LIFE AND TIMES OF FRANCESCO SFORZA DUKE OF MILAN. With a Preliminary Sketch of the History of Italy

Edinburgh & London Wm. Blackwood, 1852. Thick 8vo. (8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches), two vols bound in one. Brownish red oasis niger with a double gilt fillet border on the covers; spine with five raised bands and detailed gilt tooling in the compartments. Slight rubbing at the top of the spine; all edges marbled; bookplate: R. Kenneth Cock.The Sforza family ruled in the second half of the fifteenth century at Milan. From their obscure origins as soldiers of fortune they established themselves as a princely house and one of the leading powers of Italy. Among those noted for their cultivation of the arts were Francesco Sforza (1401-1466) and his son Lodovico Sforza (1451-1508), both Dukes of Milan. It was Lodovico who gained further prominence through the employment of Leonardo da Vinci. A comprehensive history derived from early sources. MOROCCO BOUND TWO VOLUMES IN ONE