Giovanni Boccaccio; Tito Lessi - Il Decamerone - 1928

Giovanni Boccaccio
The Decameron / by Messer Giovanni Boccaccio; illustrated by Tito Lessi
Florence: Alinari, 1928
(670 pages in total with continuous pagination for the 10 days, each featuring 10 monochrome plates printed in photolithography) Measurements: 29 cm x 23 x 6 cm thick.
With a sanguine portrait of Lessi in the frontispiece, a vignette with a portrait of Boccaccio on the title page. Fine headpieces, tailpieces, and beautiful illustrations at the start of each day and interspersed in the text. Large in size and weight. Printed on luxurious paper, with a binding of wood boards and leather in medieval taste, title impressed and decorative reliefs. Spine with three cords (nerves) with gilded embellishments and title, hanging strap with a metal clasp. As highlighted in the photos, physiological signs of rubbing along the edges of the cover, strap, and protruding parts, which in my opinion enhance the “lived-in” character of the work. Simply a very valid copy. Sources agree in considering it one of the most beautiful modern editions of the Boccaccio text.