Il decamerone. Florence, Filippo Giunta, 1516.
Boccaccio, Giovanni, 1313-1375. Il decamerone. 4† in 8's. Florence, Filippo Giunta, July 29, 1516. Typ 525.16.223, Department of Printing and Graphic Arts, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library.
20.5 x 13.5 cm. Eighteenth-century red morocco, gilt borders, ornaments on spine, green morocco label, gilt inside borders, with Quaritch's Sunderland library plate, Sunderland shelf marks, and Rahir label. (Nash fund.)
Bibliographical description of edition
Title-page without ornamentation. Woodcut at the head of the "proemio," 74 x 93 mm., showing Boccaccio's seven women and three men seated in a garden for the telling of the tales. The figures are named on the block. This is a reduced, reversed copy of a block designed for the Venice edition of 1492 [...]. Giunta repeats this block at the head of days 2, 6-10. ninety-six small woodcuts (including one repetition), 43 x 70 mm., also reduced, reverse free copies of the 1492 illustrations. The first is a cut of the author at work. There are a few points at which the illustration varies from that in the 1504 edition, and may depend on the fifteenth-century edition. Apparently someone at Giunta's press began to censor the blocks. On leaves e2v and l6v, parts of the blocks have been cut off or masked; similar scenes later in the volume are left intact. Initials are three-line roman capitals. Giunta's fleur-de-lis device [...] on the verso of leaf P10, recto blank. Italic letter.
First Giunta edition. On the verso of the title is an address, "Messer Giovanni Bocchaccio al lectore," in which "Boccaccio" writes about the art of printing and the superiority of the Giunta edition. ((Italian 16th century books, v. 1, pp. 96-97)
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Note: in the following bibliographical descriptions, the long 's' is represented by an italic f (f). Where confusion may arise between 's' and 'f', the word has been transcribed in square brackets.
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Page 1 recto (aa): headed PROEMIO.; woodcut of brigata in garden, with small insert at top right showing meeting in Santa Maria Novella; subtitle DEL DECAMERON DI .M. GIOVANNI | BOCCACCIO PROEMIO.; illuminated initial letter H missing, indicated by lower-case h; text set in italic; signature a at bottom right.
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Page 16 recto [bxiiia] headed GIORNATA (from the running title reading across both pages of the opening: PRIMA GIORNATA); rubric to the second novella of the First Day Abraham iudeo ftimolato da Giannotto decivigni perche di/ | veniffi chriftiano va in corte di Roma, & veduta la malvagita | de cherici ritorna ad Parigi & feffi [fessi] christiano. Novella .II.; woodcut showing the baptism of Abraham in foreground, with inserted scene of Abraham journeying to Rome and three seated clerics; large initial letter L at beginning of novella.
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Page 18 recto (cija) headed GIORNATA (from the running title reading across both pages of the opening: PRIMA GIORNATA); rubric to the third novella of the First Day: Melchifedech iudeo con una fua novella di tre anella fcãpo un | grã pericolo apparecchiatogli dalfoldano. Novella.III.; woodcut showing Saladino approaching Melchisedech on left side of frame, with Melchisedech telling Saladino the story of the three rings on right-hand side; large initial P at beginning of novella; signature c ij at bottom right.
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Page 21 recto [cva] headed GIORNATA (from the running title reading across both pages of the opening: PRIMA GIORNATA); large initial L at beginning of frame story; woodcut showing the Marchesana of Monferrato greeting King Filippo of France in foreground, while their meal is shown in the interior scene on the left-hand side of the frame. Large initial capital E marks beginning of novella.
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Page 25 recto (da) headed GIORNATA (from the running title reading across both pages of the opening: PRIMA GIORNATA); rubric to the eighth story of the First Day Guiglielmo borfieri con leggiadre parole riprende lavaritia di | meffer Hermino de grimaldi. Novella VIII.; woodcut showing Messer Ermino asking Guiglielmo his opinion about what should be painted in his house; large initial S at beginning of novella; signature d at bottom right.
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Page 178 recto (zija) headed GIORNATA (from the running title reading across both pages of the opening: PRIMA GIORNATA); rubric to the fourth story of the Sixth Day Chichibio cuoco di Currado gianfigliazi cõ una prefta rifpofta | alla fua falute lira di Currado uolge in rifo, & campa della mala | uentura, & dallira del fuo fignore. Novella. VIIII.; woodcut in two parts: the left panel shows Chichibio, Currado, and the cranes. The right-hand panel has two episodes conflated into one: on the left is Chichibio giving the leg to Brunetta, while to the right he cooks the bird on the fire; large initial T at beginning of novella; large initial C; signature z ij at bottom right.
All images are reproduced with the permission of the Houghton Library of the Harvard College Library.