Boccace / J. Wagrez - Le Décaméron - 1910

The Decameron or Tales of Boccaccio - Illustrations by Jacques Wagrez - Translations and Notes by Francisque Reynard - Illustrated Artistic Edition - Illustrated Bookshop J. Tallandier, Publisher, Paris (no date) circa 1900 -
Publisher's bindings in half-leather, boards and marbled endpapers, title and gilded ornaments on half dark-blue morocco, gilded top edges, 323 + 341 + 293 pages, format: 25.5 x 17 cm - Frontispiece in the first volume with serpentine decoration - Abundantly and richly illustrated in black-and-white, both plates outside the text and within the text, with headings and drop initials - Table of contents: see photos - Very good condition -
The Decameron is a collection of novellas written by Giovanni Boccaccio between 1349 and 1353. The work comprises one hundred novellas, distributed over ten days (hence the name “Decameron,” from Greek meaning “ten days”).
These novellas are told by a group of ten young people (seven women and three men) who have withdrawn to a villa in the countryside to escape the plague that is ravaging Florence...
The work is known for its varied narratives, ranging from love and adventure to satire and social critique.
The Decameron is regarded as a masterpiece of Italian literature.