Stefani - Specchio del Disinganno - 1751

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LADY, KNIGHTS, AND COQUETTES: THE VICES OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY – THE ITALIAN SOCIETY LAID BARE
Rare first edition, printed in Rome in 1751 by the Stamperia del Chracas near S. Marco al Corso, of this curious and lively work by Abbot Stefano Zucchino Stefani, dedicated to Fabrizio Colonna, Grand Constable of the Kingdom of Naples. The identification of the edition as a first edition is confirmed by bibliographic records and antiquarian repertoires. Lo Specchio del Disinganno is a singular moral and social treatise built as a dialogue between D. Gile, parish priest, and Proba, gentlewoman, organized into six “Vigils.” Through the conversation of the two protagonists Stefani accuses the fashions and behaviors of contemporary society. The modern interest of the work resides mainly in its extraordinary repertoire of social customs of the eighteenth century. The index includes topics such as the modern code of chivalry, doctors, marriage, idleness, gluttony, envy, avarice, education, the way ladies dress, conversations, and especially the “Lady and the Cicisbeo,” offering a fascinating testimony of Italian society in the 18th century.

MARKET VALUE
The 1751 first edition is somewhat rare and belongs to a specialized collector’s tier. The present copy holds good bibliographic interest for the first edition, its completeness, the curious content relating to eighteenth-century customs, and the ancient handwritten annotations. The valuation ranges between 300 and 400 euros.

WHY TO BUY
FIRST EDITION – Rare original Roman edition of 1751, in the initial state of the work with the six “Vegghie.”
18TH-CENTURY COSTUMES – Lively testimony on ladies, knights, marriage, fashion, idleness, conversation, and worldly life.
DAMA E CICISBEO – Fascinating document on the cicisbeo phenomenon and on social relations among aristocrats in 18th-century Italy.
ANCIENT COPY – Calf binding, woodcut ornaments, and ancient handwritten annotations enhance its collectible appeal.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Ancient light parchment binding, with signs of use, stains, abrasions and small defects at corners and ends. Colored fore-edges. Paper with browning and physiological foxing, stains, and halos. Frontispiece complete with typographic device and ancient handwritten annotations along the lower margin. Contains decorative initials and woodcut ornaments. In old books, with a multiseccular history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 16; 196; (2).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Lo Specchio del Disinganno.
In Rome, Nella Stamperia del Chracas presso S. Marco al Corso, 1751.
Stefani, Stefano Zucchino.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Lo Specchio del Disinganno belongs to the vast eighteenth-century moral literature devoted to critiquing the “modernity” of customs. Stefani observes society through everyday situations: marriage, conversation, education, clothing, relations between men and women, professions, social life and aristocratic behavior. Particularly interesting is the presence of the cicisbeismo, one of the most characteristic social institutions of eighteenth-century Italy: the gallant who publicly attended a married woman becomes part of the author’s polemic frame. The work thus constitutes, beyond a moral text, a precious source on social history and daily life in eighteenth-century Italy. Its diffusion is also evidenced by the volume’s presence in eighteenth-century libraries: an inventory of the library of Giuseppe Valeriano Vannetti expressly records Lo Specchio del Disinganno, Roma 1751.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Stefano Zucchino Stefani, from Lucignano, was a cleric and moralist author of the eighteenth century. On the title page of this edition he is described as Rector of the Venerable Seminary of Sezze and Accademico Abbozzato. Bibliographic sources show a production focused mainly on moral and social critique. Besides Lo Specchio del Disinganno, works such as I Flagelli di D. Gile divenuto Poeta contro i seguaci del vizio, La causa di D. Sizio ricco avaro and La Bilancia colla quale si pesano i cortigiani are recorded.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
This edition: Rome – Stamperia del Chracas – 1751 is the first edition of Lo Specchio del Disinganno. The work’s success was rapid. By 1752 a new edition explicitly “augmented by the Author with many additions, and with an added new Vigil,” appeared, thus enlarging the original six to seven vigils. Other editions are documented, including:
1754 – Venice, Simone Occhi
1761 – Venice, Simone Occhi.
The succession of reprints within a few years shows that the book enjoyed significant diffusion in the Italian eighteenth-century publishing market. The first Roman edition of 1751, with the original six vigils, thus represents the initial state of the work before later enlargements.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Librinlinea / Italian bibliographic catalogs – records Stefano Zucchino Stefani and the editions of Lo Specchio del Disinganno, including Rome, Stamperia del Chracas, 1751, as well as later editions of 1752, 1754 and 1761.
Bibliothèque Universitaire de Poitiers, Fonds ancien – Petits formats – records Lo Specchio del disinganno, Roma, Stamperia del Chracas, 1751, and preserves two copies of the first edition.
Liliana De Venuto, La biblioteca di Giuseppe Valeriano Vannetti – documents the presence of Lo Specchio del Disinganno, Roma 1751, in a seventeenth-century library.
Routledge Research in Early Modern History – modern bibliography explicitly cites Stefani, Stefano Zucchino, Lo specchio del disinganno, Venezia 1754, indicating “1st edn 1751.”