Cavalier Marini - La Strage degl'Innocenti - 1632

Giambattista Marino – The Massacre of the Innocents – Naples, Ottavio Beltrano – 17th century – Engraved portrait – 230 pp.

Description

Ancient 17th-century edition of The Massacre of the Innocents. Poem by Cavalier Marino, celebrated sacred poem of Giambattista Marino (1569–1625), one of the main figures of Italian Baroque poetry.

A copy of particular interest for its pictorial apparatus. The volume preserves the remarkable engraved title page, richly adorned with cherubs, allegorical figures, animals and a large heraldic crest in the lower part. At the bottom the indication is legible:

“In Napoli Appresso Ottavio Beltrano”

The poem is dedicated “To the Most Illustrious and Excellent Sir, the Duke of Alba.”

Inside there is a large engraved portrait of Don Antonio Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba, depicted within an oval medallion in armor, followed by the dedication. A second engraved portrait of Cavalier Marino, within a laurel crown, is also preserved, accompanied by the identifying inscription.

The text comprises 230 pages, with ornate initials and other decorative typographic elements. From the photographs one can recognize, among other things, the “Argomento – Libro Primo” and several sections of the poem.

Condition

Copy in need of restoration.

The volume presents with precarious conservation conditions and is expressly offered as a restoration candidate. The original binding/cover is missing or severely compromised, with stitching and spine structure exposed; loose threads and weakening of the binding are visible.

The sheets show browning, stains and humidity halos, folds, wear, small tears, gaps and holes, especially at the margins and in the first/last pages. Some sheets are partially detached or structurally fragile.

The engraved title page shows wear and marginal defects but clearly preserves the whole important figurative composition.

Despite the conditions, this is an interesting seventeenth-century copy of one of the most famous texts of Italian literary Baroque, enhanced by the figurative title page and the engraved portraits and worthy of conservation intervention.