Pellico - Mes Prisons / Devoirs des Hommes - 1846

PELLICO BETWEEN PRISON AND CIVIL MORALS, IN THE FAMOUS PARIS ILLUSTRATED EDITION
This refined Parisian edition of 1846 of Mes Prisons, expanded with Des devoirs des hommes, represents one of the most significant moments in the transformation of Silvio Pellico's text from simple prison memoir to a true European moral treatise. The volume, enriched by a striking illustrative apparatus and by a new French translation, builds a complete path: from individual suffering to universal ethical reflection. The engravings — among angelic visions, scenes of imprisonment and moments of humiliation — accompany the text not only by illustrating it but by interpreting it, translating into images the tension between pain and redemption. The result is a book that transcends the autobiographical data to become a spiritual and political manifesto, destined for a European audience sensitive to themes of liberty, conscience, and human dignity.
MARKET VALUE
Complete copies of this illustrated edition of 1846 generally range from 400 to 700 euros, with higher prices for well-preserved copies, complete with all plates and with elegant contemporary bindings.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
18th-century red morocco binding with red cloth boards, spine with raised bands and gold decorations and title; signs of wear to the hinges and corners. Title page with a handwritten annotation dated 1854. Illustrated volume with engravings and vignettes in the text, drawn from the designs of Gérard Séguin, d’Aubigny, Steinheil, etc. Paper with some 'fioritures' (fading/foxing) etc. In old books with a long history, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (4); 22; 2nn; 336; (4).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Mes Prisons, suivi des Devoirs des hommes.
Paris, H.-L. Delloye; Garnier Frères, libraires, 1846.
Silvio Pellico.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
This edition marks a fundamental turning point in Pellico’s European fortune: the union of Mes Prisons with Des devoirs des hommes transforms the autobiographical tale into a complete moral system. If the first work narrates the experience of political imprisonment in Austrian prisons, the second represents its theoretical outcome: a reflection on individual responsibility, faith, and social order. The illustrative apparatus amplifies this dual structure: on one side the violence and degradation of the prison, on the other the spiritual dimension of consolation and redemption. In France, where the work enjoyed extraordinary diffusion, Pellico was read not only as an Italian patriot but as a moral author capable of speaking to a broader audience, crossing the political and religious tensions of post-Napoleonic Europe. The volume thus appears as a complex cultural device in which literature, pedagogy, and propaganda intertwine.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Silvio Pellico (Saluzzo, 1789 – Turin, 1854) was a writer, patriot, and central figure of the early Risorgimento. Arrested in 1820 for his participation in the Carbonari movements, he was imprisoned in the Spielberg fortress, where he spent years in harsh confinement. Freed in 1830, he published Mes Prisons in 1832, obtaining immediate success throughout Europe. His writing, sober and deeply religious, transformed his personal experience into a universal moral testimony, contributing to spread the Italian cause and to building a model of inner resistance founded on faith and dignity.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The 1846 edition fits into the long series of reprints and translations of Mes Prisons, but stands out for the systematic inclusion of Des devoirs des hommes and for its rich illustrative apparatus. The French translation, curated and revised by aristocratic and cultured circles (comte de Messey, vicomte de Villeneuve), attests to the intention of adapting the work for a refined and international audience. The publisher Delloye, in collaboration with Garnier Frères, sits at the heart of the Parisian publishing market, contributing to the diffusion of fine editions destined also for bibliophily. These illustrated versions played a decisive role in shaping Pellico’s iconic image in the 19th century.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
BnF Catalogue général: Pellico, Silvio, Mes Prisons… suivi des Devoirs des hommes, Paris, 1846 (specific record to be verified)
WorldCat: records for the Paris edition, Delloye / Garnier Frères, 1846 (identifiers to be verified)
ICCU/OPAC SBN: not applicable for the French edition (check international catalogues)
Mario Fubini, Pellico e la tradizione morale italiana, Torino, 1961, pp. 89-120
Alberto Mario Banti, La nazione del Risorgimento, Torino, 2000, pp. 67-82
Franco Della Peruta, Il Risorgimento italiano, Milano, 1997, pp. 145-160