Accademia della Crusca

Vocabolario degli Accademici ... con tre indici delle voci. Venice: Giovanni Alberti, 1612



Folio (13 x 8¾ in.; 330 x 223 mm). Engraved emblem of the sieve on title, decorative woodcut initials, leaves Nnn2 and Nnn5 each printed on one side only; title soiled, dampstain in upper portion throughout, marginal spotting, tear in fore-margin of page 13 without loss. Old half calf and speckled boards, manuscript shelf mark "7 E 15" on spine; corners renewed.

Francesco Colonna, Rome (contemporary signature on title) — Stefano Lacadela[?] (signature on title dated "1705")

PMM 115

First edition of the Italian national dictionary.

The Accademia della Crusca ("chaff") was founded in Florence in 1582 as a social club, but later dedicated themselves to the purpose of purifying the Tuscan dialect, the first of many such national organizations so dedicated to their native tongues. The Crusca Academy set itself up as the arbiter of the literature of its time. Cruscans wrote many commentaries on Petrarch and Boccaccio, their models for linguistic usage; compiled dictionaries and lists of acceptable phrases and images from these authors; and translated many works into what they judged to be pure Tuscan. Members of the academy began publication of their official dictionary, the Vocabolario, in 1612 and updated versions continue to be published today.