[FOLENGO, Teofilo].
Opus Merlini Cocaii poetae mantuani macaronicorum.Amsterdam [or possibly printed in Naples?], Abraham van Someren, 1692. 8vo. With a full-page engraved portrait of the author as a frontispiece, 26 engraved illustrations in the text (ca. 6 x 5 cm), a woodcut floral vignette on the title page, woodcut decorated initials, and woodcut floral and ornamental tailpieces. Early 19th-century elaborately gold-tooled black morocco, with a floral frame on both boards, detailed floral designs in the compartments on the spine and the title, year of publication, and name of the binder lettered in gold on the spine, gold-tooled board edges and turn-ins, gilt edges, marbled endpapers.
[30], 419, [4], [1 blank] pp.Remarkable work by one of the principal practitioners of Italian Macaronic verse, sumptuously bound by a renowned French binder. It relates the adventures of Baldo, a fictitious hero, in 25 macaroni or cantos. Together they tell of Baldo's encounters with witches, pirates, and demons, his imprisonment, battles with the authorities, and journey to the underworld. Each macarone is adorned by a beautiful engraving with a scene from that part of the poem. These engravings were likely made for the present edition as it is the only one in which they appear. The work itself became very popular after it was written and was even cited by authors as François Rabelais (1483/94-1553). Teofilo Folengo (1491-1544), also known under his pseudonym Merlinus Cocaius, was born near Mantua and entered the Benedictine Order when he was 17 or 18 years old. However, he abandoned monastic life for the company of a woman in 1516 and then supported himself through his writing. Baldo, first printed in 1517, was his first work. It was meant as a parody of chivalric poetry and Virgilian epics. Folengo's use of language significantly aided with that as Macaronic verse, which combines Italian vernacular with Latin, is intended to be comical. Although the work was initially censored due to Folengo's mockery of the clergy, it was quite popular throughout the 16th- and 17th centuries. The present edition, which dates from the end of this time period, is a little bit of a mystery. It is said to have been printed in Naples (Brunet and Weller (via STCN)), but Rahir disputes this on the basis of the typographical material, which, according to him, points to Amsterdam. If he is correct, the present edition is the only early modern edition of the work printed outside of Italy.François Bozerian (1765-1826), often called "Bozerian le jeune," was a bookbinder from Lyon who established himself in Paris at the end of the 18th century. He is one of the most well-known bookbinders using the Empire style. He worked closely with his older brother Jean-Claude (1762-1840), or "Bozerian the elder". The Bozerian binderies produced many fine books and are praised especially for their technical achievement and elegance of design. François retired in 1818/19. The present binding, which has been luxuriously gold-tooled, likely dates from the second half of his time in Paris.Bound by the French binder François Bozerian (1765-after 1818), signed in gold on the spine "Rel. p[ar]. Bozerian Jeune". The binding shows only minor signs of wear around the joints and corners of the boards, showing some very slight offsetting of the plates, but otherwise internally fine and clean. Overall in very good condition.l Brunet II, p. 1319; Rahir, Les Elzeviers, 2908; STCN 840797281 (5 copies); USTC 1837189 (6 copies); cf. Beraldi, La reliure de XIXe siècle, pp. 13-28 (bookbinder).

A. Asher & Co. B.V.
Professional sellerBook number: ABC_48357
€ 1250.00 [Appr.: US$ 1456.86 | £UK 1079.25 | JP¥ 215077]
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