Luigi Simeoni - La Figlia di Iorio - 1907

Trade paperback, 557 pages, measures 23 x 16 cm, dedication on the title page, a couple of scuffs on the spine and edges of the cover due to the book’s fragility, but little compared to the dating of the work. Uniform light browning of the pages as shown in the photos, but overall a sound copy, of great rarity. Currently unavailable on the antiquarian market.
Here is a structured and in-depth summary on La figlia di Iorio: for Gabriele D’Annunzio and the Italian Society of Authors: printed reduction, unauthorized recitation, parody: in the judgment against Eduardo Scarpetta for Il figlio di Iorio. The case arose in 1904, when Scarpetta staged Il figlio di Iorio, a parody of the D’Annunzian tragedy.
The Italian Society of Authors files a complaint for plagiarism and unauthorized performance.
Scarpetta had shown the manuscript to D’Annunzio, who laughed and gave oral consent, then never confirmed it.
Shortly before the debut, D’Annunzio sends a telegram ordering a ban.
The parody nevertheless goes on stage → the lawsuit is triggered.
The trial lasts about four years and becomes a national case.
documenting in real time (circa 1907) the debate on copyright and parody;
offering a meticulous reconstruction of the trial;
keeping materials now rare: printed reductions, acts, testimonies, critical analyses;
representing a primary source for studying:
the reception of D’Annunzio,
the figure of Scarpetta,
the birth of the modern notion of parody as an exception to copyright law.