali. Text in Italian. Introduction by Maria Grazia Branchetti. Edited by Milko Skofic. Folio. Original black leather, blind embossed border, gilt letters on cover and spine, gilt fleurons on spine. Edizione Eldec, Roma (1981). Limited to 350 copies. Printed on handmade paper.

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOKS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SIGN LANGUAGE 4to. Bound in 20th century rustic boards, with marbled paper spine. In Vicenza, Appresso Francesco Grossi, 1616. First Edition. (Norman 264, Garrison-Morton 3344, and Krivatsy 1516). "Bonifacio's 'book is one of the earliest to be published in Europe that is devoted exclusively to gesture. It was published in Vicenza in 1616 under the following title which, as will be seen, provides a good summary of the aims and contents of the work: "'The Art of Signs with which a visible language is formed, deals [dealing] with the mute expressiveness that is none other than an eloquent silence. It is divided into two parts. The first part deals with the signs that are made by us by the parts of our body, revealing their meanings which are confirmed by famous authors. In the second part it is shown how all the liberal and mechanical arts make use of this knowledge. New material pertinent for all men and particularly for Princes who, because of… Read More

Illustrated with woodcut printer's device on title page; numerous historiated initials; numerous woodcut diagrams (some full-page) and illustrations in text, including a large woodcut of a harpsichord; extensive type-set musical examples in text. Folio. Contemporary limp vellum; manuscript title to spine; endpapers replaced at a later date. Printed by Francesco Senese, Venice 1562. Second Edition, Second Issue. (Adams Z77; New Grove 20, p.646; BM STC Italian, p. 742; RISM B/VI, 908; Damschroder & Williams, Music Theory from Zarlino to Schenker, p.392; cf. PMM 81; Printing and the Mind of Man #216).Gioseffo Zarlino, an Italian Renaissance music theorist and composer, was possibly the most important music theorist between Aristoxenus and Rameau, and made a large contribution to the theory of counterpoint as well as to musical tuning. His first treatise, Le istitutioni harmoniche, is "a crucial work in the transformation of music which took place in the seventeenth century. Ancient and medieval musical… Read More

Plain Wrapper Press, 1985. 1st Edition, Limited Edition . Hardcover. Fine. Original Italian text followed by English version translated by William Weaver, Calvinos longtime translator. Illustrated with 4 multicolored woodcuts by Antonio Frasconi. 4to. ¼-leather-backed paste-paper boards, enclosed in publishers clamshell box, paper label on cover. Plain Wrapper Press, Cottondale, AL, 1985. First Edition. Limited to 75 numbered copies signed by Calvino and Frasconi. (Smyth 37.) This copy # 67. The second of two signed limited editions by Calvino in English. Without question, Calvino was one of the greatest of modern Italian writers. It was rumored he was about to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, but he died shortly before the announcement. Fine

Sonate a Vilolino e Violone o Cimbalo. Dedicate all Altezza Serenissima Electorale di Sofia Charlotta Electrice di Brandenburgo. Parte Prima [Parte Seconde Preludii Allemande Correnti Gighe Sarabande Gavotte e Follia]. Opera Quinta.Hardcover. Fine. Engraved frontispiece by P. P. Bouche after Antonio Meloni tipped-in. (The frontispiece was issued with the second impression, but was given gratis to buyers of the first impression.) Oblong Folio. Original contemporary full brown reverse calf leather binding, spine with 4 raised bands and red gilt lettered morocco label on front cover. London: Sold by John Walsh (1700). First English Edition. First edition printed outside Italy, probably very shortly after the first Rome edition. First Impression. (Bibliography of Musical Works by John Walsh. #427, page 97). In two parts, with title page of the second part present. Pages engraved throughout. One of the most famous publications of violin music. Corelli was the iconic point of reference for all the… Read More

Illustrated with a full-page woodcut portrait of Vespucci, and a large folding woodcut genealogical chart. 4to. Bound in original publisher's temporary boards, ink letters on spine. Florence 1745. First Edition of the first monograph on Amerigo Vespucci. The first 76 pages give an account of his life and voyages, followed by his own account of his 4 voyages to America, and 3 letters to Lorenzo de Medici describing his voyages. This volume prints for the first time the third letter to de Medici. The letters are considered by many historians to me more important than the actual voyages. Vespucci states for the first time in these letters that the Americas are a new continent, not islands near China. Although the authorship of the letters is disputed – whether they were written by Vespucci himself, or by one of his companions on the voyages – the fact remains that these are critically important to the understanding of the New World. Contemporary inked quote in Italian from Cicero on the title which… Read More

Folio. Contemporary full brown sprinkled calf leather binding; spine with 6 raised bands; red gilt-lettered morocco label on front covers; double gilt ruled boards and edges; marbled endpapers; all edges gilt. London (John Walsh), 1743. First Edition. Three volumes. (#1328, page 296. Bibliography of Musical works by John Walsh) Queen Caroline Privilege and License grant is bound-in after the dedication. With the bookplates of Cedric Howard Glover on the front blanks of all three volumes. Some scuffing and chipping to corners of covers and spines, o/w Fine. Scarce.