1585 Del Rime et Prose del Sig. Torquato Tasso, Parte Prima

Vasalini's 1585 printing of the works of Tasso, this being Part I (to be followed with a Part II printing); a rich work, which (in this volume) includes Del Rime, Aminta Favola Boschereccia, Discorso dell'Amor..., Il Forno overo Della Nobilta'..., Tavola delle Cose Notabili, Che Nel Forno..., among other works (per the title pages).

About the Author -

“… From 1565, Tasso's life was centered on the castle at Ferrara, the scene of many later glories and cruel sufferings. After the publication of Rinaldo he had expressed his views upon the epic in some Discourses on the Art of Poetry, which committed him to a distinct theory and gained for him the additional celebrity of a philosophical critic. The next five years seem to have been the happiest of Tasso's life, although his father's death in 1569 caused his affectionate nature profound pain. Young, handsome, accomplished in all the exercises of a well-bred gentleman, accustomed to the society of the great and learned, illustrious by his published works in verse and prose, he became the idol of the most brilliant court in Italy. The first two books of his five-hundred-odd love poems were addressed to Lucrezia Bendidio and Laura Peverara. The princesses Lucrezia and Eleonora d'Este, both unmarried, both his seniors by about ten years, took him under their protection. He was admitted to their familiarity. He owed much to the constant kindness of both sisters. In 1570 he traveled to Paris with the cardinal.”


“Frankness of speech and a certain habitual want of tact caused a disagreement with his worldly patron. He left France next year, and took service under Duke Alfonso II of Ferrara, the Cardinal's brother. The most important events in Tasso's biography during the following four years are the completion of Aminta in 1573 and Gerusalemme Liberata in 1574. Aminta is a pastoral drama of very simple plot, but of exquisite lyrical charm. It appeared at the moment when music, under the influence of composers like Palestrina, Monteverdi, Marenzio and others, was becoming the dominant art of Italy. The honeyed melodies and sensuous melancholy of Aminta exactly suited and interpreted the spirit of its age. Its influence, in opera and cantata, was felt through two successive centuries.[3] Aminta, played by courtiers in an island of Po river where the duke had his Giardino di delizie, was first printed by Aldus Manutius the Younger in Venice in January 1581. A Croatian translation of Aminta by the poet Dominko Zlatarić, Ljubmir, pripovijest pastijerska, was printed one year before the original, also in Venice.” - Wikipedia

Bibliographic Details -

Universal Short Title Catalogue (USTC) number 858353, not rare, found in many of the world's best libraries.

Censimento Nazionale delle Edizioni Italiane del XVI Secolo reference number 41029.

Physical Attributes -

Soft vellum binding, with Yapp edges and the holes of ties; manuscript titling and dating on spine. Central (not blind, but traces of gilt) stamp to both boards. Darkened along the edges. Measures approximately 13 x 7.5 x 2.5 cm. 12mo.

Pages - xxiv, 144, 120, 172 (and 20 pages of non-numbered index), 66, 2 (colophon)

Collation - t12, A-Y12

Condition -

See pictures. Soft vellum binding with signs of wear including thumbing, loss of gilt to stamped center piece, missing ties, etc. Manuscript title and year on spine. Binding is partially loose, with the crash/pastedown at rear now disconnected; you can see the text block's spine form this vantage (see picture) where you see that the bottom endband is holding on by a few threads and the top endband is broken and just barely holding on (but present); because of this the textblock is proud (sticking out a little) in the middle. Darkening to edges. Front pastedown with cracks and lifting a little; also with notes on editions (says that Part II was published in 1589, etc). The text block has toning, thumbing, dog-eared pages, occasional smudges and rust spots, occasional errant ink mark, page edge chips, and an ink line at the bottom of page signed i5.