1569 Il Corbaccio (The Crow) by Boccaccio. Printed by Morel in Paris.

The last Italian novel that Boccaccio prepared, Il Corbaccio (The Crow); around this time (1354-55 a.d.), and after, Boccaccio primarily focused on Latin works. This copy is a 1569 edition, in the original Italian, but printed in France by Morel (but Morel Italianized his name to appeal to Italians on the title page).

This novel finds some disfavor with modern readers. In this work, a man is being rebutted by a widow, but upon falling asleep, her dead husband visits him and confides in him all the ways she's best left alone. In concert, the sleeping man and the dead man decide to write this work, warning young men of the deceits of some women. The work has since been dubbed "misogynistic", despite, at almost the same time, Boccaccio preparing his Latin work recording a selection of noble women, De Claris Mulieribus. Other's claim that surely Boccaccio must have been jilted by a widow, to write such a scathing work.

About Boccaccio -

Giovanni Boccaccio, 1313 – 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was sometimes simply known as "the Certaldese" and one of the most important figures in the European literary panorama of the fourteenth century. Some scholars (including Vittore Branca) define him as the greatest European prose writer of his time, a versatile writer who amalgamated different literary trends and genres, making them converge in original works, thanks to a creative activity exercised under the banner of experimentalism. His most notable work is The Decameron.

About the Printer, from the website Printing in France -

"In 1549 Morel decided, like many before him, to get involved in the book trade. He became a proof-reader for Charlotte Guillard (d. 1557), one of the famous woman printers of sixteenth-century Paris. The profession of proof-reader, like that of journeyman, was an important step in the printing industry, for it brought Morel into constant contact with the presses and it enabled him to learn how they worked by observing them with his own eyes."

"In 1557, Morel decided to become a printer himself, following the death of Charlotte Guillard in the same year. Michel de Vascosan, his father-in-law, gave him a house in the Rue Saint-Jean-de-Beauvais, the ‘Ciseaux d’Or’, a shop in the Clos Bruneau. The Vascosan style certainly seems to have influenced Morel’s output. Morel’s typography shared some similarities with that of his father-in-law for both printers used the same typefaces and typographical arrangements, similar paper and, in addition, they printed books with similar themes."

"By 1570, Fédéric I Morel was one of the most prestigious printers in Paris. It is thus not surprising to see him being appointed royal printer on 4 March 1571, following the move by his wife’s cousin, Robert II Estienne, to Geneva."

Provenance -

Ex-libris plate of George Benson Weston, a Harvard and Columbia graduate, who edited a work on Italian literature. Also, his inscription, stating that he bought the book in Naples in 1904. Also, the ticket of the Naples bookseller F. Casella (established 1852).

Bibliographic Details -

Universal Short Title Catalogue (USTC) number 130039, found in many of the world's best libraries.

Pettegree, Walsby and Wilkinson - 58272

Physical Attributes -

Measures approx. 11 x 17 x 1.75 cm. Signed in 8 (octavo). Hardcover. Marbled paper covering pasteboards, and a leather spine. Spine broken into six compartments by five gilt fillet lines, title in gilt in one compartment, five compartments with a blind tool roll of circles and palm fronds making the top and bottom border. Edges sprinkled brown.

Pages - xvi, 174 (all numbered pages present, but missing one blank leaf).

Collation - A-G8, H7, I-L8 (missing H8, a blank leaf that went between two sections, and was not included in the numbering, which is perhaps why it was removed)

Condition -

This copy missing one blank leaf, which would be the 8th leaf in the H gathering (between two sections).

Binding with some wear at edges, corners and spine. Bookseller ticket and ex libris of George Beson Weston on pastedown. Blank unnumbered endpapers stating “Gamba 205, and that Weston purchased the book “Naples, July 5, 1904”.

Some toning and foxing throughout. Occasional thumb. Title page with an old manuscript provenance inscription under the title. A manuscript note in the fore-edge margin of page 111.