Alunno, Le ricchezze della lingua volgare, Venice, 1543, imitation of a binding for François I by Louis Hagué

Alunno, Francesco. Le ricchezze della lingua volgare di M. Francesco Alunno. Venice: sons of Aldo Manuzio, 1543

Alunno's dictionary of words and phrases, mostly compiled from Boccaccio, was later placed on the Index of Prohibited Books so that it could be "corrected" of any immoral content.

An impressive forged binding by Louis (or Théodore) Hagué (1822-1891), who produced a numerous quantity of impressive historical bindings in the 1880s, partly sold through Bernard Quaritch, and many of which were purchased by John Blacker, before the deception was uncovered. Blacker's books were purchased by Quaritch from his heirs and consigned for sale at Sotheby's in 1897, where they fetched a fraction of the amount he had spent on them. (Mirjam M. Foot, Carmen Blacker and Nicholas Poole-Wilson, "Collector, dealer and forger: a fragment of nineteenth-century binding history", in Eloquent Witnesses: Bookbindings and their history, 2004, pp.264-281).

Folio (305 x 204 mm). Italic type, double column, 60 lines plus headline. collation: A-Z⁸ AA-DD⁸ EE¹⁰: 226 leaves. Woodcut Aldine device on title-page. Ruled in red. (B1 and B2 transposed, a few small ink stains including at head of title-page, small repair at foot of Z2.)

binding: Late nineteenth-century pastiche binding (315 x 210 mm), in imitation of a sixteenth-century French painted interlaced calf binding with a crowned F on upper cover and the salamander of François I on lower cover, title lettered at head of upper cover RICHEZZE DEL LING VOLGARE, four small metal bosses on each cover, spine with similar decoration in compartments and with small F stamp at head and foot, two clasps, edges gilt and gauffered, in a brown buckram drop- backed box. (Binding slightly rubbed, lacking both straps, joints rubbed, spine slightly chipped.)

provenance: Stamp of four stars in a circle on title-page (recto and verso) — John Blacker (1822-1896) — Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, Catalogue of a remarkable collection of books in magnificent modern bindings, 11 November 1897, lot 7, £16, to William Ridler — Henry White (ca. 1821-1900), sale, Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, 21 April 1902, lot 31, £7-10s, to William Ridler — Sotheby & Co., sale, London, 7-9 May 1956, lot 287. acquisition: Purchased from Alan G. Thomas, London, 1973. references: UCLA 312; Edit16 1308; Renouard 127/2