Ongaro - Alceo Favola Pescatoria - 1802

ONGARO 1737: OF THE ALCÆUS, THE FAMOUS FISHER FABLE INSPIRED BY AMINTA
Elegant eighteenth-century edition of Antonio Ongaro’s most famous work, Dell’Alceo favola pescatoria, published in London in 1737 by Tommaso Edlin. The text belongs to the fortunate pastoral tradition inaugurated by Torquato Tasso’s Aminta, but shifts the action from the world of shepherds to that of fishermen, to the point of historically earning the nickname “Aminta wet.” The edition is preceded by a bio-bibliographic note on the author and features rich ornaments and woodcut initials. A contemporary full leather binding specimen, with a ribbed spine and red label with gold title.

WHY TO BUY
“AMINTA BAGNATO” – The work is one of the best-known imitations of Tasso’s Aminta and constitutes an important case in the history of Italian pastoral theatre.
LONDON EDITION OF 1737 – An interesting testimony to the international circulation of Italian literature in the eighteenth century.
CONTEMPORARY BINDING – Full leather with ribbed spine, red label and gold title, a feature that enhances the specimen.
ORNAMENTAL APPARATUS – Ornaments, initials and woodcut headpieces enrich the layout of the edition.

MARKET VALUE
For a complete specimen of the London edition of 1737, in contemporary binding and in good general condition, an approximate antiquarian valuation may place it in the €200–400 range.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Contemporary full leather binding, ribbed spine with red label bearing the gold title. Plain boards, trimmed edges. Title page with a small central typographic ornament. The specimen shows some browning and natural foxing, small marginal stains, and some signs of use. Binding with abrasions, small losses and wear to the hinges and corners, but overall solid and decorative. A long handwritten note of provenance or ownership is present on the front paste-down. In old books with a long history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. This listing contains AI Visualizations. Refer to the original photographs to verify the actual conditions of the object. The images are an integral part of the description. Pp.: 4nn; 140; (2).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Dell’Alceo favola pescatoria.
London, printed for Tommaso Edlin, 1737.
Antonio Ongaro.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Dell’Alceo holds a significant place in the history of the Italian pastoral fable. Ongaro reworks the Tasso model of Aminta, transforming it by replacing the shepherds with fishermen, marine deities and aquatic settings. Hence the famous label of “Aminta bagnato,” a formula that has accompanied the work’s critical fortune for centuries. The text preserves the five-act structure, the prologue entrusted to Venus, and the lyric-dramatic tone characteristic of late Renaissance pastoral, but introduces an original marine imaginary that is scenographically evocative.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Antonio Ongaro was born in Padua in the 16th century and was a poet and playwright active in the Italian courtly milieu. His fame is mainly tied to Dell’Alceo, composed in the wake of the Tasso pastoral fable. The work enjoyed notable diffusion and underwent numerous editions, a sign of its fortune well beyond its original context. Ongaro participated in the late sixteenth-century literary culture where pastoral poetry, theatre and court spectacle were closely interwoven.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
L’Alceo originally appeared in the late sixteenth century and was reprinted several times in the following centuries. The London edition of 1737 testifies to the enduring European fortune of the work and the interest of British readers in the Italian poetic tradition. The fact that this reprint is accompanied by a dedication to Lady Rich and a bio-bibliographic note confirms the intention to present Ongaro to a cultured and international audience.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
ICCU / SBN, Antonio Ongaro, Dell’Alceo favola pescatoria.
WorldCat, eighteenth-century editions of Dell’Alceo.
CERL Thesaurus, Antonio Ongaro.
Catalogues of the Italian pastoral fable.
Libraries dedicated to the reception of Aminta and its imitations.
Catalogues of sixteenth- and eighteenth-century Italian literature.