Giovanni Boccaccio; Antonio Brucioli. IL DECAMERONE DI MESSER GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO CONNUOVE É VARIE FIGURE NUOUAMENTE STAMPATO ET RICORRETTO PER MESSER. ANTONIO BRUCIOLI... Venice: Gabriel iolito di Ferrarii, 1542. 4to; *12 A-Z8 AA-II8 KK4; [272] leaves. Bedford binding; gilt tooled and paneled red morocco with raised bands, gilt title and designs on spine, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt; gilt stamped "BOUND BY F. BEDFORD" to bottom edge of inside front cover. Italic type with roman; text in Italian. Commentaries by Brucioli. Title page with woodcut illustration featuring Boccaccio's portrait and putti, with numerous woodcut illustrations and initials, and Giolito's device on KK4 verso. USTC 814815; EDIT16 6303.

8 x 5 7/8 in.

From the Collection of Professor Roberto Severino, Washington, D.C.

Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari (Italian, ca, 1508-1578) was an important Venetian printer known for publishing books in Italian in order to make them more accessible to readers. This 1542 edition of Il Decamerone follows Giolito's first edition of 1538 and is dedicated to Madalena de Buonaiuti, a noblewoman from Florence who worked in the French court of Catherine de' Medici.
This copy of Il Decamerone was bound by the well-known English bookbinder Francis Bedford (1799-1833) who was celebrated for his elegant bindings that often looked to earlier Venetian styles.

Edgewear to boards, wear and slight cracking at joint; pages very lightly toned, occasional light staining; a clean and very good to near fine copy of this important and rare edition found in only a few institutions worldwide.