14th Century Literature

Firenze: Presso Gius. Molili E Comp. All' insegna di Dante, 1820. Full morocco, 5 1/2 inches tall. A stunning little volume in a richly gilt smooth back bound in the early 19th century. Engraved title page and frontispiece. From the library of Alfred de Rothschild and with his bookplate. A pristine copy of this great 14th century series of short stories, in the original Italian.

London: Henry Colburn, 1841. 2 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A handsome set bound in full calf by Hayday with gilt raised bands, gilt and inked pallets and twin labels to the panels and twin gilt and a single blind fillet framing the boards. 2 portraits, 2 plates of 'Coins relating to the Age of Petrarch' and a sepia view of 'Fountain of Vaucluse and Castle of the Bishop of Cavaillon'. Bookplate on the reverse of the free endpaper of volume I. Some scuffing and scratching but overall a fine set of this life of Francesco Petrarca, scholar and poet of early 14th century Renaissance Italy.

Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1910. Full calf, 7 1/2 inches tall. A fine binding in pristine condition with gilt raised bands, label and superb gilt tooling to the panels. The gilt embossed stamp of Marlborough College is framed within gilt twin fillets on the upper board. There is the prize bookplate of Marlborough College, dated 1912, on the paste down end paper. Double column. A neat copy of the complete works of the greatest English poet of the 14th century.