Bembo, Historiae venetae libri XII, Venice, Aldus, 1551, later vellum

Bembo, Pietro. Petri Bembi cardinalis Historiae Venetae libri XII. Venice: (sons of Aldo Manuzio) [for Gualtiero Scoto], 1551

The second state, with the privilege (addressed to Carlo Gualterotti) and the Scoto device on the title-page.

Folio (338 x 230 mm), large paper copy. Roman type, 36 lines plus headline. collation: *⁴ A-Z⁴ a-z⁴ Aa-Ee⁴: 208 leaves. Woodcut device of Scoto on title-page, Aldine device on final verso, woodcut initials. Neat annotations in Italian (resulting in some staining, other occasional light staining, penultimate leaf a little narrower, title-page and final leaf slightly soiled).

binding: Eighteenth-century vellum (347 x 244 mm), red and green morocco lettering-pieces. (New pastedowns.)

provenance: Armorial bookplate of the Lavernette family — extract from a French sale catalogue pasted to inside front cover (possibly this copy as described as completely uncut and with marginal annotations) — Mirabaud-Mercier, Paris, 17 December 2019, lot 197. acquisition: Purchased from Guido Bortolani, Modena, 2022. references: UCLA 420.5; Edit16 5037; Renouard 152/17