Rare illustrated incunabulum, dated 1491. Editio princeps of immortal poems such as "Donne ch'avete intelletto d'amore" and "Tre donne intorno al cor mi son venute", which were not published again until the Rime of 1527 (12 poems) or Vita Nova (two). The first illustrated edition that features the illustrations of Dante’s Paradiso, never published before. The first illustrated edition printed in Venice, the first with the comment of Landino revised by Piero da Fighine. 4 large full-page woodcuts and 97 wood engravings in the text. Large ornate initials, some of them white on black and some hatched, and a large number of smaller ones, all white on black. At the end, printer’s brand, white on black. A work of extreme iconographic beauty with excellent layout. An edition of the Commedia to be considered among the most important ever published, as it includes fifteen of Dante's Canzoni never printed before, in addition to the three previously published in the Convivio of 1490, including "Voi, che intendendo il terzo ciel movete". Folio, Italian parchment binding of the XVIII century. 10 unnumbered sheets, 292 numbered sheets from I to CCLXXXXII, with 61 lines per page. Bright and well-inked interior on crisp paper, heavy with glue. Very sharp and well-printed illustrations. There are numerous restorations on the margins with small text losses. The first 5 sheets are perfectly reproduced on antique paper (see photos). In this edition the poet is called for the first time "inclyto e divo". Printed by Matteo da Parma and dated March 3, 1491, it is also the first edition with illustrations of Paradiso. The author of the iconography may have been the Venetian artist Antonio Grifo, as claimed by a recent study. Of this edition only 14 copies are registered in the Italian Public Libraries. Dante Alighieri, or Alighiero, known by the name of Dante alone, of the Alighieri family (Florence, 1265 – Ravenna 1321). He is considered the father of the Italian language. His fame is due eminently to the authorship of the Comedìa, which became famous as Divina Commedia and is universally considered the greatest work written in Italian and one of the greatest masterpieces of world literature. Full title: 1491 - La Commedia col commento di Cristoforo Landino. Venezia, B. Benali e Matteo da Parma. On the front of the first sheet begins the Proemio: Proemio / Comento di Christophoro Landino fiorentino sopra / la Comedia di Danthe Alighieri Poeta Fiorentino /. On sheet II0 " : Canto Primo della Prima Cantica overo Comedia del Divino / Poeta Fiorentino Danthe Aleghieri: Capitolo Primo. It ends on sheet CCLXXXXI. Colophon: Finita e lopa del inclyto & divo Dathe Allegjìeri poeta fiorentino revista et emedata diligetemete pel reveredo / Maestro Pietro da Figino maestro in theologia & excellete predicatore del ordìe de Minori: & ha posto molte cose I diversi luoghi che ha trovato macare I tutti edanti liqli sono stati stampadi exepto questi impressi in Venetia per / Bernardino Benali & Matthio de Parma del MCCCCLXXXXI adì III marzo como ne dicti Danthi si/ tra vedere si in lo testo come nela iosa & qusto per negligentia & difiecto di correctori passati Followed by Credo by Dante with Pater Noster and Ave Maria. Printers’ brand at the end. The Olschki catalogue mentions a copy that was put up for sale for 1600 francs; in 1920 (Geening) 1200 Swiss francs; in 1923 [Olschki} 1500 Swiss francs; in 1923 [Sotheby Sale). In 1926 (Graupe) 22150 marks; in the same year (Gille) 3000 Swiss francs; Id. (Heiss) 1800 marks (gold); id. (Rome, Belmore sale) one sold for 520 Swiss francs; in 1927 a washed copy was judged to have the purchase value of lire 4000. Copies of this edition are owned by the following libraries: Bibl. Universitaria, Turin; Bibl. della R. Accademia Valdarnese del Poggio, Montevarchi; Bibl. della R. Accademia della Crusca, Florence; Bibl. .Palatina, Parma; Bibl. Comunale, Siena; Bibl. Civica Negroni, No¬vara; Bibl. Fondazione Besse, Rome; Bibl. Comunale, Pesaro; Bibl. Co¬munale, Macerata; Bibl. Comunale, Bergamo: Bibl. Universitaria, Pisa; Bibl. Universitaria, Pavia; Bibl. Evan Mackenzie, Genoa; Bibl. Queriniana, Brescia; Bibl. Classense, Ravenna; R. Bibl. Universitaria, Padua; Bibl. Comunale, Ascoli Piceno; R. Bibl. Casanatense. First illustrated edition printed in Venice, the first with the commentary of Landino revised by Piero da Fighine, and also the first with illustrations of Paradiso; Gamba (384, note) is in mistaken in saying that the first edition was that printed by Pietro Cremonese on November 18, 1491, described below. The Princlpe d'Essìing justly observes - for the first great figure of this 'Dante "a du s'inspirer du grand bois placé en.regard du Ier Chant de l'Inferno" of the Brescia edition, 1487. Although Lippmann asserts that many vignettes carry the monogram e.b. __________________________________________________ DANTE ALIGHIERI. Divina commedia. [With the commentary and life of Dante of Cristoforo Landino. Edited da Piero da Figino. l * 3 March, 1491. COMENTO DI CHRISTOPHORO LANDINO FÌORENTINO SOPRA LA COMEDIA DI DANTHE ALIGHIERI POETA FIORENTINO.] nb. (Woodcut.] 12". CANTO PRIMO DELLA PRIMA CANTICA OVERO COMEDIA DEL DIVINO \I POETA FIORENTINO DANTHE ALEGHIERI: CAPITOLO PRIMO. 301b. Venice: Bernardino Benali e Matteo [Capcasa] da Parma, 3 March I49I. 3 o,.,t, CC - *Testo, 108 R. (Proctor, 9); cc. preliminari, commento e una parte del testo, 80 R. al secondo stato (Proctor, 9). Hain-Copinger, 5949; Reichling, I, p. 134; Pellechet, 4n7; Proctor, 4877; B. M. Cat., V, p. 373; Kristeller, Italianischen Buchdrucker- und Verlegerseichen, n° 187; Husung, bie Drucker- und Verlegerseichen Italiens im XV. 'jahrh., n° 125; Essling, Livres à figures vénitiens, II, no 531; Lippmann, Italian woodengraving in the r5th century, p. 88; Pollard, Early illustrated books, p. 100; id., Italian book illustrations, pp. 40-42;. Nagler, Monogrammisten, I, n° 1613 (p. 718); Bartolomeo Cecchetti, Le pitture delle stampe di Bernardino Benalio, in Archivio Veneto, XXXIII, 1887;-pp. 538:039; Colomb de Batines, Bibliografia Dantesca, I, p. 52; Koch, Cat. of the Willard Fiske Dante collection, I, p. 5; Mambelli, Annali delle edizioni dantesche, n° 13; Zambrini, Opere volgari, 317.' The typographical notes agree with those of the copy described by Pellechet; for other varieties see Reichling and B. M. Cat. The full-page illustration of Purgatorio is repeated; and that of Canto XXVIII of Paradiso is larger than the others in the text. The book originally belonged to the well-known Marcello family of Venice, in particular to Alvise Marcello (1480–1520), who was a knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, as well as a cultured and generous patron of literature. Copy from the library of Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773–1843), sixth son of George III, King of England.