Giacomo Leopardi - Dialoghi - 1943

With a size of 19 × 13 mm, this rare 1943 edition of Giacomo Leopardi's Dialogues is probably the smallest book printed in Italy in the 20th century using traditional typography methods.

Printed in Florence by Libreria del Teatro at the Artigianelli Typographic, it is a true masterpiece of artisanal micro-publishing, produced in the midst of wartime.

The volume contains three famous texts from the Operette morali:
• Dialogue between a sprite and a gnome
• Dialogue of Federico Ruysch and his mummies
• Dialogue between Earth and the Moon

Edition limited to only 250 copies, as indicated in the colophon.
Copy complete.

The volume is accompanied by a custom-made metal container of uncertain date, presumably designed to house this micro-volume.
The container bears marks and decorative symbols on the inside.