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an old book with a brown cover and gold trima black and white image of an old book with a picture of a man holding a sword
ALDE

127 - ARIOSTE (L’). *Orlando Furioso*.
See original version (French)

Estimate €600 - €800
Sale commission
Description
ARIOSTE (L’). *Orlando Furioso*. Venice, Vincenzo Valgrisi, 1568. In-4, fawn-coloured veal leather with a grained finish, triple gilt fillet binding, ribbed spine decorated with gilt panels and fleurons, gilt interior edging, red edges (19th-century binding). 8 unnumbered folios, 654 pp., 16 unnumbered folios (table of contents), 1 blank folio with a mark on the reverse. The first quarto edition by Valgrisi dates from 1556. This copy is adorned with a frontispiece title page set within a rich architectural frame, 50 full-page illustrations, 50 header bands forming frames, and an equal number of illustrated initials. Text in two columns. From p. 533 onwards, it contains *I Cinque Canti...* with a separate title page (dated 1568) as well as 16 pp. of a table of contents by Ruscelli. These sections are not present in all editions of *Orlando Furioso* by this publisher. Among the countless editions of this poem published during the Renaissance, those by Valgrise have left their mark on the history of illustration through numerous innovations that have since become standard. Brunet attributes the illustrations in the volume to the Ferrara-based painter Dosso Dossi (1489–1542), but it could be the work of his brother Battista (1490–1548) or the cartographer Donato Bercelli, or even a collaboration between these three artists.  Ariosto’s poem was one of the most widely printed works of the sixteenth century; the main difficulty of the undertaking lay in the complexity of the narrative, which consists of various interwoven storylines and digressions that tend to confuse the reader. Many publishers chose to simplify the narrative. Vasari took a completely different approach by devising a narrative illustration, in which the full-page plate depicts the various scenes of the canto, complete with geographical maps and the names of the characters depicted, in order to provide the reader with a visual guide to their reading.  The highly innovative illustration in Valgrasi’s edition was vilified by some readers of the time, particularly because the same character might appear several times on a single plate – a technique never before employed. For further information on the illustrations in this volume, see the detailed entry by Simone Monti, *A Poem Through Images – Illustrating the World of Ariosto’s *Orlando Furioso**, Warburg Institute, 2023.  Valgrise, a native of Lyon, was active in Venice from 1540 to 1572; the venture was continued by his children with less success. A fine copy. Brunet I, p. 434.
See original version (French)
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About the sale Xavier de Planhol Library – The Origins of the Novel
Auction location
Auction time 09/30/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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