Melloni / Bodoni - Discorsi Familiari - 1796

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MELLONI E BODONI: TEN DISCourses IN THE ELEGANCE OF NEOCLASSICAL PARMA
A refined Bodonian edition published in Parma in 1796, dedicated to the moral and religious discourses of Giovanbattista Melloni. The volume collects ten discourses, each introduced by its own small vignette, according to Bodonian bibliography description. The title page is enriched by the portrait of the author within a medallion. The illustrated specimen is the second volume from the front, recognizable by the red spine badge, in elegant antique full-leather binding. A particularly pleasant testimony of the minor production, yet typographically refined, of Giambattista Bodoni.

ABSTRACT
Bodonian edition of the discourses of Father Giovanbattista Melloni, a Bologna Oratory priest and esteemed eighteenth-century scholar. The work comprises ten discourses, each preceded by its own vignette, and presents at the title page the author’s portrait within a medallion. The composition fully reflects Bodoni’s aesthetics: sharp types, balanced page, generous white spaces, and great attention to typographic proportion. The edition was published posthumously, under the direction of a nephew of the author, fifteen years after Melloni’s death.

MARKET VALUE
The edition is rare on the market but does not belong to the most expensive range of Bodoni’s production. Comparable copies currently documentable on the antiquarian market are around €200–300, both in Bodonian binder’s boards and in full contemporary leather. Our copy in antique full leather binding with richly gold-decorated spine and red badge presents a decidedly more decorative appearance than copies in plain cardboard.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Antique full leather binding; spine with small raised bands richly adorned with floral ornaments and gold tooling, red morocco label with title in gold. Binding shows natural signs of aging and light surface abrasions. Portrait of Giovanbattista Melloni within a medallion on the title page. The text comprises ten discourses, each introduced by its own vignette. Paper with some browning and physiologic foxing. Copy with preserved edges. In old books with a centuries-old history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. This listing contains AI Visualizations. The images are an integral part of the description. Pp. (4), 8nn; 262; 2nn; (4).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Saggio di discorsi familiari.
Parma, co' tipi Bodoniani, 1796.
Melloni, Giovanbattista [Giovanni Battista].

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The Saggio di discorsi familiari belongs to Bodoni’s productions of the 1790s, when the international fame of the Parma printer was already fully established. The work’s interest lies in the meeting of eighteenth-century religious oratorical tradition with Bodoni’s radically modern typographic aesthetics. Melloni’s discourses belong to the Oratorian culture, where preaching, moral formation, erudition, and the ability to communicate with a non-specialist audience assumed particular importance. Bodoni translates this matter into an extremely orderly editorial structure. The division of the work into ten discourses, each endowed with its own vignette, creates an elegant and solemn typographic sequence. The volume thus constitutes an interesting example of how Bodoni applied the same principles of proportion, clarity, and typographic perfection to both monumental celebratory editions and to literary, religious, and erudite works of more modest format.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Giovanbattista Melloni (1713–1781) was a priest of the Bologna Oratory, historian, scholar, and author of religious and biographical works. His activity sits within the great cultural tradition of the Oratorians, who paid particular attention to preaching, religious education, and historical and ecclesiastical studies. Melloni also dedicated himself to reconstructing the lives and works of religious personalities and to the history of the Bologna ecclesiastical environment, distinguished by the erudite approach of his research. The Saggio di discorsi familiari appeared posthumously in 1796, about fifteen years after his death.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The work was published in Parma by Stamperia Bodoniana in 1796. Nineteenth-century bibliography of Filipino writers specifies that the Saggio di discorsi familiari was published under the care of Melloni’s nephew, confirming its posthumous character. De Lama records the edition among Bodoni productions of 1796 as: Saggio di discorsi familiari del Padre Giovambatista Melloni prete dell’Oratorio di Bologna – Sua ritratto in medaglia – Parma co’ tipi Bodoniani 1796. The editorial structure is particularly interesting: ten discourses, each with its own vignette. It is also documented the existence of copies preserved in the characteristic Bodonian “rustica” editorial binding, an important circumstance for reconstructing the original commercialization of the edition. Copies on quality paper and in different bindings are known, including copies in full leather and other copies preserved in the simpler Bodonian cardboard binding.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
De Lama, Giuseppe. Vita del Cavaliere Giambattista Bodoni, tipografo italiano, e catalogo cronologico delle sue edizioni. Parma, 1816, vol. II. Records the 1796 edition, indicating its format and presence of the author’s portrait.

Brooks, Hugh C. Bibliografia delle edizioni bodoniane, n. 630. Describes the structure of the work, noting the presence of the ten discourses, each with its own vignette.

Villarosa. Memorie degli scrittori filippini, 1837. Records the Saggio di discorsi familiari of Melloni, Parma, Bodoni, 1796, noting that it was published under the care of the author’s nephew.

Biblioteca Angelica, Raccolta Bodoniana. The collection’s catalog records the 1796 Bodoni edition, providing an important institutional comparison.

Biblioteca Provinciale dei Cappuccini, Bologna. Preserves a copy of the Saggio in the “rustica” editorial binding, particularly interesting for the study of the original packaging of Bodoni publications.

ICCU – SBN. Essential for census of copies held in Italian libraries and for comparing bibliographic descriptions.

Biblioteca Palatina e Museo Bodoniano, Parma. Essential references for the study of the printing production and the editorial history of Stamperia Bodoniana.

WorldCat and international catalogs. Useful for locating copies held outside Italy and for studying the international diffusion of the edition.