Ariosto - Orlando Furioso - 1603

ILLUSTRATED ACROSS THE PAGE WITH 51 CUTS OF THE DOSSI, WITH THE “FIVE CANTOS” SEPARATED
Valued Venetian edition of the famous Ariosto poem, printed in 1603 by Felice Valgrisi with a figurative title page, 51 full-page woodcuts and the “Five Cantos” with their own title page bearing the printer Nicolò Moretti’s imprint. The woodcuts are traditionally attributed to Battista Dossi, while the text is curated by Girolamo Ruscelli. The contemporaneous dark leather binding and the author’s portrait make this a typographically significant specimen.
MARKET VALUE
Similar complete and well-preserved copies are on the market at prices ranging from 2,500 to 3,000 euros, with higher quotations for copies in original, intact bindings and without typographic defects or lacunae.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION - COLLECTOR'S COPY
Elegant bordered title with the author’s portrait and printer’s device, border in sillo graphic for the Argomenti, initials, ornaments, and 51 beautiful full-page wood engravings; the Five Cantos with their own title page and device are printed by Nicol Moretti.
Dark brown leather binding, with gold title on the spine label, in good condition. Title page with a woodcut border featuring the author’s portrait and printer’s device; 51 full-page woodcuts in the text. Small termite hole in the inner margin of the first six leaves. [16], 654, [32] pages.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Orlando Furioso by M. Lodovico Ariosto, all corrected, and newly adorned with figures. With annotations, warnings, and declarations by Ieronimo Ruscelli
Venice, Felice Valgrisi, 1603.
Lodovico Ariosto,

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Valgrisi published his first Furioso in 1556, challenging rival Giolito de' Ferrari with a text that had for years been one of his main strengths. Valgrisi’s edition quickly became very popular, and his printing house produced more editions of the Furioso than any other, with the sole exception of the aforementioned Giolito, who produced seventeen up to 1587, and several others in the 17th century.

The illustrations have been variously attributed to the Ferrarese painter Dosso Dossi (1480-1542) or to his brother Battista Dossi (1517-1548). The Argomenti for the Five Cantos are by Luigi Groto, whose name appears on their title page. On page 207 are the Stanzas of Lord Luigi Gonzaga, while the plates of the prinicipi are by Giovanni Battista Rota, whose name appears in the heading at 2S8r.

Orlando Furioso represents one of the keystone works of the Italian Renaissance, in its fusion of chivalric epic, irony, and refined narrative structure. Valgrisi’s 1603 edition is among the most appreciated for the richness of the illustrations and Ruscelli’s linguistic supervision. The “Five Cantos,” apocryphal or posthumous, complete the Ariosto universe with darker and more experimental tones.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Ludovico Ariosto (Reggio Emilia, 1474 – Ferrara, 1533), a court poet of the Este, is universally known for the Orlando Furioso, first published in 1516 and revised until the final version of 1532. He was also the author of comedies and satires and a promoter of an elegant and musical poetic language.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The first edition of Orlando Furioso was printed in 1516 in Ferrara by Giovanni Mazocco. The Valgrisi illustrated editions, among which the 1556 edition stands out, enjoyed great editorial fortune throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. The present 1603 edition fits into this printing tradition, with updates and remakings that attest to the continued reception and fortune of the poem.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Gamba, Serie dei testi di lingua, 60
Brunet I, 438
Mortimer, Italian 16th Century Books, n. 24
Melzi, Dizionario di opere anonime e pseudonime, II, 290