Bidspirit auction | Dante Alighieri - Alessandro Vellutello

Dante Alighieri - Alessandro Vellutello - Dante Alighieri - Alessandro Vellutello (Firenze 1265 - Ravenna 1321) - The Comedy of Dante Alighieri with the New Exposition by Alessandro Vellutello, 1544. Venice, Francesco Marcolini ad instantia di Alessandro Vellutello, 1544. In 8°. Full parchment binding. Smooth spine with manuscript title. Black edges. Splendid woodcut illustrations, some light browning and browning. Loose binding with some loose leaves. 2 ex libris on the back cover and stamp on the title page. Famous and illustrious edition, the first with Vellutello's commentary and the marvelous Marcolini engravings. For the illustrations, perhaps due to Marcolini himself, a skilled designer and friend of Titian, it was taken as a model by all subsequent illustrated editions of the Comedy. Gamba, 387: ”A very beautiful edition, adorned with elegant woodcuts”; De Batines I, p.82: ”A beautiful and rare edition numbered among the rare”; Sander 2823; Casali 72; Mambelli 30: ''Original and highly sought-after edition of Vellutello's exposition''; Adams D94; Mortimer Italian, 146; Essling I:2, i, 545; Brunet II, 503.