Tasso - Jérusalem Délivrée - 1776

THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED BETWEEN THE CRUSADES AND THE ENLIGHTENMENT - 2 VOLUMES IN ONE VOLUME
eighteenth-century edition in French of The Jerusalem Delivered, printed in Amsterdam in the midst of the European Enlightenment climate, when great epic poems were reread as moral, historical, and literary texts, capable of speaking to an educated and cosmopolitan audience. The editorial choice to gather the two volumes into a single volume reflects a desire for practical, continuous enjoyment of the text, confirming Tasso’s enduring popularity outside Italy and the central role of Dutch workshops in disseminating the modern classics.
MARKET VALUE
Edition in good circulation but consistently present in the international collector market. Complete copies, in sound condition and with a contemporary or well-preserved binding, generally command a market range between 400 and 700 euros for eighteenth-century editions of literary classics in French translation, with notable variations tied to the state of paper and binding.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Leather binding, gilded decorations and title on a spine label. Pages with some browning and foxing. In old books, with a centuries-long history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 60; 394; (2).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
La Jérusalem délivrée.
Amsterdam, par la Compagnie, 1776.
Torquato Tasso.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
In the eighteenth century The Jerusalem Delivered is read through the Enlightenment filter, which privileges its moral dimension, the inner conflict of the characters, and the balance between heroism and feeling. The Dutch editions in French played a decisive role in the European canonization of Tasso, making the poem accessible to an international audience and reinforcing its status as a modern classic, suspended between chivalric tradition and rational sensibility.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Torquato Tasso was born in Sorrento in 1544 and died in Rome in 1595. A central poet of late Renaissance Italy, he is best known for The Jerusalem Delivered, an epic poem published in 1581, which marks an unstable balance between classical ideals, modern restlessness, and the religious tensions of the Counter-Reformation. His life, marked by personal and intellectual crises, contributed decisively to the Romantic myth of the tormented author.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The French translation of The Jerusalem Delivered enjoyed wide fortune from the 17th to the 18th century, with numerous editions printed especially in the Netherlands, France, and Switzerland. Amsterdam, thanks to its comparatively liberal editorial climate and the quality of its printing houses, became one of the main centers for disseminating the Tasso poem in Europe, fostering broad and lasting circulation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
ICCU / OPAC SBN, records for eighteenth-century French editions of The Jerusalem Delivered.
WorldCat, entries for Amsterdam, La Compagnie, 1776.
Brunet, Manuel du libraire et de l’amateur de livres, s.v. Tasse.
Gamba, Delle poesie italiane, sezione Torquato Tasso.