Dell’imprese di Scipion Bargagli ... alla prima parte, la seconda e la terza nuovamente aggiunte; dove, doppo tutte l’opere cosi scritte a penna, come stampate, ch'egli potuto ha leggendo vedere di coloro, che della materia dell'imprese hanno parlato; della vera natura di quelle si ragiona ...

Venice: Appresso Francesco de’ Francheschi Senese, 1594. Hardcover. Very Good+. 4to (200 x 145mm). [24], 1-573pp [16, tavola] (several misprinted pages detailed on front pastedown as common). Signatures: a(8); b(4); A-Z(8); Aa-Pp(8); Qq(4). Title with engraved circular device with arms of Bargagli and motto “Et propinquiori.” Double-page engraved opening of Emperor Rudolf II and dedicatory full-page emblem with motto, “Et profundissima quaeque.” 138 oblong or oval engravings in text with Latin mottos. Text in roman and italics. 17th-century vellum, spine with label “IMPRESE DEL BARGAGLI” and speckled edges; (title a bit worn with minor mends, some intermittent browning near end, some small gouges to binding, otherwise good). Old library shelfmark excised and affixed to front pastedown: “VIII. H.” Modern armorial bookplate of Bibliotheque I.G. Schorsch on the front flyleaf.

The first book of the Dell’imprese treatise was first published in 1578 (La prima parte dell’imprese by Luca Bonetti in Siena) and then reprinted in 1589. This is a later edition of the second and third part of the treatise, which Scipione Bargagli composed in the 1570s. The work was printed in 1594 with Francesco de’ Franceschi of Venice, together with the author’s oration in praise of the academia (1569) and an address for the death of Alessandro Piccolomini (1579). The imprese device has been defined as a “self-portrait,” highly individualized and usually commissioned to amplify certain qualities about a person. Bargagli’s work on imprese is important in thinking about patronage of images in sixteenth century Italy. It is especially noted that Bargagli devoted a long section in the fourth book to describe imprese made for or commissioned by women. Several of the women highlighted by him were engaged in important literary and intellectual activities of the time, including Lucrezi Gozaga, Iotta Brembata, Ersilia Cortese, Giovanna d’Aragona, and Fulvia Spannocchi. Bargagli explicitly attributes the impresas to these women, addressing their ingenuity, as well as their dignified role in noble society.