Pel solenne battesimo di S.A.R. Ludovico Principe primogenito di Parma tenuto al sacro fonte da Sua Maesta Cristianissima; e dalla Reale Principessa delle Austrie. Iscrizioni esotiche a caratteri novellamente incisi e fusi

Parma: Reale Stamperia di Parma, 1774. First. hardcover. fine. A Rare Specimen of Bodoni's Exotic Types

[2], 50 pages. Slim 4to, red textured boards with brown calf spine, stamped in gilt. Parma: Reale Stamperia di Parma, 1774. First edition. A fine copy of this very scarce book. OCLC locates only 20 institutional copies worldwide.

Bodoni's first attempt to display his exotic characters. The Duchess had given birth to a son, Ludovico, in July 1773, an event that offered Bodoni the perfect opportunity to create a gorgeous presentation book for the baby's baptism. --Brooks No. 50. This scarce and beautiful example of Bodoni's early (truncated) work displays 20 specimens of exotic types ranging from "Hebraica" to "Punica." In Printing Types (II, 166), D.B. Updike noted that "apart from the charming little specimen of 1771, this is Bodoni's first attempt to display his exotic characters," for which he was to become renowned. (Inventory #: 328512)