[Rarebooks] FS: Ariosto ORLANDO FURIOSO, 1603, with 51 full-page woodcuts

[Charles Agvent]

ARIOSTO, Lodovico. ORLANDO FURIOSO and I CINQUE CANTI. Venice: F. 
Valgrisi and N. Moretti, 1603. Early Printing. Large octavo (7" x 10") 
bound in early full vellum, [16] 654 [32] pages. The complete and 
corrected ORLANDO FURIOSO, with Ruscelli's dedication to the Duke of 
Ferrara dated 1556 and an account of the life of Ariosto by Battista 
Pigna. Illustrated with an engraved title page, 51 full-page woodcuts, 
ornamental headpieces, and initial letters. The woodcuts, within 
decorative borders, are after the designs of Dossa Dossi, the Ferrarese 
painter, and are printed from the blocks of the first Valgrisi quarto 
editon of 1556. Some of the impressions are weak, but most are quite 
presentable. Trimmed at the top close to the text and plate lines, 
affecting one line of text in the dedication; other margins quite 
adequate. Vellum soiled. Very Good or better.

First published in 1516, this classic Italian romantic epic influenced 
many later works including Spenser's THE FAERIE QUEENE and Shakespeare's 
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. The action takes place against the background of 
the war between Charlemagne and his Christian paladins and the Saracen 
army which is attempting to invade Europe. However, Ariosto has little 
concern for historical or geographical accuracy, and the poem wanders at 
will from Japan to the Hebrides, as well as including many fantastical 
and magical elements, such as a trip to the moon and an array of 
fantastical creatures including a gigantic sea monster called the orc 
and the hippogriff. The poem grew in popularity as well in size after 
Ariosto's death, increasing from 40 to 46 cantos in 1532 and finally to 
the finished form of 51 cantos. (#004548)        $1,250

https://www.charlesagvent.com/pages/books/004548/lodovico-ariosto/orlando-furioso-and-i-cinque-canti

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