2 vols. in 4to (284 x 213 mm). I. vol.: 4ff., XXIV pp., 403 pp., 160 pp. – II. vol.: 3 ff., 245 pp., 1f., 124 pp, 144 pp. – Contemporary light-brown sprinkled calf, covers framed by three fillets round side, in centres the ducal arms of Ferdinand I of Parma; spine raised on five bands, in 2nd and 3rd compartment a red respectively green morocco label gilt lettered, in the others gilt fleuron surrounded by small tools; edges of boards and turn-ins gilt; doublures and endleaves of marbled paper; gilt edges.

Excellent deluxe copy of Bodoni’s early masterpiece in an exquisite armorial binding for Ferdinand I of Bourbon, duke of Parma (r. 1765-1802), by Louis Antoine Laferté, the famous French binder at the Court of Parma (1765-1790). The celebrated typographer, designer and printer Giambattista Bodoni (1740-1813) created a new, classicistic style which made him “il maestro della semplicità”, the object of hyperbolic admiration even in his lifetime. The text in Greek, Latin and Italian is provided with lavish annotations by Maria Pagnini, Carmelite friar, poet and translator.

The superb ducal binding with the characteristic decoration “alla Francese” of gilt flowers on spines and the magnificently marbled end-leaves can, although unsigned, most certainly be attributed to the French binder Louis Antoine Laferté. Paolo Maria Paciaudi, librarian at the Court in Parma, had been charged by Duke Philip of Bourbon-Parma, the father of Ferdinand I, to form the Regia Bibliotheca Parmensis. Unhappy about the previous Italian binders, Paciaudi wanted a “bravo legatore” able to cover beautifully the books of the Royal Library following the librarian’s strict instructions: “I libri alla Francese devono essere: 1o in buona pelle ben tinta e ben macchiata, 2o col dorso dorato, 3o col cartello rosso, 4o colle carte di risguardo marmorate, 5o col nastro verde” (See Gorreri, p. 48). Thus Louis Antoine Laferté was called from Bologna to Parma in 1765, introduced to the ducal court as the “fils du Relieur du Roi de France”, Pierre Antoine Laferté, royal binder in 1762. Louis Antoine opened in Parma a sophisticated workshop, specializing in the art of binding, gilding and in the manufacture of decorative paper until his death in 1790. – The deluxe version (“carta grande”) in the very rare ducal binding by the court binder L. A. Laferté is in excellent condition.

Ref.: Brooks 170: “Gli esemplari in carta grande sono belli”; Brunet V, 786; Graesse VI 115; Silvana Gorreri, Louis Antoine Laferté: legatore francese in Parma, in: Rara Volumina. Rivista di studi sull’editoria di pregio e il libro illustrato, 2/1994, Lucca, M.P. Fazzi editore, pp. 45-64.