Guarini - Delle Opere - 1738

THE PASTOR FIDO ON TRIAL: THE GREAT LETTERARY CONTROVERSIES OF ITALIAN BAROQUE
Two important volumes from the eighteenth-century edition of Battista Guarini’s works, published in Verona in 1738. The third and fourth volumes collect the famous literary controversies provoked by the masterful dramatic work Il pastor fido. A fascinating testimony to the debate on the tragicomedy, between Aristotle, pastoral poetry, and theatrical innovation. Elegant antique bindings in full calf, with spines densely decorated in gold and splendid marbled endpapers. One of the most authoritative historical editions of Guarini, fundamental to the Italian literature of the Renaissance and the Baroque.

ABSTRACT
Battista Guarini, Delle opere del Cavalier Battista Guarini, tomo terzo e tomo quarto, Verona, Giovanni Alberto Tumermani, 1738. Two volumes belonging to the prestigious eighteenth-century edition of the works of the celebrated Ferrarese poet and playwright, author of Il Pastor fido, one of the most influential texts of European theatre between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Veronese collection, published between 1737 and 1738 in four volumes, represents one of the most important historical editions of Guarini’s work, notable for editorial care and for the breadth of literary and critical materials gathered. The two volumes presented here are particularly significant because they document the long theoretical and literary controversy sparked by the pastoral tragicomedy. The third volume includes Il Verato secondo, the Compendio della poesia tragicomica, Angelo Ingegneri’s discourse on representational poetry, and Faustino Summo’s polemical interventions. The fourth volume instead collects the critical notes of Giovanni Pietro Malacreta, the responses and discourses of Paolo Beni, and Giovanni Savio’s apologia in defense of Il Pastor fido. The texts attest one of the most important literary debates of the modern age, concerning the possibility of overcoming the traditional Aristotelian distinction between tragedy and comedy. The copy is also distinguished by its elegant uniform antique bindings with gilded decorations and by its vivid marbled flyleaves.

WHY TO BUY
A work of particular interest for collectors of Italian literature, Renaissance theatre, Baroque history, and the history of literary criticism. Battista Guarini was one of the major figures in Italian literary culture between the 16th and 17th centuries, and his Pastor fido exerted extraordinary influence on poetry, theatre, and European music. The third and fourth volumes of the Veronese edition of 1738 constitute a source of great value for understanding the birth and assertion of pastoral tragicomedy, a genre that sparked heated clashes between supporters of Aristotelian tradition and proponents of new expressive forms. The presence of writings by Giasone de Nores, Angelo Ingegneri, Faustino Summo, Giovanni Pietro Malacreta, Paolo Beni, and Giovanni Savio significantly enriches the bibliographic interest of the volumes, turning them into a true anthology of late Renaissance literary controversies. Particularly attractive is the preservation of the uniform antique bindings, with rich gilded borders on the spines, elegant inlays with volume indicators, and marbled endpapers whose colors remain vivid. Two volumes of notable antique charm, also important as a testimony to Veronese refined publishing of the eighteenth century.

MARKET VALUE
The edition of Battista Guarini’s works published in Verona between 1737 and 1738 enjoys recognized bibliographic interest, especially for the richness of the literary materials and the quality of typography. The two volumes, third and fourth, though lacking the first two volumes of the series, hold autonomous relevance for their content, largely devoted to the great controversies on Il Pastor fido. Considering the uniform leather bindings with gilded decorations, the marbled endpapers, and the apparent good readability of the interiors, a market estimate of 300–400 euro for the pair seems prudent.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Two volumes corresponding to the third and fourth volumes of Battista Guarini’s collected works. Text in Italian, with roman and italic types and typographic ornamentation. Uniform antique bindings in full brown morocco, with spines divided into compartments adorned with floral friezes, swirls, and gold-embossed decorative motifs. Titles and volume indicators embossed in gold on the spines. Multicolored marbled flyleaves, with broad fan-shaped compositions in shades of red, blue, green, orange and cream. The bindings show superficial wear, abrasions, small leather losses, rubbing along the cords, edges and hinges, with some localized damage at the ends. The pages show natural browning, light physiological foxing, sporadic stains and creases compatible with age. In old books with a centuries-long history, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. This listing contains AI Visuals. Please refer to the original photographs to verify the object’s actual condition. Only volumes III and IV of 4. The images are an integral part of the description. Pp.: Vol. III (4); 8nn; 596; (4). Vol. IV (4); 6nn; 644; (4).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Battista Guarini.
Delle opere del Cavalier Battista Guarini. Tomo terzo e tomo quarto.
In Verona, per Giovanni Alberto Tumermani, 1738.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The publication of Il Pastor fido in 1590 marked a decisive moment in the history of European theatre, signaling the assertion of pastoral tragicomedy as an autonomous and innovative genre. Guarini’s work, set in an arcadian world of shepherds and nymphs, wove love intrigues, moral conflicts, dramatic tensions, and fortunate resolutions, surpassing the rigid separation between tragedy and comedy upheld by Aristotelian traditionalists. This novelty provoked an intense theoretical controversy, in which several of the most important Italian critics and literary figures of the time participated. Giasone de Nores questioned the legitimacy of the tragicomical genre, while Guarini replied through the famous writings published under the pseudonym Attizzato Accademico Ferrarese. In the Compendio della poesia tragicomica the author developed a genuine theory of the new genre, arguing for the possibility of a theatrical form capable of combining tragic and comic elements without contradicting verisimilitude and the needs of representation. The discussion subsequently involved other scholars, including Angelo Ingegneri, Faustino Summo, Giovanni Pietro Malacreta, and Paolo Beni. The two volumes from 1738 collect a substantial portion of these materials, allowing reconstruction of the positions of the various protagonists and the evolution of the debate. The importance of the work extends beyond the history of Italian theatre: Il Pastor fido exerted an extraordinary influence on European literature, on melodrama, and on poetry intended for music, contributing to the formation of Baroque aesthetic sensibility.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Battista Guarini (1538–1612), born in Ferrara, was an Italian poet, dramatist, literary figure, and diplomat, one of the major protagonists of Renaissance culture at the Este court. A descendant of humanist Guarino Veronese, he received a classical education and developed early a deep knowledge of poetry and rhetoric. He frequented the academic circles of Padua and Ferrara and held positions at the Este ducal court, participating in diplomatic missions as well. His output includes lyrics, comedies, literary discourses, and theatrical works, but international fame is tied chiefly to Il Pastor fido, composed in the last decades of the sixteenth century and first published in 1590. The pastoral drama achieved extraordinary success, being translated, performed, and imitated in many European countries. Guarini was also one of the most important theorists of tragicomedy, defending the new genre against critics who believed the rules of Aristotelian poetics to be inviolable. His arguments helped redefine the relationship between classical tradition and theatrical experimentation. He died in Venice in 1612, leaving a literary legacy destined to profoundly influence theatre, poetry, and music of the seventeenth century.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Guarini’s works enjoyed vast editorial fortune starting from the publication of Il Pastor fido in 1590. The success of the tragicomedy led to numerous reprints, translations, and adaptations, accompanied by a long series of critical and apologetic interventions. During the sixteenth century the text circulated throughout Europe, becoming a fundamental model for pastoral literature and for the development of musical theatre. The Veronese edition of the works, published by Giovanni Alberto Tumermani between 1737 and 1738, represents one of the most important editorial undertakings devoted to systematizing the Guarinian corpus. The collection was organized in four volumes and distinguished by the breadth of materials gathered and the quality of typography. The Ferrarese scholar Giovanni Andrea Barotti contributed to its preparation, bringing in materials and information from Apostolo Zeno and other scholars of the time. The first two volumes primarily include Il Pastor fido, the rhymes, L’idropica and other writings, while the third and fourth volumes collect mainly theoretical and polemical texts related to tragicomedy. According to bibliographic tradition, the editorial project remained incomplete relative to the publisher’s original intentions, but the four-volume collection remains one of the fundamental testimonies of Guarini’s seventeenth- and eighteenth-century fortune. The exact print run of the individual volumes is not documented with certainty, and therefore it is not possible to assign a precise number of copies printed.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Giuseppe Gamba, Serie dei testi di lingua e di altre opere importanti nella italiana letteratura, n. 560, with particular reference to the Veronese edition of Guarini’s works, described as a noble publication and recalled for the editorial activity of Giovanni Andrea Barotti and the contribution of Apostolo Zeno. Jacques-Charles Brunet, Manuel du libraire et de l'amateur de livres, vol. II, p. 351, for the principal historical editions of Guarini. Henry Cohen, Guide de l'amateur de livres à gravures du XVIIIe siècle, p. 465, for the illustrative apparatus of the eighteenth-century edition. Giuseppe Morazzoni, repertoires of Italian illustrated typography of the eighteenth century, for the Veronese editorial production and the ornamental elements of the edition. Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, entry Guarini, Battista, for the biography, literary fortune and role of the Veronese edition of 1737–1738. Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, digitized copy of the fourth volume, Verona, Giovanni Alberto Tumermani, 1738, with 643 numbered pages. Italian antiquarian catalogs of the complete four-volume collection, Verona 1737–1738, with description of collations, numbering variants and illustrative apparatuses.