COLLODI, C[arlo Lorenzini]; MAZZANTI, Enrico; MURRAY, Mary Alice, translator - Story of a Puppet or the Adventures of Pinocchio, the

London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1892. First English Edition of a Landmark Work in Children's Literature COLLODI, C[arlo Lorenzini]. MAZZANTI, C. illustrator. The Story of a Puppet or the Adventures of Pinocchio by C. Collodi. Translated from the Italian by M.A. Murray. Illustrated by C. Mazzanti. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1892. First Edition. Small octavo (6 1/4 x 3 15/16 inches; 160 x 100 mm.). [2, blank], [6], [1]-232 pp. Half-title and title pages printed in red and black. Illustrated throughout by Enrico Mazzanti (mis-spelt as C. Mazzantini on title-page)with black and white line illustrations and silhouette drawings. Some very light foxing affecting just the first blank leaf, half-title and the last leaf. Publisher's off-white cloth delicately stamped in blue in a decorative floral and leaf pattern, with matching endpapers and edges. Contemporary pencil inscription on front blank leaf dated "Christmas 1892". Tiny (3/16 inch) brown stain on front cover and small circular half-inch diameter brown stain on rear cover, binding very slightly cocked, still an outstanding example in completely original condition of a famously delicate production. Published as part of the publisher’s The Children's Library series, this is the first English edition of a landmark work in children's literature. Translated from the Italian by Mary Alice Murray, it is described as "one of the best-known fantasies and the most popular children's book to emerge from Italy." Originally serialized in the Giornale dei bambini, a Rome-based children's magazine, the story debuted on 7 July 1881. It was later published as a book in 1883 under the title Le Avventure di Pinocchio: Storia di un burattino (The Adventures of Pinocchio: The Story of a Puppet), swiftly becoming a bestseller. While Lorenzini’s publisher is said to have profited greatly, the author himself passed away before witnessing its international acclaim. "Almost nothing else in children's literature equals Pinocchio for wildness of invention" (Carpenter, Humphrey; Prichard, Mary: The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature). Carlo Lorenzini, better known by his pen name Carlo Collodi (1826-1890) born in Tuscany, was a children's writer who wrote the world-renowned fairy tale The Adventures of Pinocchio. Lovingly crafted by a woodcarver named Gepetto in a small Italian village near Florence, Pinocchio was created as a wooden puppet - but he dreamed of becoming a real boy. The name Pinoccio has also been used as a character who is prone to telling lies and fabricating stories for various reasons. The story has appeared in many adaptations in other media. Pinocchio has been called an icon of modern culture and one of the most re-imagined characters in the pantheon of children's literature. Grolier, 100 Children's Books, #46; Hürlimann, p.77; Osborne Collection II, p. 1007 (under Lorenzini). .

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