Bembo’s »Prose della volgar lingua« and »Rime«, Sammelband, 1562/64

Pietro Bembo: Le prose di M. Pietro Bembo, nelle quali si ragiona ella volgar lingua, scritte al cardinal de' Medici, che poi fu creato a sommo pontefice, et detto papa Clemente VII. Diuise in tre libri, e di nuouo aggiunte le postille nel margine, e riuedute con somma diligenza da M. Francesco Sansouino. Con la tvuola. And: Le rime di M. Pietro Bembo tratte dall' essemplare, riueduto & corretto di sua mano, tra le quali ue ne sono molte non piu stampate. Con alcune annotationi poste a suoi luoghi, cosi intorno alla lingua come a concetti. Di Francesco Sansouino. Title-pages with illustrated printer's woodcut device, as well as 5 woodcut headpieces and initial capitals. Venice: Francesco Rampazetto, 1562 and 1564.

12mo (13,3:7,5 cm). [48], 258, [6] pages; 65 [1] leaves. Woodcut and letterpress, bound in contemporary flexible vellum with hand-written calligraphic spine title.

Complete copy of a Sammelband with scarce editions of Pietro Bembo's »Prose (...) della volgar lingua«, the groundbreaking grammar of Italian literary language, and »Rime«, his canonical poetic treatise in verse.

Edition: First published in 1525, Bembo's »Prose« established the rules for Italian literary language, which the author almost exclusively deducted from the writings of Petrarca and Boccaccio in Tuscan dialect. In 1530 Bembo added »Le Rime«, and an authoritative implementation of Aristotle's and Quintilian's poetics, thereby setting the guidelines for writing poetry in the centuries to come. On behalf of the publisher both volumes were state of the art edited by renown Venetian polygraph Francesco Sansovino, e.g. with indexes and marginal notes.

Rarity: Present Rampazetto Sammelband of Bembo's »Prose« and »Rime« with Sansovino's annotations is of particular rarity in trade, historically and present. As of Dec. 2023 only one other copy is for sale globally, however with margins heavily cut to fit the binding. RBH records no auction results at all for »Le Rime« and only 2 for »Le Prose« (both in 2021) for the last 100 years.

Condition: Binding, paste-downs and leaves 58 to 65 [1] with little worm holes, binding therefore with stronger faults and tears, some pages with slight water-staining, being a complete copy of a bibliophilic gem in truly collectable state however.

Reference: CNCE 5063 (Prose) and 5072 (Rime).