Alfieri - Tragedie - 1802

ALFIERI 1802: tragedy complete in two volumes, in elegant green calfskin in contemporaneous style
Abstract
Elegant Luccan edition of Vittorio Alfieri’s Tragedies, published in 1802 by Domenico Marescandoli. The edition is cataloged in the Alfierian bibliography of the Centro di studi Alfieriani and is particularly interesting because it appeared while Alfieri was still alive: the poet died the following year, October 8, 1803. A specimen enriched by a refined contemporaneous uniform green calfskin binding, with gold tooling on the boards, rich gold decoration on the smooth spine, titles and numbering on red double-thumbs, lips and gilded ornaments. On the paste-downs the heraldic ex libris “Bibliothèque de St Philippe” is applied. A compact, decorative edition and highly representative of Alfieri’s editorial fortune at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

REASONS FOR COLLECTING / WHY TO BUY
EDIZIONE PUBBLICATA VIVENTE L’AUTORE – Printed in 1802, one year before the death of Vittorio Alfieri, which occurred in Florence on October 8, 1803. fondazionealfieri.it
COMPLETA IN DUE VOLUMI – The specialist bibliography records precisely the Lucca edition, at Domenico Marescandoli, 1802, in 2 volumes in-12°. Service commun de documentation (SCD)
LEGATURA COEVA DI PREGIO – Refined green calfskin with golden frames, richly decorated spines, double red tabs and gold decoration also on lips and unghiature.
PROVENIENZA ARALDICA – Presence on the paste-downs of the heraldic ex libris “Bibliothèque de St Philippe”, an element that enhances collecting interest and the history of the specimen.

MARKET VALUE
For this specimen, complete in two volumes and especially well preserved in a decorative contemporaneous uniform green calfskin binding with heraldic ex libris, a reasonable antiquarian range is €300–450.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Contemporaneous uniform bindings in full green calfskin, boards framed by gold fillets and borders, smooth richly decorated spines with golden floral and ornamental friezes; titles impressed in gold on red morocco double tabs. Lips and unghiature gilded. Paste-downs covered in pink paper; heraldic ex libris “Bibliothèque de St Philippe” applied to the front paste-down of both volumes. Internals on paper with natural browning and sporadic foxing; light signs of use and rubbing on bindings, more evident at the edges and at the headbands, consistent with age. Overall a very decorative, genuine and well-preserved specimen. In ancient books, with a multisecular history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. This listing contains AI visuals. Refer to the original photographs to verify the object’s actual condition. The images are an integral part of the description. Pp.:
Vol. I: (6); 2nn; 384; (4).
Vol. II: (4); 356; (4).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Tragedie di Vittorio Alfieri da Asti.
Lucca, Presso Domenico Marescandoli, 1802.
Vittorio Alfieri.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Le Tragedie constitute the core of Vittorio Alfieri’s oeuvre and represent one of the peaks of Italian theater between the Enlightenment and early Romanticism. His dramaturgy centers action around the conflict between freedom and tyranny, individual will and power, making tragedy a tool for political and moral inquiry. Alfieri’s production exerted a strong influence on later Italian culture and became particularly significant for the intellectuals of the early Risorgimento. BiblioToscana This 1802 edition is of particular interest because it belongs to the author's final years and bears witness to the editorial diffusion of the Tragedies while Alfieri was still active in Florence. In the same year he continued to work intensely on his literary output.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Vittorio Alfieri was born in Asti in 1749 and, after a youth marked by long European travels, devoted himself with increasing discipline to literature and especially tragedy. His education was deeply influenced by the classics, Dante, Petrarch, Machiavelli and Enlightenment European culture. Central in his work is the theme of individual freedom opposed to tyranny, developed in both theatre and political writings. He spent his last years in Florence, where he died on October 8, 1803; he was buried in Santa Croce, where in 1810 the famous monumental tomb carved by Antonio Canova was erected.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Alfieri’s tragedies encountered a complex editorial history from the 1770s to the early nineteenth century, with editions and reprints in Italy and abroad. In 1802, several Alfieri-related editorial initiatives appeared simultaneously, including French translations and this two-volume Luccan edition. The Fondazione “Centro di studi Alfieriani” catalog records separately “Tragedie di Vittorio Alfieri da Asti. Volume primo” and “Volume secondo”, Lucca, Domenico Marescandoli, 1802. A catalog of ancient funds of the Université de Poitiers confirms the bibliographic form “Lucca : presso Domenico Marescandoli, 1802. – 2 vol. ; 12°”. Service commun de documentation (SCD) The edition thus belongs to the concluding phase of Alfieri’s editorial transmission while the author was living, just before his death.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Fondazione “Centro di studi Alfieriani”, repertorio Edizioni settecentesche e ottocentesche delle opere di Vittorio Alfieri: censimento dell’edizione Lucca, Domenico Marescandoli, 1802, voll. I-II. Bibliothèque Universitaire de Poitiers, Fonds ancien – Petits formats: Alfieri, Vittorio, Tragedie, Lucca, presso Domenico Marescandoli, 1802, 2 vol., 12°. Service commun de documentation (SCD) ICCU / SBN, cataloghi nazionali e poli locali, s.v. Vittorio Alfieri e Domenico Marescandoli. CERL Thesaurus, s.v. Vittorio Alfieri e tipografia Marescandoli. WorldCat, s.v. Tragedie di Vittorio Alfieri da Asti, Lucca 1802. Fondazione “Centro di studi Alfieriani”, Cronologia della vita di Vittorio Alfieri. fondazionealfieri.it Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, voce Vittorio Alfieri. Treccani