The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio (Il Boccaccio): Now first completely done into English Prose and Verse by John Payne
London: The Aldus Society, 1901.
Limited Edition. Hardcover.
#82 of a limited edition set of one thousand copies. Privately Printed for Members of the Aldus Society. With twenty full-page illustrations.
John Payne's classic translation of Boccaccio's 14th century masterpiece, The Decameron. The year is 1348, the Black Death is on the rise. Ten young Italians escape plague-infested Florence and retreat to the countryside. There, they each tell other ten stories - romantic, tragic, comic, and farcical - over a ten-day period (a decameron) celebrating medieval life.
Item #9016225-1/2 x 7-7/8", three-quarter maroon calf over marbled boards, raised spine bands, gilt titles and decoration to spine, marbled endpapers, top-edges gilt, deckled fore- and bottom-edges, xii, vii, 616pp, frontis. with tissue guard and nine additional illustrations each volume.
Cracking to endpaper hinges, wear to edges of marbled boards, tight, clean of owner's marks, very good, an attractive set.
Price: $200.00