Naples, Giovanni Giacomo Carlino & Antonio Pace, 1594
First edition of a five-act pastoral drama in verse, dedicated by its author to Giambattista Caracciolo, Marchese di Brienza, and also by the poet Giovanni Battista Vitale da Foggia to Vincenzo Filingieri, who is reported here to be the model for the character of Dameta. Inspired by Tasso's Aminta (1573) and by Guarini, Noci's plot hinges on the eponymous heroine returning to Arcadia after an absence of four years disguised as a boy, to find her lover courting another nymph. It was the one of the direct sources of The Queenes Arcadia (1606) by Samuel Daniel.
First edition of this five-act verse drama (with a chorus following Act IV), the “acknowledged masterpiece of Seicento tragedy” (Cambridge History of Italian Literature), first performed on 31 May 1655, by twelve Paduan gentlemen with Sertorio Orsato taking the role of Aristodemo. The play was afterwards revised for publication by the author, who incorporated advice tendered by several friends. This first edition is scarce: no copy is listed in the printed catalogues of Italian plays in the Folger Library, universities of Chicago, Illinois, Toronto, or Biblioteca Casanatense in Rome.
(19 cm), 6 p. l., 11-114 p. front., ports. Publisher’s printed cloth, photograph laid to upper cover. - First edition. ¶ Pencil ownership inscription dated 1943 on endpaper; otherwise a fine, unmarked copy.
(23 cm), xii, 250 pp., 16 plates; 27 text illustrations by Steinlen. Publisher’s cloth, dust jacket. - Stories, essays, and poems by Hilaire Belloc, Lafcadio Hearn, Samuel Clemens, T.S. Eliot, and other distinguished authors. “First printing”. ¶ Price clipped from dust jacket; endpapers lightly stained from the binders’ adhesive.
(25 cm), xlviii, 267 (1) pp., 12 p. of plates. Publisher’s printed boards. - The catalogue (890 entries) is preceded by a survey of Italian drama (broken into four periods: 1500-1530, 1530-1570, 1570-1620, 1620-1700) arranged to show the birth and evolution of the major genres and appearance of irregular forms; “Many observations in the Introduction are not only original but will be a stimulus to other scholars” (from a review by Beatrice Corrigan, in Renaissance Quarterly, volume 22, 1969, pp.266-269). Only copies without illustrations are obtainable from the publisher, price €84 (“Testo mancante. Siamo spiacenti. Tranne qualche eccezione, tutti i volumi fino al 1990 non dispongono del testo illustrativo”; www.olschki.it/libro/9788822215727). ¶ Very good, unmarked copy.
(22.5 cm), (8) 209 pp., [8] leaves of plates. Publisher’s cloth, dust jacket. - Study of the best comedies from Jodelle’s L’Eugène to Corneille’s Mélite, with useful synopses of twelve of these plays. ¶ Price clipped from dust jacket, chipped, torn. Presentation inscription on endpaper: For Lady Savile – without whose kindness this book would not yet be published. Brian.
Venice, Biennale di Venezia / Zinchi Nuova Editoriale, 1971
(23 cm), 178 pp., [32] p. of plates. 477 catalogue entries. Publisher’s printed wrappers. - Organised according to theatre, with lists of performances. Very informative entries and bibliographical notes. ¶ Wrappers lightly rubbed; otherwise a fine copy.
Two volumes (21.5 cm), I: 368 (2) pp. II: (2) pp., pp.369-785 (1). Publisher’s printed wrappers, pictorial dust jackets. - Catalogue of Italian drama (printed before 1700) in the Biblioteca Casanatense, Rome. 4351 catalogue entries. ¶ Wrappers slightly damaged.
(25 cm), 933 (1) pp., 20 plates. Publisher’s printed wrappers, pictorial dust jacket. - Lists 1280 plays and other theatre-related texts published in Rome and the Lazio region in the course of the seventeenth century. A continuation (Drammaturgia romana, II: 1701-1750) was published in 1997 (Sussidi Eruditi, 45; ISBN 9788887114065). ¶ Light shelf wear; otherwise a very good copy.
(25.5 cm), xv, 219 (1) pp., [56] p. of plates. Publisher’s printed wrappers. - 643 catalogue entries. Collection founded on the bequest of Professor John Matthews Manly (1865-1940) and on donations by Louis H. Silver, the latter mostly obtained from the Milanese bookseller Carlo Alberto Chiesa. Publisher's retail price €65 (www.olschki.it/libro/9788822232144). ¶ Good copy with minimal traces of use and no marks of ownership.
Two volumes (24 cm), I (Dizionario): lxi (1), 864 (2) pp. Publisher’s printed wrappers, pictorial dust jacket. II (Aggiunte): 396 (4) pp., illustrations (”Mappe topografiche”). Publisher’s printed wrappers (no dust jacket issued). - Both volumes are in print (publisher’s retail price €78 and €44; www.storiaeletteratura.it). ¶ Very good, unmarked copy.
(24 cm), 178 (2) pp., colour illustrations (figs.1-16). Publisher’s pictorial wrappers. - 163 catalogue entries. Issued on the occasion of an exhibition in the Biblioteca Riccardiana (21 December 1998-20 March 1999) which is documented in a separate catalogue (Carte di scena : Firenze Biblioteca Riccardiana : 21 dicembre 1998-20 marzo 1999, edited by Giovanni Lazzi). ¶ Very good, unmarked copy.