Bracelli, Giovanni Battista.

oblong 4to (142 x 190mm.), 39 (of 50) etched plates, the first containing the arms of Don Pietro de' Medici, lacking title-page, engraved dedication and 9 further plates, lacking covers, first and last leaves slightly creased and soiled, a few light stains

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

first edition, very rare. We have found no auction records for this work, and indeed only two complete copies are recorded, in the Rosenwald Collection in the Library of Congress and in the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Bracelli (1584-1650) was largely unknown until about 1930 when the Surrealist movement discovered these whimsical and freakish images of stylised human figures, not dissimilar to the work of his fellow Mannerist Arcimboldo - one depicts two figures composed of racquets, another shows a figure with a drawing on paper for a torso with limbs made from pairs of compasses, others are composed of diamond-shaped sections or hollow squares or circles, and another two pairs contain kitchen and domestic implements (ladles, pots, scissors, brooms and bellows). Some of the images show the influence of Ovid's Metamorphoses, with three ladies in various stages of transformation into trees. In 1963 Tristan Tzara issued a facsimile of the Bizzarie with commentary.