Cartari, Le imagini con la spositione de i dei de gli antichi, Venice, 1556, contemporary limp vellum

Cartari, Vincenzo. Le imagini con la spositione de i dei de gli antichi. Raccolte per Vincenzo Cartari. Venice: Francesco Marcolini, October 1556

First edition. A tall copy with some deckle edges. Cartari (ca. 1531-1590) devised this work as a help for artists and sculptors, to provide them with information about the attributes and symbolism of ancient gods to use in their work, which he took from texts like Giraldi's History of the Pagan Gods and Boccaccio's Genealogy of the Gods. This first edition was unillustrated, though later editions filled that gap (see lots 478-480). It proved a popular and influential text, reaching a wide geographical readership and being translated into various languages.

4to (215 x 154 mm). Italic type, 36 lines plus headline. collation: A⁴ a⁴ B-Z⁴ AA-GG⁴ HH²: 126 leaves. Woodcut printer's device on title-page and final verso, woodcut initials, a few early annotations in Italian. (Wormhole in upper margin of quires L-O, stain on CC1, occasional light foxing or staining.)

binding: Contemporary limp vellum (223 x 163 mm), manuscript title on spine with printed paper shelfmark label, stubs from two pairs of alum-tawed ties. (Binding slightly soiled, paper label defective, label removed from inside front cover.)

provenance: "Ioannis linoli[?] et amic[orum]", early inscription on final verso — Armanii(?), signature at foot of title-page — Libreria Antiquaria Mediolanum, bookseller's label, catalogue 34, item 88. acquisition: Purchased in 2009 from Mediolanum, Milan. references: Edit16 9751; Mortimer, Harvard Italian 107