Trattato su la Commedia dell'Arte, Ossia Improvvisa. Maschere Italiane, ed Alcune Scene del Carnevale di Roma. [Bound with] Abhandlung über die Comödie aus dem Stegreif und die Italienischen Masken; nebst einigen Scenen des Römischen Carnevals
- Quarter Levant Morocco. Cloth boards
- Berlin: Ludwig Wilhelm Wittich. [Presso Luigi Guglelmo Wittich]. Printed by A.W.Schade, Berlin, 1826
Berlin: Ludwig Wilhelm Wittich. [Presso Luigi Guglelmo Wittich]. Printed by A.W.Schade, Berlin, 1826. First Edition. Quarter Levant Morocco. Cloth boards. Very Good. Johann Heinrich Stürmer. Aquatints by F. Jügel, F. W. Schwechten and C. F. Thiele. An early color plate survey of the Commedia dell'Arte characters shown in enchanting hand-colored plates, long proceeding, for example, the classic survey of Maurice Sand. The two parts contained herein are of the same work, one in Italian, the other, German, both published in Berlin. 4to. 28.5 by 23.5 cm. x, 32, [2], 20 hand-colored aquatint plates, vi, 36, [2] pp. The plates have a dynamism that sets them apart from most hand-colored plate books covering costume and/or theater from the nineteenth century and earlier, including, we aver, the celebrated Sand classic. Even the first four plates which each depict a single character possess a sense of movement as well as have an expressiveness that transcends the norms of the genre. The next fifteen plates have two or more characters interacting, thereby imparting to us the flavor and rhythm of the commedia dell'arte and the correlative Carneval celebration. Covering the commedia and Carneval together underscores how the two developments, the former a form of theater tradition carried on by professional troupes, the latter, a much more vernacular art form enlisting whole communities of ordinary people not involved in theater per se, cross-fertilized. Finally, the last four plates show madcap street scenes with crowds participating in the Carneval organized anarchy. Valentini's study, though, is not just about memorable illustrations. He concisely and systematically describes the major stock characters of the commedia, with short descriptions of their costume, so important to messaging who they were to a knowing audience without the need for lengthy exposition, followed by a terse summary of their character to the extent it was a constant but allowing for the fluidity of traits on this aspect as was inevitable in an art form that thrived on improvisation and was to thrive for so long, and finally a dialogue involving the character that informed through showing, not tediously telling. While there are a decent number of institutional holdings, according to OCLC First Search, there are only five in the United States, and one in Canada. (These are copies that do not necessarily have both the Italian and the German text.) The binding is later, 20th Century. Some spotting on the cloth. Spots are white-ish and to some extent come from a loss of color. Some light rubbing of the joints. Plain manila endpapers and first blank. Blank of original text block also present, this stained, with two corners suffering some chewing, this, though, relatively minor. Moderate age toning of the leaves, with scattered stains, generally light and not disconcerting. A short closed tear here and there, and other light wear. The cumulative wear doesn't amount to much, in our view, we would stress. The plates are generally quite clean, with a few light fox marks. Curiously, the last four plates have slightly more wear or defectiveness, with really the only outlier of the twenty plates the very final one which is more heavily age toned than any of the other leaves and also more blemished. Tissue guards all present, with offsetting, as to be expected, and these have creases such as virtually unavoidable with the type of light limp paper of typical tissue guards.
Details
Title
Trattato su la Commedia dell'Arte, Ossia Improvvisa. Maschere Italiane, ed Alcune Scene del Carnevale di Roma. [Bound with] Abhandlung über die Comödie aus dem Stegreif und die Italienischen Masken; nebst einigen Scenen des Römischen Carnevals
Author
Valentini, Francesco
Binding
Quarter Levant Morocco. Cloth boards
Condition
Very Good
Publisher
Ludwig Wilhelm Wittich. [Presso Luigi Guglelmo Wittich]. Printed by A.W.Schade, Berlin: Berlin
Date
1826
Edition
First Edition