The Novels of Matteo Bandello. by BANDELLO, Matteo

London: The Villon Society, 1890. 6 volume set, 7 1/2 inches tall. In a very smart half crushed morocco with raised bands and neat gilt framed panels, gilt top edges, the remainder untrimmed. This is the first English complete set of the novels, or novellas, of this extraordinary 16th century Italian writer on whose stories several of Shakespeare's plays were based, most famously, 'Much Ado about Nothing', 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'Twelfth Night'. This work was published in a small edition on hand-made paper by Private Subscription and for Private Circulation only owing to the sexually explicit and outrageous nature of the tales. The set is not numbered. A splendid and scarce set.