Rome, Ant. Blado, 1553,
In quarto. Illustrations, 4 preliminary leaves; 70 leaves; 1 leaf. Bound in full red jansenist morocco, spine with raised bands, gilt fillets on the edges, inner gilt dentelles, gilt edges; minimal restorations without loss to two plates. 19th-century binding signed by Chambolle-Duru.
225 x 171 mm.
Extremely rare first edition.
A beautiful edition, highly sought after because of the illustrations, which are in the style of the school of Marc-Antoine. There are two large illustrations, one at the beginning of the book and the other before the “dialogo.” The book contains 55 fencing figures, and on the frontispiece, the author’s portrait. This book, which was often sold for 10 or 12 francs, is more expensive today; it even fetched up to 170 francs at the Riva sale in 1856, which is considered excessive. Jos. Molini owned a copy with an inscription by Tasso stating that the figures were engraved by Michelangelo Buonarroti. The Venice editions by Pinagetto (1568) and Roberto (1608), both in quartos with illustrations, are less beautiful and cheaper than the Rome edition.
“In addition to the interest this treatise on ancient fencing offers, the bibliophile will notice the engravings, which are in the style of the Marc-Antoine school. Another interesting aspect of this work for us is that it was consulted by Saint-Didier, whose treatise was published in France twenty years later” (Vigeant).
First edition of this beautifully illustrated, very important early fencing-treatise, by the highly educated author who introduced a practicle reduction in the number of guards to only 4, and who was the first swordsman to have advocated the almost sole use of the point of the sword. “Seventeen years after the first appearance of Marozzo’s system of fencing, the printer Antonio Blado published in Rome (.) a remarkable work on swordsmanship, which advocated some very bold and new principles. () Agrippa is better known to biography as architect, mathematician, and engineer, in which capacity he wrote sundry books. He is especially celebrated for having brought to a successful issue the operation of raising the needle in the middle of the Piazza di San Pietro. (.) Agrippa devoted much of his time to practice in the schools of fence. Not being a teacher, he was not shackled by any conventions, and accordingly the book is original and much in advance of the popular notions of his days.” (Castle). The fine illustrations have been attributed to i.a. Michelangelo (a friend of the author) and to Jan van der Straat. The immense popularity of the author is depicted in one of the full-page illustration : it shows Agrippa surrounded by friends from Venice and Rome, the Venetians dragging him away, the Romans trying to retain him in Rome.
A PRECIOUS AND BEAUTIFUL COPY OF THIS PRECIOUS AND RARE VOLUME.
Ref. En Garde 26 ; Thimm p. 3f ; Pardoel 15; Vigeant p.23f ; Castle, Schools and masters of fence p. XXV and p. 45 ; Cockle 745 ; Lipperheide 2948 ; Harvard, Italian, 6.
