Boccaccio - Decamerone - 1770

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BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATED EDITION IN FIVE VOLUMES – 13 PLATES – SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY LEATHER BINDINGS
Elegant eighteenth-century edition of Boccaccio's Decameron, published in 1770 in five octavo volumes under the false editorial indication “In Toscana, at the expense of Giovanni Ghiara.” The copy presents the complete text of the hundred novellas, distributed across the ten days, and is enriched by an engraved iconographic apparatus comprising 13 plates, including the portrait of Boccaccio in the frontispiece. One plate is missing in the third volume. Notably, the material aspect is striking: five uniform seventeenth- or eighteenth-century full-leather bindings, with gold-decorated spines, inlays and volume numbering. A collection with a strong decorative presence and definite interest for the connoisseur of ancient Italian literature.

WHY TO BUY
ICONOGRAPHIC APPARATUS – 13 engraved plates are present, including the frontispiece portrait of Boccaccio.
SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY BOCCACCIO EDITION – Important testament to the editorial fortune of the Decameron in the eighteenth century.
COMPLETE WORK IN FIVE VOLUMES – The text of the hundred novellas is preserved in its complete editorial articulation.
UNIFORM SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY BINDINGS – Five beautiful seventeenth/eighteenth-century full-leather bindings, decorative and suitable for display in a library.

DESCRIPTION
The Decameron is one of the foundational works of Italian and European literature. The collection comprises one hundred novellas told by ten young Florentines who, during the plague of 1348, withdraw to the countryside and spend ten days recounting tales. The edition offered here is divided into five small octavo volumes and preserves a notably elegant structure. The title page proclaims: “Del Decamerone di M. Giovanni Boccaccio. Nuovamente corretto, e con diligenza stampato. In cinque volumi in ottavo.” The illustration program comprises 13 plates in total. Volume I contains the engraved portrait of Giovanni Boccaccio in the frontispiece; one plate is missing in Volume III.

MARKET VALUE
Indicative market value: €600–750. The completeness of the text, the uniform set of five contemporary bindings, and the presence of 13 engravings make the overall offer interesting both bibliographically and decoratively.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Five octavo volumes. Uniform contemporary full-leather bindings, with spines ornamented in gold through cords, bosses and floral motifs; headbands with abbreviated title and volume numbers. Front boards covered with decorated paper and red edges. Volume I includes the engraved portrait of Giovanni Boccaccio in the frontispiece. In total, 13 plates are present; one plate is missing in Volume III. The bindings show abrasions, rubbing, superficial losses, wear at the caps and corners, and small beetle holes on the spines. Internally, some leaves are yellowed, with stains, physiological foxing and signs of aging. In old books with a long history, imperfections not always noted in the description may be present. This listing contains AI visuals. The images are an integral part of the description.

COLLATION
Volume I: (2); 2 unnumbered plates; 20; 256; (2) = 282 pages.
Volume II: (2); 2 unnumbered plates; 8; 238; (4) = 254 pages.
Volume III: (2); 2 unnumbered plates; 8; 160; (2) = 174 pages.
Volume IV: (2); 2 unnumbered plates; 226; (4) = 234 pages.
Volume V: (2); 2 unnumbered plates; 216; (2) = 222 pages.
Total: 1,166 pages, in addition to the 13 engraved plates.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Del Decamerone di M. Giovanni Boccaccio. Nuovamente corretto, e con diligenza stampato. In cinque volumi in ottavo.
In Toscana, a spese di Giovanni Ghiara, 1770.
Author: Giovanni Boccaccio.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Composed in the mid-14th century, the Decameron is one of the foundational texts of Italian prose. Through the hundred novellas, Boccaccio vividly portrays medieval society, exploring universal themes such as love, fortune, intelligence, desire, deceit and social mobility. In the eighteenth century, Boccaccio was already considered one of the great models of the Italian language. The numerous illustrated editions published in that period also transformed the Decameron into a refined collectible book, where literary value merged with the figurative apparatus and the quality of the bindings.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Giovanni Boccaccio was born in 1313 and died in 1375 in Certaldo. A poet, storyteller, humanist and student of Dante, he was, along with Dante Alighieri and Francesco Petrarca, one of the “three crowns” of Italian literature. He spent part of his youth in Naples, where he encountered a refined cultural milieu, and developed a vast production in both Latin and the vernacular. The Decameron remains his most famous work and one of the most influential narrative collections in European literature.

TYPOGRAPHICAL HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The editorial fortune of the Decameron began already in the XV century and continued uninterruptedly in the following centuries. The various editions were often involved in philological, linguistic, and censorship issues. In the eighteenth century, numerous editions for an educated and bibliophile audience spread, frequently enriched with engravings and presented in elegant bindings. This 1770 edition belongs to this tradition and stands out for its octavo format, five-volume division, and decorative contemporary attire.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
ICCU / SBN – Cataloguing of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century editions of the Decameron and of Giovanni Boccaccio’s works.
WorldCat – International cataloging of historical editions of the Decameron.
British Library – Bibliographic collections relating to old editions of Giovanni Boccaccio.
Brunet, Jacques-Charles, Manuel du libraire et de l’amateur de livres, entry Boccaccio.
Graesse, Johann Georg Théodore, Trésor de livres rares et précieux, entry Boccaccio.