Capricciosi & piacevoli Ragionamenti di M. Pietro Aretino (With:) La puttana errante.

Woodcut printers device on recto of final leaf, ornaments and woodcut initials throughout. Side-notes in italic type.

2 parts in 1 vol. 8vo (160 x 100mm). 541, [3]pp (blank); 38, [2]pp. (final leaf tipped in). Vellum over pasteboard, with overlapping edges, red edges to text block (vellum stained and darkened).

Cosmopoli, 1660 [Amsterdam, Daniel Elzevier,

Second Elzevier edition of Pietro Aretino’s Ragionamenti and the accompanying work, La Puttana Errante. It is a reprint of John Wolfe’s 1584 edition, with additional marginal notes and an introduction. Elzevier published two editions of this work with the year 1660. This is the second slightly more common edition of the two, produced in 1668 at Amsterdam by Daniel Elzevier, with its shorter, 38-page La Puttana Errante, a later reset of the 54-page first (Willems).

The editors here professed to make no amendments to the content other than linguistic and grammatical clarifications. La Puttana Errante is just as licentious as the first part: it ends with an explicit enumeration of sexual positions (and is often associated with a series of plates illustrating each).  Some have claimed that it is not, in fact by Aretino but Niccolo Franco or Aretino’s assistant, Lorenzo Venier.

Ownership inscription on title page.

Light browning and staining of title page, repaired tears to final leaf, otherwise clean copy in good condition.

Willems, 858. Brunet, 412.

Stock Code: 228089