Giusti / Bodoni - Versi - 1801

Splendid and Rare Exemplary Bodonian Printing in a Very Fine Binding
A refined poetic collection by Giambattista Giusti printed in Parma by the famed Bodoni presses in 1801. An edition in which the measure of neoclassical poetry meets the formal perfection of Bodoni typography. The specimen retains the deckle edges, a precious testimony to the original untrimmed margins. The collation totals 88 pages, including unnumbered preliminaries and finals. A volume of notable interest for a collection dedicated to Bodoni and to Italian typography.
Beautiful and intact full-leather binding with gold-impressed frames and floral decorations - MINT CONDITION
Elegant poetic collection published by the Stamperia Bodoniana at the moment of Bodoni’s full artistic maturity. The work belongs to Italian neoclassical culture between the 1700s and 1800s and finds in Bodoni printing a particularly congenial form: clarity of type, balance of proportions, wide white spaces, and absolute decorative sobriety. Of particular cataloguing interest is the preservation with deckle edges, which shows that the margins of the paper were not subjected to the usual trimming. A particularly desirable feature in Bodoni editions, where the original page proportions are an integral part of the typographic project.

REASONS FOR COLLECTING
• Original Bodonian edition of 1801, printed during Bodoni’s full artistic maturity.
• Specimen preserved with deckle edges and wide original margins, a feature particularly valued by collectors of ancient typography.
• Elegant dark brown morocco binding with gold decorations, coherent with the edition’s prestige.
• Rare combination of literary interest, neoclassical culture, and high typographic perfection, ideal for a collection dedicated to Bodoni or Italian poetry between the 1700s and 1800s.

MARKET VALUE
Bodoni editions of literary character show very different values depending on format, print run, completeness, presence of any figurative elements, binding quality, and especially margin preservation. In this specimen, positive elements are the original Bodoni printing of 1801, the deckle edges, the wide margins, and the elegant morocco binding. For a complete and good-condition copy, with the indicated features, a reasonable commercial range is about €500–1,000.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION - COLLECTOR'S COPY
Full dark brown morocco binding. Covers bounded by a thin gold fillet, with small gilded ornamental friezes at the corners, title and ornaments in gold on the spine. Specimen with deckle edges, pages browned and with natural foxing. In old books with centuries-long history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. This listing includes AI Visuals. Refer to the original photographs to verify the object’s actual condition. Images are an integral part of the description. Pp. (10); 2nn; 68; (8).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Verses.
Parma, with Bodoni types, 1801.
Giusti, Giovanni Battista [Giambattista].

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Giusti’s Verses belong to the most mature Bodoni production, at a time when the Parma Press had already achieved an international reputation. Bodoni had developed a radically modern idea of the book: beauty should not derive from decorated abundance, but from the perfection of the type, the quality of impression, the geometric proportion of the page, and the balance between text and white space. Neoclassical poetry represented an ideal field for this aesthetic conception. In this specimen, the deckle-edge preservation takes on particular meaning. The absence of trimming allows one to better appreciate the original dimensions of the paper and thus the relationship between text, margin, and page surface, which is one of the fundamental elements of Bodoni’s aesthetics. The volume thus represents not only a literary testimony of early 19th-century Italy but also a significant example of the transformation of the book into a genuine work of typographic art.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Giambattista Giusti (1758–1829) was an Italian writer, engineer, and translator, active in the neoclassical cultural milieu that developed in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He cultivated poetry and the study of classical literature, focusing in particular on translating Greek authors. His activity testifies to the erudite culture of neoclassical Italy, characterized by a revival of classical models and by the pursuit of balance, measure, and formal elegance. The editorial relationship with the Stamperia Bodoniana places his work within one of the most prestigious typographic and cultural environments of Europe of that era.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The edition belongs to Bodoni’s Parma production of 1801 and is listed in the historical bibliography of his prints. Different bibliographic configurations of Giusti’s Verses are known; for some copies, there is also documented a figurative apparatus including an architectural frontispiece engraved by Francesco Rosaspina on Felice Giani’s design. The subsequent circulation of the work and reprints testify to contemporary interest in Giusti’s verses, while today the main collecting appeal lies in their association with Bodoni’s typographic production.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
De Lama, Giuseppe. Vita del Cavaliere Giambattista Bodoni, tipografo italiano, e catalogo cronologico delle sue edizioni. Parma, 1816. A fundamental historical source for reconstructing the Stamperia Bodoniana’s activity and for the chronological census of its publications; lists Giusti’s Verses in the 1801 production.
Brooks, Hugh C. Repertory of Bodoni editions. Fundamental reference for identifying Bodoni prints and different issues and printings.
Fumagalli, Giuseppe. Repertories and bibliographic studies relating to Bodoni’s typographic work, essential for comparing editions produced by the Parma workshop.
ICCU–SBN. The Italian library collective catalog constitutes a fundamental reference for cataloging copies preserved in Italy and for comparing related bibliographic descriptions.
Biblioteca Palatina, Parma. Bodonian collections preserved at the Palatine Library are among the main sources for direct study of Stamperia production.
Museo Bodoniano, Parma. Typographic, documentary, and bibliographic materials kept in Bodonian collections constitute a primary source for studying Bodoni’s activity.
WorldCat. International World Catalog useful for census and comparison of copies held in international libraries.