Tasso - Aminta - 1768

AMINTA, BOSCARECCIA FABLE OF TORQUATO TASSO – RARE 1768 PARIS EDITION
ABSTRACT
Elegant eighteenth-century edition of Tasso's Aminta, published in Paris by Marcello Prault in 1768. The edition includes, in addition to the text of the Aminta, La Amore fugitive (Love Fleeing) and the Observations on the Aminta, preceded by important introductory and biographical texts. The volume is enriched by an allegorical engraved frontispiece and by numerous engraved headpieces, which give the work a particular typographic refinement. Our copy is further distinguished by a beautiful contemporaneous brown morocco binding with rich gilt decoration on the spine, gilded edges and turn-ins. The edition is listed in the main bibliographic repertoires and appears frequently on the antique market.

WHY TO BUY
eighteenth-century ILLUSTRATED EDITION – A refined Parisian edition of Aminta, part of the Italian classics production published by Marcello Prault in 1768.
ICONOGRAPHIC APPARATUS – Allegorical engraved frontispiece and eight engraved headpieces, with elegant figural designs attributed to the circle of Moreau and Cochin.
ENHANCED TEXT – In addition to the Aminta, the volume includes La Amore fugitive and the Observations on the Aminta, plus important eighteenth-century prefaces.
Beautiful brown morocco binding with spine decorated in gold, gilded edges and turn-ins, particularly suitable for a valuable edition of Tasso's principal pastoral drama.

MARKET VALUE
Prices for the edition vary considerably depending on binding, freshness, and completeness of the illustrative apparatus. Copies in fine contemporaneous bindings or of particular provenance can range between 300 and 500 euros.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Allegorical engraved frontispiece and numerous engraved headpieces. Copy in a contemporaneous brown morocco binding, with gold-decorated spine, gilded edges and turn-ins. The pages show the normal warm tone of antique paper and some signs of time, not compromising the legibility of the text and the illustrative apparatus. In antique books with a multi-century history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. This listing contains AI Visualizations. Please refer to the original photographs to verify the actual conditions of the object. Images are an integral part of the description. Pp. (4); 2nn; 48; 144; (4).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Aminta, boscareccia fable.
Paris, Marcello Prault, 1768.
Torquato Tasso.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The Aminta, composed by Torquato Tasso around 1573 and first performed at the Este court in Ferrara, is one of the supreme works of Italian Renaissance pastoral poetry. The work blends elements of classical and vernacular pastoral tradition with a refined lyrical conception of love, nature, and the Golden Age. The European fortune of the Aminta was extraordinary, and the text saw numerous reprints, translations, and adaptations. Prault's 1768 edition belongs to the significant Parisian eighteenth-century production devoted to the great Italian authors and is characterized by its typographic elegance and illustrative apparatus.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Torquato Tasso was born in Sorrento in 1544 and died in Rome in 1595. A humanistically trained poet, he was tied to the main Italian courts of the late sixteenth century, especially the Este court of Ferrara. His output includes lyrics, dialogues, plays, and the great epic poem Jerusalem Delivered. The Aminta represents one of the peaks of his early work and is one of the fundamental texts of European pastoral literature.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The Aminta was first published in 1580 and quickly achieved vast editorial circulation. The Paris edition of 1768 was published by Marcello Prault within a series dedicated to original-language Italian classics. Bibliographic sources confirm the presence of 48 preliminary pages and 143 pages of text, with an engraved frontispiece and headpieces. The illustrative apparatus is one of the edition’s distinguishing features.

EDITOR
Marcello Prault, Paris, 1768. The edition’s bibliography records it as published in Paris by Marcello Prault in 1768.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Cohen-Ricci II, 979. ICCU/SBN; BnF Catalogue général; Morgan Library & Museum; Bolaffi Auction, Rare Books and Autographs auction, lot 429; Oger & Blanchet, Bibliothèque de médecine, lot 408; bibliographic indexes and antique dealer catalogs relating to eighteenth-century editions of the Aminta.

AI VISUALISATION
This listing contains AI Visualizations. Please refer to the original photographs to verify the actual conditions of the object. Images are an integral part of the description.