Manzoni - I Promessi Sposi - 1869

After the quarantine: The Betrothed in their rarest illustrated edition.
450 illustrations, some full-page.
Second illustrated nineteenth-century edition of The Betrothed, printed in Milan in 1869.
One of the high points in the iconographic reception of Manzoni's work after the “Quarantana.” Based on the definitive text of 1840–42, it adopts its linguistic and narrative framework, enriching it with a vast and updated array of imagery that dialogues with the tradition inaugurated by Francesco Gonin but introduces new visual solutions of extraordinary quality. The inclusion of the History of the Infamous Column consolidates the ethical and civil project of the work, offering a comprehensive reading of Manzoni as historian, moralist, and narrator. The volume, large in format and with a strong visual impact, testifies to the editorial and iconographic fortune of the nation’s novel par excellence in post-unitary Italy.
Market value
The illustrated nineteenth-century editions of The Betrothed, especially those bound in the ‘Quarantana’ style and accompanied by a rich woodcut apparatus, maintain solid demand on the market. This 1869 issue, considered by Parenti perhaps rarer than the illustrated 1840 edition, sits steadily in the 800–1,200 Euro range, with possible increases for well-preserved copies in prestigious bindings.

Physical description and condition
Green Moroccan leather binding with marbled boards, gilt titles on the spine; signs of wear. Frontispiece, portrait of the Author and over 450 illustrations, some full-page; text framed by a double border. Some lamination or reddening of paper, some foxing; there is a blot at the upper margin in the last part. In old books, with a history spanning centuries, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 1032; (2).

Full title and author
The Betrothed. Milanese history of the seventeenth century, discovered and redone. Second illustrated edition. History of the Infamous Column.
Milan, Redaelli Factory of the Rechiedei Brothers, 1869.
Alessandro Manzoni.

Context and Significance
This edition follows in the tradition of Manzoni’s iconographic lineage inaugurated with the Quarantana, largely taking up its historical illustrations but renewing them through targeted interventions. Alongside the plates by Francesco Gonin, Luigi Bisi, Francesco Moja, Giuseppe Sogni, Luigi and Paolo Riccardi, and Massimo d’Azeglio, new full-page figures by Tranquillo Cremona and Luigi Borgomainerio appear, to whom the distinctive merit of this edition is owed. The figurative apparatus is not mere ornament but an interpretive instrument that visually translates Manzoni’s moral realism, the historical tension, and the everyday dimension of the characters. The addition of the Storia della Colonna infame reinforces the ethical axis of the work, transforming the novel into an overarching reflection on justice, power, and historical responsibility.

Biography of the Author
Alessandro Manzoni was born in Milan in 1785 and died in 1873. He is the greatest Italian writer of the nineteenth century and the author of the novel that contributed decisively to the shaping of the language and of national identity. The Betrothed, published in definitive form between 1840 and 1842, represents the meeting point between linguistic research, historical rigor, and profound moral reflection.

Printing history and circulation
Stamped in Milan in 1869 by the Redaelli Establishment of the Rechiedei Brothers, this second illustrated edition sits in a period of intense circulation of Manzoni's text in a unified Italy. Although deriving from the Quarantana, it introduces various iconographic variants that increase its collecting interest. According to Parenti, some of the new plates contribute to making this edition perhaps rarer than the famous illustrated edition of 1840. The diffusion was broad but selective, intended for a cultivated bourgeois audience and for representative family libraries.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Parenti, Bibliographical Rarities, I, p. 176.
Vismara, Manzoni, 4.
Ghidetti, History of the Editions of The Betrothed, Milan.