Pietro Metastasio - La Didone Abbandonata - 1765

Antique opera booklet, document analysis
The cover: It presents a characteristic seventeenth-eighteenth century decorated paper with multicolored floral motifs (pink, yellows and greens on a light background), typical of bindings of the period.
The frontispiece: It bears the exact title of the drama, La Didone abbandonata, specifying that it is a “Dramma per musica da rappresentarsi nel Teatro da S. Agostino il Carnovale dell'Anno 1765”.
The dedication: The text is dedicated “Alla nobilissima dama la signora Cicchina Spinola ne' Saluzzi”, an exponent of the Genoese aristocracy.
Conditions
From a conservation point of view, the state of the 1765 opera libretto appears fair and fully coherent with the age of the artifact (over 260 years), with no evidence of serious structural damage, but with the usual signs of time.
State of the Cover: edge wear: There is evident wear along the right margin, with small losses and fraying of the paper.
Color preservation: The multicolored floral motif maintains good vibrancy of the pigments (pink, ochre and green), indicating limited prolonged exposure to direct sunlight.
Surface: The texture shows the porosity typical of eighteenth-century handmade paper, with light superficial abrasions due to handling.
State of the Interior and the Frontispiece, foxing and oxidation: Visible are evident damp stains and foxing, especially on the left guard page (the white page) and along the inner margins. Integrity of the text: The title page and the inner pages of the Scenes and of the Characters are excellent. The printed text maintains exceptional sharpness and contrast. The black typography ink has not undergone significant fading.
Margins and trimming: The edges of the inner sheets appear intact, without running tears that would compromise reading.
The original binding seems to still hold the gatherings together.
Overall, this is an antique specimen that has not undergone invasive modern restorations and preserves its original historical patina.