Actor Onoe Baikō, artist Kunisada, publisher Ibaya Kyūbei, c. 1820.
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Uncut fan print (uchiwa-e) with the design of kabuki actor Nakamura Utaemon IV who held the name of Nakamura Shikan II from the 11th lunar month of 1825 to the 12th lunar month of 1835, dressed in a checkered kimono, holding a pipe and surrounded by flying fireflies. Character: Nakamura Utaemon IV [中村歌右衛門] (Japanese, 1796 – 1852); other names: Nakamura Shikan II, Nakamura Tsurusuke I, Nakamura Tōtarō. Series title: Catching fireflies in the floating world [浮世蛍狩] (Ukiyo hotarugari). Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞], a.k.a. Toyokuni III (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Kōchōrō Kunisada ga [香蝶楼国貞画] in a red cartouche. Publisher: Ibaya Kyubei [伊場屋 久兵衛] (Japanese, fl. 1804 – 1851); seal: modified Marks 19-009 | 126d. Censor's seal: Kiwame Date seal: Tenpō 2 (1831). Ref: Kunisada.de, N58. A look-alike yearlier Kunisada's design can be found at kunisada.de, ref. # N120-Z0172-410: -
Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Gototei Kunisada ga [五渡亭国貞画]. Publisher: Ibaya Kyūbei [伊場屋 久兵衛] (Japanese, 1804 – 1851); seal Marks 08-055|126a. Date-aratame seal: Bunsei 13 / Tenpō 1 (1830). Actor: Nakamura Utaemon IV [中村歌右衛門] (Japanese, 1796 – 1852); other names: Nakamura Shikan II [中村芝翫], Nakamura Tsurusuke I, Nakamura Tōtarō. Play: Yoshitsune’s Letter at Koshigoe [義経腰越状] (Yoshitsune Koshigoe-jo). Uncut fan print (uchiwa-e, 団 扇 絵) depicting kabuki actor Nakamura Shikan [中村芝翫] as Gotobei [五斗兵衛], dressed in a green kimono with hanging wisteria crest (sagari fuji mon) on the shoulder, posing behind a large saké cask. Nakamura Utaemon IV held the name of Nakamura Shikan II from the 11th lunar month of 1825 to the 1st lunar month of 1836. He was born as Hirano Kichitarō in Edo in 1796. Another fan print with the same subject in this collection [SVJP-0349.2021]; there are also more details about the play and its heroes.
Horst Graebner also noted that the performance took place at Nakamura Theatre in Edo on Bunsei 13/03 (03/1830) (see Waseda University Cultural Resources Database # 100-4224):
Toyokuni II
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Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Kunisada ga [国貞画] in a yellow double-gourd cartouche. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburo [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. c. 1845 – 1847). Date aratame seal: Bunsei 13 – Tenpō 1 (1830). Actor: Nakamura Utaemon IV [中村歌右衛門] (Japanese, 1796 – 1852); other names: Nakamura Shikan II [二代目中村芝翫], Nakamura Tsurusuke I, Nakamura Tōtarō. Play: Yoshitsune’s Letter at Koshigoe [義経腰越状] (Yoshitsune Koshigoe-jo). Uncut fan print (uchiwa-e, 団 扇 絵), 229 x 267 mm, depicting kabuki actor Nakamura Shikan [中村芝翫] as Gotobei [五斗兵衛]. Nakamura Utaemon IV held the name of Nakamura Shikan II from the 11th lunar month of 1825 to the 1st lunar month of 1836. He was born as Hirano Kichitarō in Edo in 1796. Another fan print with the same subject in this collection [SVJP-0344.2021]:
"...The play Yoshitsune Koshigoe-jo was originally written for the puppet theatre (Bunraku) and staged for the first time in the 7th lunar month of 1754 in Ôsaka at the Toyotakeza. It was a revision of two early plays, Namiki Sōsuke's Nanbantetsu Gotō no Menuki (1735) and Yoshitsune Shin Fukumijō (1744). The title, which suggested that the play focused on Minamoto no Yoshitsune, was in fact dealing with the siege of the Ōsaka Castle, led by Tokugawa Ieyasu to destroy the Toyotomi clan in 1614 and 1615. This play was quickly forbidden because of the 4th act in which Gotobei's wife fired a gun at Yoritomo (this was of course interpreted as an attack on the Shogunate). Yoshitsune Koshigoe-jo was revised in 1770 by Toyotake Ōritsu, who completely rewrote the 4th act for a puppet production at the Kitahorieza in Ōsaka". Yoshitsune Koshigoe-jo was staged for the first time in Edo, at the Ichimuraza on the 9th lunar month of 1790, and is still performed.
Gotobei [五斗兵衛] (Gotohei or Gotobē), one of Yoshitsune’s loyal retainers, is forced to choose between his son’s life or his loyalty to Yoshitsune. Nishikidō brothers, who do not want Gotobei to become Yoshitsune's chief strategist, forced him to drink sake and get asleep. To prove Gotobei's military abilities, Izumi no Saburō fires a gun next to Gotobei's ear, and "he jumps up immediately, in full possession of his senses, ready to repulse any enemy". See: [LIB-1193.2013] Samuel L. Leiter. Kabuki Encyclopedia: An English-language adaptation of Kabuki Jiten. — Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press, 1979; pp. 266-7).
Ref: [LIB-2993.2022] Fig. 24 in Israel Goldman. Japanese prints and paintings / 40th anniversary; Catalogue 27, 2021.
Two more Kunisada's fan prints (in Paul Griffith's collection), depicting the same actor Nakamura Shikan II as Toneri Matsuōmaru [舎人松王丸] were published in 1832 by Iseya Ichiemon. The play was Sugawara's Secrets of Calligraphy [菅原伝授手習鑑] (Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami). See: [LIB-1212.2017] Robert Schaap. Kunisada: Imaging, drama and beauty / Introduction by Sebastian Izzard, contributions by Paul Griffith and Henk. J. Herwig. — Leiden: Hotei Publishing, ©2016.
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An uncut fan print shows a young woman holding a basket on a landscape background with hills and pines under a rising sun. Haruo Shirane: "Under the luni-solar calendar, the New Year coincided with the beginning of spring, making it the most important observance of the year for the aristocracy. In the Heian period, New Year ceremonies extended from New Year’s Day (Ganjitsu) to the Day of the Rat (Nenohi), which usually fell on the seventh day of the First Month, when courtiers went out to the fields (no), pulled up small pines, and gathered new herbs (wakana) as a prayer for long life. This ritual gradually spread to the provinces and to commoners, eventually resulting in the New Year practice of the gate pine (kadomatsu), in which a pair of small pines was placed at the gate of a house. A popular Heian-period painting topic representing the First Month was “prayers on the Day of the Rat” (Nenohi no asobi), which depicted the auspicious scene of pulling up small pines in a spring field. Both young herbs and gathering young herbs, particularly at Kasuga Field, became major poetic topics for the First Month, appearing in both the spring and celebration (ga) books of the Kokinshū (Collection of Japanese Poems Old and New, ca. 905). By the Kamakura period, the observance of the Day of the Rat had been abandoned at the imperial court, but the custom of gathering and eating young greens continued as the annual ceremony known as the Seven Grasses (Nanakusa). Note: The Heian-period ritual of pulling up the roots of small pines (komatsu ) on the first Day of the Rat derives from the homonyms ne (rat) and ne (root). Pulling up roots was auspicious, since it implied lengthening the year. The rising sun (hinode) was considered an auspicious sight, particularly at the beginning of the year". [Haruo Shirane, Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons. Nature, Literature, and the Arts. — Columbia University, NY, 2012]. Title: Gathering of the young herbs on the Day of the Rat [子の日乃若菜] (Nenohi no wakana). Series: Three elegant sources of light [風流三光の内] (fūryū sankō no uchi); meaning the sun, the moon and the stars). Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞]; a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a yellow toshidama cartouche. Publisher’s seal: Izuzen (Marks: seal 06-029 | U103b) Date and double nanushi censor seals: Mera and Watanabe, Kaei 6 (1853). A similar theme can be found in Kunisadai's triptych published in about 1844 (HARA SHOBO):
豊国三代「豊歳子日若菜摘ノ図」
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A young woman playing a four-string musical instrument with a bow (kokyū). Series: Assortments of Beauties Accomplishments [美人芸盡] (Bijin gei-zukushi). Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞]; a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Kochoro Kunisada ga [香蝶楼 国貞画] in a red double gourd cartouche. Publisher: Ibaya Kyūbei [伊場屋久兵衛] (Japanese, 1804 – 1851); seal: Hanmoto, Kyū [板元久] (Marks 19-040 | 126e) Date seal: Bunsei 12 (1829). Censors' seal: Kiwame. Size: Fan print (uchiwa-e). -
Title-page: RIME | DEL SIGNOR | TORQUATO | TASSO. | PARTE PRIMA. | Insieme con altri componimenti | del medesimo | CON PRIVILEGIO. | {publisher’s device} | IN VINEGIA, M D LXXXI. || Contents: 1. Rime; 2. Aminta favola boscareccia; 3. Conclusioni amorose; 4. Il Romeo, overo del Giuoco dialogo; 5. Lettera, nellaquale paragona l’Italia alla Francia; 6. All’eccellentis signor Duca di Urbino; 7. Dialogo del l’amor. Pagination: [2 blanks], [2] – t.p. / blank, [4] dedication, [2] – blank / content, [16] – tavola, [1] 2-160 – rime, [8] [1] 2-74 – aminta, [4] 1-9 [10 blank] – conclusion, [2] [1]-22 – dialogo, [2] 1-27 [28 blank] – lettera, [2] 1-4 – all’eccellentiss, [4 blanks], [2] 1-17 [18 blank] – dialogo del l’amor, [2] – Car. 52 / Car. 113., [4 blanks], total 372 pages. Collation: 8vo; first blank, *4, **8, A-K8, 2A-2L8 M4, last blank; total 186 leaves, incl. first and last blanks. Note: 2F2, 2G1, 2K4, 2L1, and 2M3,4 – unsigned. Binding: 15.2 x 10.3 cm, 19th-century polished calf by Duke St., St. James, London (ticket) Cambridge panels ruled in gilt with fleurons at corners, two crimson labels to spine with gilt lettering, gilt in compartments, raised bands ruled gilt, rebacked, AEG, bookplate to front pastedown: “BIBLIOTECA | del | Conte Leonardo Vitetti | Ambasciatore d’Italia” in a frame, and “The Robin Collection” to FEP. Inset a card from Bryn Mawr College Library. Provenance: Satinsky, Robin F. (American, 1919 – 2008), The Robin Collection. Count Leonardo Vitetti (Italian, 1895 – 1973) Bryn Mawr College Library (Pennsylvania) Contributors: Torquato Tasso (Italian, 1544 –1595) – author. Aldus Manutius, the Younger (Italian, 1547 – 1597) – printer, publisher.
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Engraved title with the portrait of Torquato Tasso, displayed in an oval medallion, bound in “TORQUATO TASSO”, between two naked putti; Architecture with two columns and Ionic capitals supporting an architectural pediment; between the columns is a table with the inscription: LA GIERVSALEMME | LIBERATA | DI TORQVATO TASSO | Con le Figure di Bernardo | CASTELLO; | E le Annotazioni di Scipio | GENTILI, e di Giulio | GVASTAVINI. | IN GENOVA. M.D.LXXXX .|| Contents: The 20 cantos are followed by: Tutte le stanza intere, che dall'autore sono state refiutate in questo libro; Annotationi di Scipio Gentili; Luoghi osservati dal mag. Giulio Guastavini, quali il Tasso nella sua Gierusalemme hà presi & imitati da poeti & altri scrittori antichi; Allegoria del poema; Tavola di tutti i nomi proprii et di tutte le materie principali contenute nel presente libro. Pagination: [2] engraved t.p. / blank, 3-11, [1] 2-255 [256], 1-71 [72] [1] 2-40, 4 unpag. leaves ‘Allegoria del poema’; total 387 pp. Collation: 8vo; π6 A-Q8 A-D8 E4 A-B8 χ4 (in the first quire M4 marked L4), ills. signed in collation. At p. 17 canto 3rd marked as 2nd, pp. 135 and 139 in 12th canto marked as 11th. Binding: later full polished calf, blind double-ruled covers, blind double-ruled raised bands, gilt lettering: GIERVSALEMME | LIBERATA and GENOVA | 1590. TMG. Printed on laid paper. Front joints split at head and tail. Title page and twenty full-page ill. facing the opening of each canto, engraved by Agostino Carracci and Giacomo Franco after Castello. Those for cantos 6-8, 10, 12, 16-17, 19-20 are by Carracci, 8 and 19 with his initials. The remainder are by Franco and are signed by him. Woodcut head and tailpieces, the Argomenti at the head of each canto within cartouches, initials. Catalogue raisonné: Adam Bartsch. Le peintre graveur. — Vienne: J. V. Degen, 1803.Author: Written by Torquato Tasso (Italian, Sorrento 1544–1595 Rome)
Designer: Illustrations designed by Bernardo Castello (Italian, Genoa (?) 1557–1629 Genoa)
Engraver: Illustrations engraved by Agostino Carracci (Italian, Bologna 1557–1602 Parma)
Engraver: Illustrations engraved by Giacomo Franco (Italian, Venice 1550–1620 Venice)
Publisher: Published by Girolamo Bartoli , Genoa
Ref.: MET, HathiTrust, -
Title page (in red and black): LA | GERUSALEMME | LIBERATA | DI TORQUATO TASSO | Con la Vita del medesimo , Allegoria del Poema , Argomenti incisi | ne’Rami del Tempesta , ed Indice di tutti i Nomi proprj , | e Materie principali contenute nell’Opera ; | e con le Annotazioni | DI SCIPIONE GENTILI | E DI | GIULIO GUASTAVINI. | A Sua Eccellenza il SIGNOR | D. ORAZIO ALBANI | Principe di Soriano, &c. | {printer’s device} | URBINO, MDCCXXXV. | — | Nella Stamperia della Venerabile Cappella del SS. SAGRAMENTO per Girolamo Mainardi | Stampator Camerale a sue proprie spese . Si vendono dal medesimo in Roma | nella sua Libraria all’insegna di S. Crescentino, e nella Stamperia Camerale | CON LICENZA DE SUPERIORI. || Half-title: Title page: IL | GOFFREDO | OVVERO | LA GERUSALEMME | LIBERATA | DI | TORQUATO TASSO. || Collation: 4to; [2] blank leaves, [1] – h.t. / blank, [1] – t.p. / blank, [1] – dedication signed *2, [2] – vita, 1st signed *3, [2] – allegoria, [3] – indice, first two signed ** and **2, respectively, [1] – frontispiece to Canto Primo —> total 13 prelims; π13 (incl. 2 blanks), A-Z4 Aa-Bb4 Cc6 Dd-Qq4, χ1 (blank); 20 engraved frontispieces, one headpiece and initials, some historiated. Frontis. to Cantos II-XX incl. in collation and pagination; the number of leaves from A1 to Qq4 = 158; pagination: 1-316. The total number of leaves incl. prelims and blanks = 172. Note: three first leaves in the Cc quire of six leaves are signed; all other four-leaf quires only have the first two first leaves signed. Frontispiece to Canto Quarto cut down and laid down on D2v (as in Christie’s copy sold on 6 Jun 2010 – Live Auction 5475 – Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts, lot 168, price realized GBP 600). Illustrations: Frontispiece to Canto Primo signed “Arnoldo van Westerhout formis Roma”. Headpiece to Canto Primo signed “Eq. Petrus Leo Ghezius Inu. et. delin. — Frãn. Aquila incid.” Other plates unsigned but all attributed to Westerhout after Antonio Tempesta; Numeration of frontispieces in roman numbers, IIII for VI, VIIII for IX, XIIII for XIV, inverted numbers XVII, XVIII, and XIX, respectively: IIVX, IIIVX, and IIIIVX. Binding: 35 x 24 cm, 34 x 23 cm leaves, contemporary calf, rebacked retaining original spine, verso front flyleaf stamped “RESTORED BY MACDONALD CO. | NORWALK. CONN. Marbled endpapers, all edges red. Speckled calf, gilt triple-fillet borders, with remnants of blind-stamped and gilt design to an upper inside corner, spine with raised bands, gilt acorn tooling in compartments, later crimson label with gilt lettering. Damp staining to inside edges affecting all leaves. The Robin Collection bookplate to front pastedown. Provenance: The Robin Collection. Contributors: Torquato Tasso (Italian, 1544 –1595) – author. Scipione Gentili [Scipio Gentilis] (Italian, 1563 – 1616) Giulio Guastavini (Italian, fl. 16th century) Antonio Tempesta [Tempestino] (Italian, 1555 – 1630) – artist. Arnold [Arnoldo] van Westerhout (Flemish, 1651 – 1725) – artist, engraver. Pier Leone Ghezzi (Italian, 1674 – 1755) – artist. Francesco Faraone Aquila (Italian, c. 1676 – c. 1740) – engraver. Girolamo Mainardi (Italian, c. 1679 circa – 1763) – printer, publisher. Orazio Albani (Italian, 1576 – 1653) – dedicatee. -
Engraved title-page 1, as per British Museum: An architectural setting with, at upper centre, a portrait of Carlo Emanuele I, Duke of Savoy, in an ornate cartouche lettered “"Spectandus Certamine Martio"; a central title “LA | GERUSALEMME | DI | TORQUATO | TASSO | FUGURATA A | DA BERNARDO CASTELLO | A | CARLO EMANUELLO | DVCA DI SAVOIA” flanked by Tuscan columns and crests with mottos and imprese showing compasses lettered "Dvm Premor Amplior", at left, and a crossed sword and sceptre with a crown lettered "Illaesa Super Sunt", at right; in the lower register, male and female figures in armour, perhaps representing Tancredi and Clorinda, with a central crest showing an impresa of armour”. Central title: Below, within frame: "In Genova, Appresso Giuseppe Pavoni. […] Con licenza de' Superiori. MDCXVII." Engraved title-page 2, as per British Museum: Portrait of Torquato Tasso, bust, facing front, wearing a laurel crown; within an oval pendant, lettered “TOROVATO […] TASSO EF”, suspended from a pediment, beneath which a view of Genoa is flanked by two columns, and above is a tablet, lettered: “LA GERUSALEMME | LIBERATA | DI TORQUATO | TASSO. | Con le annotazioni | di Scipion | Gentili, e di Givlio | Guastauini , | Et li argomenti di Oratio Ariosti , | STAMPATA | Per Giuseppe Pauoni ad instanza di | Bernardo Castello,in Genova | L’Anno MDCXVII." Collation: 8vo; 2 leaves of engraved title-pages, 1 leaf signed †2, 1 leaf unsigned, 2 leaves signed †† and ††2, respectively, 1 leaf unsigned, 1 leaf with engraving to verso (frontispiece to Canto Primo) —> 8 prelims (besides FEP or a blank leaf before 1st t.p.); π8 A-Q8 (pp. 1-255 [256 blank], plated within collation), G1, I1, K1, O1, and P1 (recto to plates without text) unsigned, L3 signed as second L2; A-D8 E4 (pp. 1-71 [72]; A-B8 C4 χ1 (pp. [1] 2-36 [37-40] [2]), in the 4-leaf quires E and C only two first leaves signed, in the 8-leaf quires four first leaves signed. Illustrations: woodcut head- and tail-pieces, woodcut initials, some historiated, and 20 plates within collation and pagination engraved by Camillo Cungio after Bernardo Castello. Binding: 30.5 x 21.4 cm overall, 30 x 20.5 cm leaves; contemporary vellum, rebacked with modern brown morocco, crimson morocco label with gilt lettering and double-fillet outline. Two bookplates to front pastedown: (1) Chippendale armorial bookplate (8.3 x 7.6 cm): Thos. Brand Esqr. Signed: W Austin — Fecit; (2) The Robin Collection bookplate. Bookseller’s ticket to back pastedown: “J. POOLE. | British & foreign | BOOKSELLER, | 39 BOOKSELLERS ROW, | STRAND |〰️| Books Bought.” All edges green. Provenance: The Robin Collection; Thomas Brand Hollis (British, 1719 – 1804). Contributors: Torquato Tasso (Italian, 1544 –1595) – author. Scipione Gentili [Scipio Gentilis] (Italian, 1563 – 1616) – author. Giulio Guastavini (Italian, fl. 16th century) – author. Bernardo Castello [Castelli] (Italian, 1557 – 1629) – artist. Camillo Cungi (Italian, fl. 1597 – 1649) – engraver. Giuseppe Pavoni (Italian, 1551 – c. 1641) – printer, publisher. Carlo Emanuele I, Duke of Savoy (Italian, 1562 – 1630) – dedicatee. -
A two-volume set. Vol. 1:Title: LA | GERUSALEMME | LIBERATA | DI | TORQUATO TASSO | Tomo Primo | {vignette} | IN PARIGI | M.DCC.LXXI | Appreßo { Agostino Delalain. | Pietro Durand. | Gio: Claudio Molini. | Droüet ∫crip.
Pagination: ffl [1] 2-331 [332] bfl; illustrations after Gravelot: frontis. by Henriquez, t.p. vignette by Patas, engraved dedication by Le Roy, 10 head- and 7 tailpieces by Le Roy, 5 full-page vignettes by Le Roy, and 10 plates by: Baquoy, Duclos (3), Le Roy, Lingée, Née, Rousseau, and Simonet (2).
Collation: 8vo; A-V8 X6.
Vol. 2: Title: LA | GERUSALEMME | LIBERATA | DI | TORQUATO TASSO | Tomo Secondo | {vignette} | IN PARIGI | M.DCC.LXXI | Appreßo { Agostino Delalain. | Pietro Durand. | Gio: Claudio Molini. | Droüet ∫crip. Pagination: ffl [1] 2-340 bfl; illustrations after Gravelot: frontis. by Henriquez, t.p. vignette by Mesnil, 10 head- and 6 tailpieces by Le Roy, 4 full-page vignettes by Le Roy, tailpiece by Ponce, and 10 plates by: Duclos, Henriquez, Leveau, Lingée, Massard, Née, Patas, Ponce, Rousseau, and Simonet. Collation: 8vo; A-X8 Y2. Size: 21.5 x 14.5 cm. Size of the copy sold at Sotheby's in 2015: 23.3 x 14.0 cm; Christie's in 2008: 23.2 x 14.4 cm Page size: 21 x 13.5 cm. In referenced sources, the page size is bigger than that. N. Ray gives 11 ½ x 8 7⁄8 inches or 9 x 5½ inches. Cohen and De Ricci do not bother to give sizes, considering that octavo is octavo. MFA: 30.3 x 23.1 x 4 cm (11 15/16 x 9 1/8 x 1 9/16 in.) Binding: Two volumes uniformly bound in full marbled calf, ruled in gilt, flat spine with gilt decorations and monogram, cream lettered label. Geoffrey Lord Cross of Chelsea [Geoffrey Cross, Baron Cross of Chelsea] (British, 1904 – 1989) bookplate to front pastedown. Catalogue raisonné: N. Ray №22, p. 48; Cohen De Ricci 974-975 According to MFA printing by: François-Augustin Quillau (French, 1743–1804). This edition was illustrated by Hubert François Gravelot (French, 1699–1773) and engraved by the following engravers: Jean Charles Baquoy (French, 1721–1777) Antoine Jean Duclos (French, 1742–1795) Benoît Louis Henriquez (French, 1732–1806) Jean Jacques André Le Veau (French, 1729–1785) Charles Louis Lingée (French, 1748–1819) Jacques Le Roy (French, born in 1739) Jean Massard (1740–1822) Elie du Mesnil (French, born about 1728) François Denis Née (French, 1735–1818) Charles Emmanuel Jean Baptiste Patas (French, 1744–1802) Nicholas Ponce (French, 1746–1831) Jean François Rousseau (French, born in 1740) Jean Baptiste Simonet (French, 1742–1813) Droüet (French, 18th century) -
Engraved title-page: L'AMINTA | FAVOLA BOSCHERECCIA | DI | TORQUATO TASSO | Aggiuntovi il Poemetto | Amore Fugitivo |{vignette} | IN VENEZIA | MDCCLXIX |—| PRESSO ANTONIO ZATTA | CON LICENZA DE’ SUPERIORI || in historiated frame, signed below: “Pet. Ant. Novelli in — Fambrini inci.” Pagination: [i] ii-xxiv, [1-2] 3-84, total 108 pages, ils. Collation: 12mo; a12, A-C12 D6, last blank; first 6 leaves signed in 12-leave quires, first 3 in D; total 54 leaves plus 9 plates, incl. engraved title and frontispiece, and numerous head- and tailpieces by Fambrini after Novelli. Binding: 18.6 x 11 cm, contemporary tree calf, rebacked, crimson label with gilt lettering; clipping and bookplate of The Robin Collection to front pastedown; verso front flyleaf stamped “RESTORED BY MACDONALD CO. | NORWALK. CONN.” Additional blank leaves at front and back. Provenance: Satinsky, Robin F. (American, 1919 – 2008); The Robin Collection. Contributors: Torquato Tasso (Italian, 1544 –1595) – author. Pietro Antonio Novelli (Italian, 1729 – 1804) – artist. Ferdinando Fambrini (Italian (1764 – c.1793) – engraver. Antonio Zatta (Italian, c. 1722 – 1804) – printer, publisher. -
Vol. 1: Engraved t.p.: An architectural setting with flags and arms, and sitting male and female figures in armour, perhaps representing Tancredi and Clorinda, with lettering above their heads: “GIERVSA– | LEMME | LIBERATA”. Title-page: IL | GOFFREDO, | OVERO | GIERUSALEMME | Liberata , | POEMA HEROICO | del Sig. Torquato Tasso. | CON L’ ALLEGORIA | Universale dell istesso, | Et con gli Argomenti del Sig. Horatio Ario- | sti, & di belissime figure adornato. | {woodcut element} | In Amsterdam, nella Stamperia del S.D. ELZEVIER, | Et in Parigi, si vende | Appresso Thomaso Jolly. | Nel Palazzo, M. DC. LXXVIII. || Collation: 8vo; [A1] 1st blank, engraved t.p., [A2] letterpress t.p., pp. [1-4]; signatures start at A3, pagination starts at p. 37; Allegoria: A3-B1, pp. [5-18], Tavola: B2-C2, pp. [19-36]; Il Goffredo: C3-R8, pp. 37-271 [272]. Total A-R8: 136 leaves (272 pages), plus 11 plates, incl. engraved t.p., and frontispiece (sculptural bust portrait of Torquato Tasso in a laurel wreath, with a lettered plate below “TORQVATO | TASSO”). Vol. 1: Title-page: Similar but “TOMO II.” after “sti, & di belissime figure adornato.” and before the woodcut element. Collation: 8vo; 1st blank, letterpress t.p., signatures start at A3, p. 5; A-S8, pp. [4] 5-285 [3]. Total A-S8: 144 leaves (288 pages) plus 10 engraved plates. Binding: Two volumes 15 x 6 cm, uniformly bound in 19th-century green morocco, gilt triple-fillet border, bull heads at corners, spine with raised bands, gilt in compartments, two gilt-lettered crimson labels, blue endpapers, 2 blank laid paper leaves in the front, AEG. Contributors: Torquato Tasso (Italian, 1544 –1595) – author. Daniel Elzevir (Dutch, 1626-1680) – publisher. Thomas Jolly (French, fl. 1648 – 1694) – publisher. -
Title page: IL | GOFFREDO | OVERO | LA | GIERUSALEMME | LIBERATA | DI TORQUATO TASSO. || Engraved title: On the banner: IL GOFFREDO | OVERO | LA GIERUSALEMME | LIBERATA | DI TORQUATO TASSO ||; under the image, within frame: IN PARIGI NELLA STAMPERIA REALE MDC XLIV. Signed: J. Stella Invenit — Ægid Rousselet Sculpsit (with tall “s”) || Collation: 2 blank leaves with donation ink inscription to recto of the 1st: “Ex Dono Patruelis Do Roberto Willughby” [i.e. Robert Willoughby]; t.p. / blank, engraved t.p. by Gilles Rousselet after Jacques Stella / blank, “Allegoria dell poema” 4 leaves, 1st two leaves signed iij and iiij, respectively; π6 A-Z4 Aa-Zz4 Aaa-Rrr4, 2 blank leaves at the end; text paginated from 1 to 502 [2] (p. 503 tailpiece, p. 504 blank); a printable area marked with vertical and horizontal double lines; total: 252 leaves of text (504 pages), 6 prelims and 4 blanks. Illustrated throughout with head- and tailpieces, and historiated initials. Binding: 18th-century red crushed morocco, triple-fillet gilt border, triple-fillet gilt frame, panel with gilt lozenge centrepiece, lozenges at corners, marbled endpapers, AEG, crudely rebacked retaining original spine with raised bands, gilt in compartments, crimson label with gilt lettering; The Robin Collection bookplate to front pastedown. Provenance: The Robin Collection; Robert Willoughby family. Contributors: Torquato Tasso (Italian, 1544 –1595) – author. Jacques Stella (French, 1596 – 1657) – artist. Gilles [Aegidius] Rousselet (French, 1610 – 1686) – engraver. -
Title-page (1): DI | GERVSALEMME | CONQVISTATA. | DEL SIG. TORQVATO | TASSO. | LIBRI XXIIII. | {engraved portrait of Torquato Tasso in lettered oval medallion surrounded with laurel branches} | IN PARIGI, | Appresso Abel L’ANGELIER | nella prima Colonna del palazzo. | M.D. CXV. || Title-page (2): DI | GERVSALEMME | CONQVISTATA. | DEL SIG. TORQVATO | TASSO. | LIBRI XXIIII. | ALL’ ILL. MO ET REV. MO| SIG. RE| IL SIGNOR. | CINTHIO ALDOBRANDINI | Card. Di San Giorgio. | Appresso Abel L’ANGELIERI | nella prima Colonna del palazzo. | M.D. LCXV. || Collation: 1st blank leaf with an extensive pencil MS in French and English (unsigned), 1st t.p. / blank (unsigned), 2nd t.p. / blank [ai] (unsigned), Dedication by Angelo Ingegneri dated 10-NOV-1592 (ã2-ã5), dedication by Torquato Tasso and Aux Lecteur by Abel L’Angelier ã5[i.e. 6]-[ã9]; 12mo: π12, A-Z12, 2A-2Q12 (2Q11 woodcut / blank, 2Q12 blank), total 480 leaves, with woodcut head- and tailpieces, historiated initials. Note: leaves D6, M3, M6, and N3 unsigned; leave E2 signed for F2, E4 – for F4, Z – for Z5, and A – for Aa. Pagination: 12 prelims unpag., 1-361, each leaf paginated as one page) [2]; with a lot of mispaginations: shall be 1-468, but after p.291 follows 278 (for 292), then 193 for 293, etc. Binding: 14.5 x 8.5 cm, 20th-century tan morocco by Zaehnsdorf (signed in gilt), gilt fleurons in corners and in compartments, raised bands, titles on spine, gilt dentelles, marbled endpapers plus 6 fep at the front (one with pasted clipping “A PARIS, Chez Fetil, Libraire, rue des Cor-| deliers, près celle de Condé, au | Parnasse Italien”, and 2 at the end. What connection has the 18th-century publisher with this edition remains unclear. “The Robin Collection” bookplate to front pastedown. Edges sprinkled red. Occasional damp staining to top margins. There is controversy regarding the year of this publication. It could be 1615 (MDCXV), however, both the publisher and the dedicatee were dead this year. Dedication by the publisher dated 1592. We agree with those scholars who suggest that MDCXV and MDLCXV were misprinted for MDXCV (1595). Provenance: The Robin Collection. Contributors: Torquato Tasso (Italian, 1544 –1595) – author. Angelo Ingegneri (Italian, 1550 – 1613) – author. Abel L'Angelier (French, 1553? – 1610) – printer, publisher. Cinzio Aldobrandini (Italian, 1551 – 1610) – dedicatee. -
Title-page: APOLOGIA | DEL S. TORQVATO | TASSO. | IN DIFESA DELLA SVA | GIERVSALEMME | LIBERATA. | Con alcune Opere, partien in accusa, | partein difesa dell Orlando Furioso | dell’Ariosto. | Della Gierusalem- | me istessa , e dell’Amadigi | del Tasso Padre. | I titoli tutti si leggono nella feguente | facciata. | con privilegi. | {publisher’s device} | In Mantoua, Per Francesco Osana. | M D LXXXV. || 1st blank π1, [a]-a8; (9 leaves, 18 pp., unpaginated) Divisional t.p. (1): DE GLI | ACCADEMICI | DELLA CRVSCA | DIFESA DELL’ ORLANDO | FVRIOSO DELL’ ARIOSTO | Contra’l Dialogo dell’Epica | poesia di Camillo | Pellegrino. | Stacciata prima. | {woodcut} ||; A-E12 [2]A1 (61 leaves, 122 pp., unpaginated). Divisional t.p. (2): APOLOGIA | DEL S. TORQVATO | TASSO. | IN DIFESA DELLA SVA | GIERVSALEMME | LIBERATA. | {publisher’s device} | IN MANTOVA, |—| Per Francesco Osanna. | MDLXXXV. || [2]A11 2B-[2]I12 [2]K4, pp. [2] 3-219 [3] (111 leaves, 222 pages). Divisional t.p. (3): DELL’ | INFARINATO | ACADEMICO | DELLA CRVSCA … etc. | MDLXXXV. | Con licenza de’ Superiori. || [3]A-[3]G12, pp. [2] 3-164, 163 (i.e. 165) [3] (84 leaves, 168 pages). Divisional t.p. (4): RIPOSTA | DEL S. TORQVATO | TASSO, | ALLA LETTERA | DI BASTIAN ROSSI, …etc. | MDLXXXV. | Con licenza de’ Superiori. || [4]A-[4]E12 F8, ([4]B3 i.e. [4]A3), pp. [2] 3-135 [1] (68 leaves, 136 pages). Divisional t.p. (5): DISCORSO | IN TORNO | A’CONTRASTI, | CHE SI FANNO | SOPRA… ect. | M D LXXXVI. || [5]A-[5]D12 E4, pp. [2]3-67, 66 (i.e. 68), 92 (69), 70-73 (70-73), 94 (74), 95 (75), 76, 77, 98-115 (78-95), 112 (96), 97-100, [4] (52 leaves, 104 pages). Divisional t.p. (6): PARERE | DEL SIGNOR | TORQVATO | TASSO. | SOPRA IL DISCORSO | del Signor Horatio Lom- | bardello intorno a’ | contrasti,&c. … etc. | M D LXXXVI. || [6]A12 [6]B6 (incl. last blank), pp. [1-5] 6-33 [3] (18 leaves, 36 pages). Collation: 12mo; π1, a8, A-E12, [2]A-[2]I12 [2]K4, [3]A-[3]G12, [4]A-[4]E12 F8, [5]A-[5]D12 E4, [6]A12 [6]B6 (incl. last blank), total 403 leaves, 806 pages, in-text woodcut head- and tailpieces, and initials. Binding: 14.4 x 9 cm, 19th-century quarter calf over marbled boards, raised bands, gilt-bordered compartments, gilt lettering, three flyleaves at the front and back, "The Robin Collection" bookplate to front pastedown. Provenance: The Robin Collection. Contributors: Torquato Tasso (Italian, 1544 –1595) – author. Orazio Ariosto (Italian, 1555 – 1593) – author. Ludovico Ariosto (Italian, 1474 – 1533) – author. Camillo Pellegrino (Italian, 1527-1603) – author. Francesco Osanna [Osana] (Italian, fl. 1549 – 1608) – printer, publisher. -
Title-page: AMINTA | FAVOLA BOSCARECCIA | DI | TORQUATO TASSO | CON | LE ANNOTATIONI | D'EGIDIO MENAGIO | ACCADEMICO | DELLA CRVSCA• | {woodcut vignette} | IN PARIGI| Presso AGOSTINO Cvrbe`, nella Galeria del Palazzo, | all’ insegna della Palma. |—| M. DC. LV. || Collation: 4to; ā4 ē4 ī4 A2 B2 C-V4 Y-Z4 2A1,2 X4 2A3,4 2B-2Z4, 3A-3B4, total number of leaves = 200. Note: O2, 2K3, 2V3 2X3 2Y3, and 3B3 – unsigned, 2Z3 signed 2Z2 (Zzij), quire X (pp. 145-152) bound between 2A2 (p. 172) and 2A3 (p. 173); illustrated throughout with woodcut head- and tailpieces and initials, Atto Primo has copperplate engraved historiated initial and a headpiece signed “F. C. in. — I. B. fe.” “I. B.” was a monogram of engraver Giulio Bonasone (Italian, c. 1498 – after 1574). Pagination: [2] – t.p. / blank, [8] – dedication, i-xviii, [4], 1-341 [342-368]; total number of pages = 400. Binding: 22.3 x 18 cm, 19th-century quarter morocco over marbled boards, spine with raised bands and gilt lettering, rebacked, additional blank flyleaves at front and back, marbled endpapers and all edges. Bookplate to front pastedown: “The Robin Collection”. Verso front flyleaf stamped “RESTORED BY MACDONALD CO. | NORWALK. CONN. Provenance: The Robin Collection. Contributors: Torquato Tasso (Italian, 1544 –1595) – author. Gilles Ménage (French, 1613 – 1692) – author. Antoine Vitré (French, 1595 – 1674) – printer. Augustin Courbé (French, fl. c. 1625 – 1660) – publisher. Marie-Madeleine Pioche de La Vergne, comtesse de La Fayette (French, 1634 – 1693) – dedicatee. -
Title page: A | BIBLIOGRAPHY | OF | THE WRITINGS OF | JOSEPH CONRAD (1895–1920) | BY THOMAS J. WISE | ❦ | LONDON: | PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY | By Richard Clay & Sons, Ltd. | 1920 || Pagination: [i-viii] ix-xiii [xiv-xvi], [1, 2] 3-105 [106-112], frontispiece with tissue guard in collation; 128 pages total. Collation: 8vo; [A]-H8, 64 leaves total. Binding: 22.5 x 18 cm; terracotta paper boards, black lettering to front and spine; uncut. The device on the recto of the last leaf inscribed: The Ashley library. Privately printed. 1920. Insert: ALS from Thomas J. Wise dated 22/3/21 on watermarked paper (King of Kent | Extra Fine) with letterhead “Kirkstead”, 25 Heath Drive, Hampstead, N.W.3. The letter is a response to a request for two copies of Volume II of Wise’s Swinburne bibliography, which Wise promises to supply the next day to Stevens & Brown (founded in 1864, Literary and Fine Arts Agents). Limitation: 150 copies, private printing. Contributors: Joseph Conrad [Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski] (British-Polish, 1857 – 1924) Wise, Thomas James (British, 1859 – 1937) – compiler, bibliographer. R. Clay & Sons Ltd. (London); Clay, Richard (British, 1789 – 1877) – publisher. The Ashley Library (London) – printer. -
Two volumes uniformly bound by J. Mackenzie, in brown straight-grain morocco, boards with 7 gilt fillet border, fleuron corners, spine with raised bands, gilt in compartments, gilt-lettered DIBDIN’S | LITERARY | REMINISCENCES | I (or) II | 1836. All margins gilt, cream endpapers, armorial bookplate of William Henry Rossington to the front pastedown. Vol. 1: Title page: REMINISCENCES | OF | A LITERARY LIFE; | BY THE REVEREND | THOS. FROGNALL DIBDIN, D.D. | {vignette} | {one line citation | Richard de Bury} | LONDON: | JOHN MAJOR, 71, GREAT RUSSELL-STREET, | BLOOMSBURY. | MDCCCXXXVI. || Pagination: [4] two blank leaves, [i-v] vi-xxxii [4] list of plates, corrections, [1] 2-556 [4] two blank leaves. Collation: 8vo; [a]8 b8 [c]2, B-Z8, AA-MM8 NN6, 5 plates (incl. frontis. portrait by James Posselwhite after George Richmond) extraneous to collation, and a few vignettes in text. Vol. 2: Title page: REMINISCENCES | OF | A LITERARY LIFE; | WITH ANECDOTES OF BOOKS, | AND OF | BOOK COLLECTORS: | BY THE REVEREND | THOS. FROGNALL DIBDIN, D.D. | PART THE SECOND. | LONDON: | JOHN MAJOR, 71, GREAT RUSSELL-STREET, | BLOOMSBURY. | MDCCCXXXVI. || Pagination: [4] two blank leaves, [2] title/blank, 557-982, [1-3] 4-44 index, [4] two blank leaves. Collation: 8vo; [NN]2 OO-ZZ8 3A-3Q8 3R3, B-C8 D4, 5 plates (incl. frontis. “The Library, Eshton Hall”) extraneous to collation, and a few vignettes in text. Catalogue raisonné: Windle, Pippin (1999): A62 / pp. 171-177. Contributors: Author: Thomas Frognall Dibdin (British, 1776 – 1847) Artists: George Richmond (British, 1809 – 1896); Mary Dawson Turner [neé Mary Palgrave] (British, 1774 – 1850); Frederick Mackenzie (British, 1788? – 1854); C. J. Stewart (British, fl. 1830s). Copper engravers: James Posselwhite (British, 1798-1884); Philip Audinet (British, 1766 – 1837); William Henry Worthington. (British, c. 1790 – after 1839); Samuel Rawle (British, 1771 – 1860); Samuel Freeman (British, 1773 – 1857); James Thomson (British, 1788–1850). Wood engravings by John Byfield (British, 1788-1841) and his sister Mary Byfield (British, 1795 – 1871). Printer: William Wilcockson, Rolls Buildings, Fetter Lane. Publisher: John Major (British, 1782 – 1849) Binder: John Mackenzie (British, 1788 – c.1850) – held the office of bookbinder to both King George IV and King William IV. Bookplate: Colonel William Henry Rossington (American, 1848 – 1908)
