Silvia.
Parma, F. Ugoleto 1519.
4to (187 x 140 mm.). [ii], [118]p. Two series of floriated woodcut initials (one white-line).
17th-century vellum (a few worm holes), gilt-ruled spine with gilt-lettered author and title, blue edges.
Only Complete Edition. Celebrating life at the Gonzaga court, these Virgilian poems draw on mythology, antiquity, history, philosophy and theology. In 1516, two of these poems appeared without the author’s permission — apparently financed by Isabella d’Este (1474-1539). Here, Barsio calls for that unauthorized edition to be burned and has reworked those verses and added other poems. I have not located a copy outside of Europe. In good condition (six headlines just shaved, scattered stains); contemporary underlining with occasional marginal comments (some trimmed) on fifty-two pages.
¶Gamba, “Un’edizione ritrovata: la princeps dei carmi di Vincenzo Barsio” in La Bibliofilía 123 (2021) 291-302; Villiers de Saint-Étienne, Bibliotheca Carmelitana 863,XIII,1; EDIT16 CNCE 4278.
Price: $4,800.00