FINE FACSIMILE OF THE ESTEEMED 1795 BODONI DANTE

(DANTE) ALIGHIERI, Dante. La Divina Commedia di Dante Allighieri. (Milan: Antonio Vallardi, 1965). Three volumes. Folio (12-1/2 by 18 inches), original half gray morocco, black and blue morocco spine labels, gray linen boards, top edges gilt. Each volume housed in matching gray linen slipcase. $1500.

Fine facsimile reproduction of the splendid 1795 Bodoni printing of Dante’s masterpiece of world literature, the Divine Comedy, number 669 of 875 copies, finely bound in three folio volumes.

“Dante’s theme, the greatest yet attempted in poetry, was to explain and justify the Christian cosmos through the allegory of a pilgrimage… The audacity of his theme, the success of its treatment, the beauty and majesty of his verse, have ensured that his poem never lost its reputation. The picture of divine justice is entirely unclouded by Dante’s own political prejudices, and his language never falls short of what he describes” (PMM 8). Giambattista Bodoni (1740-1813) was an Italian engraver, publisher, printer and typographer of high repute; he designed the family of typefaces now known as Bodoni. His Divine Comedy of 1795—reproduced here in full facsimile—is widely considered a landmark in the history of printing. Text in the original Italian. With original publisher’s prospectus preserved in matching cloth portfolio. Bookplate.

Fine condition.