Francesco Arsilli; Raffaele Francolini [Ed.]

Poesie Latine di Francesco Arsilli, Medico e Poeta Senigalliese del Secolo XVI Tratto da un Codice Autografo [Latin Poetry of Francesco Arsilli, Sixteenth-Century Medical Doctor and Poet of Senigallia, Drawn from his Autograph Manuscript]

Senigallia: Tipografia Lazzarini, 1837. Very Good. Item #6479

Senigallia: Tipografia Lazzarini, 1837. First Edition. Octavo; [vi] + xlvi + 234pp. Engraved portrait of Arsilli as frontispiece. Quarter bound in sea-green leather with small leather corners. Boards in coordinated stone-marbled paper; textblock faintly speckled on all edges in same sea-green. Gilt lettering and ornament on spine; title set off against crimson. Principal texts in Latin; introductory material, notes, and some translations in Italian.

Joints and hinges very solid; minor color loss at spine crown, foot, and vertical edges. Panel edges eroded and corners bumped; marbled surfaces slightly scuffed. Polite cataloguing label at foot of spine, and small inked catalog note on front pastedown. No other institutional or personal marks. Mild foxing throughout, but textblock otherwise unmarred and unmarked.

Francesco Arsilli (ca. 1470-1540) studied medicine in Padua before moving to Rome where he stayed until the Sack of 1527. His manuscript of Latin verses—ranging from brief bios of historical poets to snatches of Swiss history, medical pronouncements, and allegorical lyrics—were preserved in manuscript by his descendants and first published in this, the fundamental edition, 300 years after his death. Canon Raffaele Francolini (1788-1840) provides an introduction, biography, and textual and explanatory notes. The engraved frontispiece reproduces the famous portrait of Arsilli by Sebastiano del Piombo—that magnificent painting being now almost the only way Arsilli is remembered.

Price: $100.00