Vasari, Ragionamenti, Florence, 1588, later tree calf

VASARI, GIORGIO. Ragionamenti del sig. cavaliere Giorgio Vasari pittore et architetto aretino. Sopra le inventioni da lui dipinte in Firenze nel palazzo di loro altezze serenissime. Con lo illustriss. e eccellentiss. signor don Francesco Medici allora principe di Firenze. Insieme con la inventione della pittura da lui cominciata nella Cupola. Con due tavole, una delle cose piu notabili, et l'altra delli huomini illustri, che sono ritratti e nominati in quest'opera. Florence: Filippo Giunta, 1588

FIRST EDITION of Vasari's account of his own paintings commissioned by Cosimo de' Medici for the Palazzo Vecchio, published posthumously by his nephew (Vasari died in 1574). Written in the form of a dialogue between Vasari and the dedicatee, Francesco de' Medici, this is one of only a very few sixteenth-century texts in which the artist himself discusses his choice of subjects and their representation.

4to (229 x 156 mm). Roman type, 42 lines plus headline. Collation: π⁴ A-L⁸ M-O⁴ P²: 16 leaves. Woodcut devices to title-page and above colophon, woodcut initials, full-page woodcut author portrait to π4v. (Some spotting.)

Binding: Eighteenth-century Italian tree calf (229 x 156 mm), thin gilt floral border, flat spine gilt with red morocco label, plain edges. (Lower joint split, foot of spine chipped, extremities rubbed.)

Provenance: I. San Roman, bookplate, with his note in Spanish on verso of title describing edition. Acquisition: Purchased in 1989 from Leona Rostenberg, New York. References: Edit16 28801; Pettas, Giunti 636