Vann’Antò / Mario Radice - Tablettes – Edizione d’artista di lusso con 5 litografie originali firmate e numerate di Mario - 1979

Tablets – Luxury artistic edition with 5 original lithographs signed and numbered by Mario Radice (XIX/XX)

Vann’Antò (pseudonym of Giovanni Antonio Di Giacomo, Ragusa 1891 – Messina 1960), one of the greatest Sicilian poets of the twentieth century alongside Ignazio Buttitta, presents here his poetic work Tablettes (written in 1917), with text in French and introduction/critical notes by Giuseppe Miligi. The edition is enriched by a suite of 5 original color lithographs created specifically by the great master of Italian abstraction Mario Radice (Como 1898 – Milan 1987), a prominent figure among the “Astrattisti di Como” and collaborator of Rationalist architects such as Giuseppe Terragni.
Technical details of the edition

Publisher: Edizioni della Pergola, Pesaro, 1979 (hand-printed in November 1979)
Print run: Only 70 copies in total – 50 numbered in Arabic numerals (1/50) + 20 in Roman numerals (I/XX).
Copy: No. XIX/XX (one of the only 20 luxury copies in Roman numerals).
Format: Large folio (about 43 × 34 cm).
Structure: Editorial clamshell case in brown cloth with blind embossings of abstract geometric motifs (Radice style) and title “TABLETTES” in gold on the spine. Contents loose in a portfolio.

Contents:
- Poetic text with introduction and notes by Giuseppe Miligi.
- 5 original multi-color stone lithographs (from 7 to 12 colors each), hand-printed on a star press under the direction of Piergiorgio Spallacci. Each lithograph is signed and numbered in pencil “XIX/XX” and “Mario Radice.”
- Portfolio of loose sheets containing 24 pages of text + 5 original lithographs on separate sheets (each protected by a double leaf with caption).
- Print sizes: about 40 × 30 cm (slight variations).
- Composition and printing of the text: Tipografia Annesso Nobili di Pesaro.

The lithographs are abstract-geometric compositions typical of Radice: strict shapes, vibrant color balances (blue, greens, yellows, pink, ochre, grays) on colored backgrounds, with a strong sense of harmony and lyrical rhythm. All perfectly preserved, clean and sharp.

Condition
Excellent condition. The case shows only minor signs of age at the corners (normal for an object from 1979) and very slight signs of wear; the interior is intact, the sheets and lithographs are fresh and free of stains, creases or wear. The photos are an integral part of the description and clearly show the object in its entirety (case, sheets, colophon, all 5 lithographs with signatures and numbering).

This is a true high-level artist’s book, rare on the market (very few copies have appeared at auction or in antiquarian circles). It unites twentieth-century Sicilian/European poetry with the great Italian abstraction of the postwar period. Ideal for collectors of:
- illustrated books and livres d’artiste
- original 20th-century graphics
- Italian abstract art (Radice is valued and present in major museums)
- Sicilian poetry and 20th-century literature

Don’t miss the unique opportunity to acquire this specimen worthy of being displayed in a museum (XIX/XX)!