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LA DIVINA COMMEDIA.
(Milan: Co' Tipi di Luigi Mussi, 1809). 570 x 380 mm. (22 1/2 x 15"). Three volumes. No. V OF EIGHT COPIES ON LIGHT BLUE PAPER, from a total edition of 72 copies, THIS COPY PRINTED FOR DUKE ALBERT OF SAXE-TESCHEN.
MAGNIFICENT RED STRAIGHT-GRAIN MOROCCO, GILT AND INLAID IN THE NEOCLASSICAL STYLE, BY GEORG FRIEDRICH KRAUSS (unsigned, but identifiable by the distinctive tools) FOR PRINCE ALBERT CASIMIR, DUKE OF SAXE-TESCHEN, covers with multiple frames of inlaid strips of green morocco and gilt rolls (among these Krauss' bead, ribbon-and-flower, and Greek key rolls), flame-petalled flowers at corners, double raised bands separated by green morocco inlaid strip with metope-and-pentaglyph gilt roll, spines gilt in compartments with starburst centerpiece containing an inlaid green morocco medallion with the duke's initials, two green morocco labels, gilt-rolled turn-ins, light blue watered silk endleaves bordered by gilt ribbon-and-flower roll, oblique floral tool at corners, all edges gilt. A Large Paper Copy. Limitations page with ink signature and red wax seal of publisher Luigi Mussi; verso of front free endpaper of first volume with morocco bookplate of Michel Wittock; verso of front free endpaper of all volumes with Saxe-Teschen's small paper library shelf label. Brunet II, 506-507; Graesse II, 331. ◆Mild fading to green morocco labels, corners lightly rubbed and a couple a bit bumped, upper cover of first volume with a small cluster of shallow indentations, lower cover of third volume with a couple of minor scratches, intermittent light blooms of foxing (due to acidity of paper), more common in first volume, a little darker on half a dozen leaves, isolated tiny rust spots, but A VERY FINE SET, the majestic bindings well preserved, the contents clean and fresh, with enormous margins.
This rare deluxe issue of what Brunet and Graesse agree is a "beautiful edition" of the "Divine Comedy" was spectacularly bound for the renowned bibliophile Prince Albert Casimir of Saxony, Duke of Teschen, by his favored binder, Viennese master Georg Friedrich Krauss (fl. 1791-1824), the most prominent continental binder working in the Neoclassical style of the day. The son of Friedrich August II of Saxony and the son-in-law of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, Saxe-Teschen (1738-1822) amassed a library of some 25,000 volumes that aligned with his devotion to the ideals of the Enlightenment. It included works by all the major authors prized by 18th century intellectuals, from Greek and Latin classics to the works of Shakespeare, Machiavelli, and Adam Smith. Many of the literary works were fine printings from illustrious presses like Bodoni and Didot, and a number of these elegant folio volumes were bound, as here, in the Neoclassical style by Krauss, employing his distinctive roll tools and the sunburst cypher he created for Saxe-Teschen. (For two other works currently in our inventory that exhibit similar Krauss bindings, see the 1796 Juvenal and the spectacular and massive Macklin Bible of 1800-16.) Publisher Luigi Mussi's grand folio issue of Dante features beautiful typography and tasteful layout with majestic margins; 62 copies were printed on imperial paper, eight on blue paper, and two on other specially made papers. Mussi, who also issued deluxe printings of Machiavelli and Ovid, inscribed and sealed the limitations page, which notes that the copy was designated for Saxe-Teschen. Our luxurious volumes, in every way fit for a nobleman, became part of an outstanding collection, distinguished by the highest taste and most exacting standards, that remained intact until 1919. Ours is the only complete set of this edition to appear at auction since 1975, selling in 2004 for £38,240 (about $70,631) all in. (Lhi21151)
Price: $75,000.00