Saint peter

1518 · ref. 4543 — Venice: Georgio de Rusconi 1518. Very good. Small 8vo 145 x 97 mm. 48 ff. Collation: A-F8 COMPLETE some soiling traces of damp in outer margins of D1-F8 for which SEE IMAGES. Old 18th-century vellum. In excellent unsophisticated condition. ITALIAN POST-INCUNABLE EDITION OF THE CARCEL DE AMOR THE MOST IMPORTANT SPANISH NOVEL OF COURTLY LOVE. Written in the late 15th century the work is a key example of the "star-crossed lovers" romance tradition. It combines allegory with chivalric narrative while its epistolary form intensifies the themes of miscommunication and emotional crisis. Widely popular it was quickly translated and circulated across Europe as is attested by this Italian translation published in Venice in 1518. The story continues to be celebrated for its emotional intensity and its refined articulation of courtly love. The romance was first translated from the Spanish into Italian by Lelio de Manfredi of Ferrara in 1514 and represents a moment when literature language and print culture intersected across political and cultural borders. For years the story was reshaped and redistributed in Renaissance Europe and contributed to a shared literary tradition. On the title-page of our edition we find only Manfredi's name and the dedicatee is Isabella d'Esta his former pupil. The translator has added his own closing epistle to the Carcel de Amor which praises Isabella; the author's name Diego de San Pedro is nowhere to be found. The Carcel de amor is told almost entirely through letters speeches and monologues rather than dialogue. It centers on Leriano a young nobleman in love with Laureola daughter of the King of Macedonia. His condition is figured as an allegorical "PRISON OF LOVE" and he communicates with her only through a mediator. A rival Persio sometimes Theseus/Perseus accuses Laureola of having an affair leading to her imprisonment. Leriano rescues her and kills his rival but Laureola ultimately rejects him in a letter. In despair he chooses to starve himself to death but not before delivering a speech in praise of women. CATALOGUER'S NOTE: Italian translations of the Carcel de Amor "Carcer Damore" are uncommon. We have located just three copies of ANY Italian language post-incunable edition at auction in the last century: 1518: sold at Ader Paris 2024 1521: sold at Sotheby's London 1970 1518: sold through Quaritch Catalogue 494 1934. EDIT16 CNCE 66997. Georgio de Rusconi unknown