Doni - Zucca del Doni - 1552





Add to your favourites to get an alert when the auction starts.

Specialist in old books, specialising in theological disputes since 1999.
Catawiki Buyer Protection
Your payment’s safe with us until you receive your object.View details
Trustpilot 4.4 | 137094 reviews
Rated Excellent on Trustpilot.
Description from the seller
SATIRE, PARADOXES AND MADNESS IN THE MOST ECCENTRIC LABORATORY OF ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
Rare Venetian edition of one of Anton Francesco Doni’s most original and extravagant works, a central figure in the Italian literary culture of the sixteenth century. I Frutti della Zucca constitutes the sixth and final part of the famous Zucca of Doni, a collection of dialogues, witticisms, moral reflections, literary inventions, and paradoxes that perfectly embody the author’s anticonformist spirit. Through lively and experimental prose, Doni builds a literary universe populated by bizarre characters, pointed observations, and intellectual games that in some ways anticipate Baroque literature. The work represents one of the most significant examples of Italian satirical and humorous narrative of the Renaissance.
MARKET VALUE
Original editions of Anton Francesco Doni’s works are sought after by Renaissance literature collectors as well as scholars of Venetian culture in the sixteenth century. The individual volumes of Zucca are noticeably less common than other works by the author, especially when kept separately. A copy of this edition can generally be valued in the range of € 700 to € 1,500, with higher quotations for especially fresh copies or those with significant provenance.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Seventeenth-century paperbound binding with parchment backstrip. Three parts of Doni’s Zucca. Frontispiece within an architectural woodcut frame, portrait of Petrarch on the verso of the frontispiece, manuscript ink paragraph marks, woodcut printer’s mark on the verso of the last leaf. Frontispiece slightly trimmed at the lower margin; some physiological foxing. In old books, with a history of several centuries, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 174; (2).
FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Frutti della Zucca del Doni. Parte VI soltanto (di VI).
Vinegia, per Francesco Marcolini, 1552.
Anton Francesco Doni.
CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Zucca constitutes one of the most singular creations of Italian literature in the sixteenth century. Through a loose and fragmentary structure, Doni collects tales, moral observations, social satires, dialogues, and erudite curiosities, offering an ironic and often caustic portrait of contemporary society. I Frutti della Zucca represent the conclusion of this vast literary project and distill its fundamental characteristics: a relish for paradox, critique of conventions, linguistic experimentation, and a perpetual oscillation between serious and playful. The work testifies to the extraordinary vitality of Venetian Renaissance culture and the central role played by Francesco Marcolini’s printing house in spreading new literary forms.
BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Anton Francesco Doni (1513–1574) was a writer, translator, publisher, and intellectual among the most original of the Italian Renaissance. Born in Florence, he mainly operated in Venice, where he frequented some of the leading cultural circles of the era. Famous for his polemical and anticonventional spirit, he published satirical works, dialogues, letter collections, and morally oriented texts. His output, characterized by constant formal experimentation, deeply influenced Italian literature between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The work was printed in 1552 by Francesco Marcolini, one of the most refined Venetian publishers of the Renaissance. I Frutti della Zucca constitutes the sixth and final book of the Zucca del Doni, published also separately from the entire collection. The different parts of the Zucca are today relatively rare on the market, especially when kept autonomously. The edition is valued also for its rich woodcut apparatus typical of Marcolinian productions.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
EDIT16 CNCE 17687.
ICCU / OPAC SBN, census of the Venice edition, Marcolini, 1552.
Mortimer, Harvard College Library, Italian 16th Century Books, no. 164 (related work).
Adams, Catalogue of Books Printed on the Continent of Europe, D-730.
British Library Catalogue, editions of Anton Francesco Doni.
Editoria Italiana del XVI Secolo (EDIT16), bibliographic card for the edition.
WorldCat, Frutti della Zucca del Doni.
Gamba, Serie dei Testi di Lingua, references to Doni’s works.
Graesse, Trésor de Livres Rares, II, p. 417.
Brunet, Manuel du Libraire, II, col. 742.
Seller's Story
SATIRE, PARADOXES AND MADNESS IN THE MOST ECCENTRIC LABORATORY OF ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
Rare Venetian edition of one of Anton Francesco Doni’s most original and extravagant works, a central figure in the Italian literary culture of the sixteenth century. I Frutti della Zucca constitutes the sixth and final part of the famous Zucca of Doni, a collection of dialogues, witticisms, moral reflections, literary inventions, and paradoxes that perfectly embody the author’s anticonformist spirit. Through lively and experimental prose, Doni builds a literary universe populated by bizarre characters, pointed observations, and intellectual games that in some ways anticipate Baroque literature. The work represents one of the most significant examples of Italian satirical and humorous narrative of the Renaissance.
MARKET VALUE
Original editions of Anton Francesco Doni’s works are sought after by Renaissance literature collectors as well as scholars of Venetian culture in the sixteenth century. The individual volumes of Zucca are noticeably less common than other works by the author, especially when kept separately. A copy of this edition can generally be valued in the range of € 700 to € 1,500, with higher quotations for especially fresh copies or those with significant provenance.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Seventeenth-century paperbound binding with parchment backstrip. Three parts of Doni’s Zucca. Frontispiece within an architectural woodcut frame, portrait of Petrarch on the verso of the frontispiece, manuscript ink paragraph marks, woodcut printer’s mark on the verso of the last leaf. Frontispiece slightly trimmed at the lower margin; some physiological foxing. In old books, with a history of several centuries, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 174; (2).
FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Frutti della Zucca del Doni. Parte VI soltanto (di VI).
Vinegia, per Francesco Marcolini, 1552.
Anton Francesco Doni.
CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Zucca constitutes one of the most singular creations of Italian literature in the sixteenth century. Through a loose and fragmentary structure, Doni collects tales, moral observations, social satires, dialogues, and erudite curiosities, offering an ironic and often caustic portrait of contemporary society. I Frutti della Zucca represent the conclusion of this vast literary project and distill its fundamental characteristics: a relish for paradox, critique of conventions, linguistic experimentation, and a perpetual oscillation between serious and playful. The work testifies to the extraordinary vitality of Venetian Renaissance culture and the central role played by Francesco Marcolini’s printing house in spreading new literary forms.
BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Anton Francesco Doni (1513–1574) was a writer, translator, publisher, and intellectual among the most original of the Italian Renaissance. Born in Florence, he mainly operated in Venice, where he frequented some of the leading cultural circles of the era. Famous for his polemical and anticonventional spirit, he published satirical works, dialogues, letter collections, and morally oriented texts. His output, characterized by constant formal experimentation, deeply influenced Italian literature between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The work was printed in 1552 by Francesco Marcolini, one of the most refined Venetian publishers of the Renaissance. I Frutti della Zucca constitutes the sixth and final book of the Zucca del Doni, published also separately from the entire collection. The different parts of the Zucca are today relatively rare on the market, especially when kept autonomously. The edition is valued also for its rich woodcut apparatus typical of Marcolinian productions.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
EDIT16 CNCE 17687.
ICCU / OPAC SBN, census of the Venice edition, Marcolini, 1552.
Mortimer, Harvard College Library, Italian 16th Century Books, no. 164 (related work).
Adams, Catalogue of Books Printed on the Continent of Europe, D-730.
British Library Catalogue, editions of Anton Francesco Doni.
Editoria Italiana del XVI Secolo (EDIT16), bibliographic card for the edition.
WorldCat, Frutti della Zucca del Doni.
Gamba, Serie dei Testi di Lingua, references to Doni’s works.
Graesse, Trésor de Livres Rares, II, p. 417.
Brunet, Manuel du Libraire, II, col. 742.
