The Two First Centuries of Florentine History: the Republic and Parties at the Time of Dante, by Professor Pasquale Villari. Translated from the Italian by Linda Villari. Published in 1895 by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, and T. Fisher Unwin, London. Hardcover, two volumes. Volume 1 is 365 pages long; volume 2 is 299 pages (including an index and a separately paginated commentary on the 13th century chronicle attributed to Brunettto Latini).

Professor Villari's two-volume work investigates the manner in which the Florentine republic was formed, the nature of its constitution, the reasons for its continual change, the origins of the factions by which the city was torn, and the reasons why Florence fostered such exceptional achievements in the fine arts and letters. He also makes use of the then-nascent science of archaeology. The volumes close at the period of Dante Alighieri (1265-1321).

The ink signature of the original owner, Jennie F. Waddington, appears on the half-title page of each volume. Internet research shows that Jennie Fonda Waddington resided in New Jersey and lived from 1865 to 1947.

Apart from Ms. Waddington's signature, the interior pages look clean. The covers have a few scuffs, but look pretty good for almost 130 years old. The seam on the inside of the cover of volume 1 has split; however, the cover is attached to the book by cloth netting and continues to function.

This set would be a terrific gift for anyone who has lived, worked, or studied in Florence.

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Our father was a bibliophile who collected rare books, letters, and ephemera for more than 60 years. For now and into the foreseeable future, we will be listing rare paper items from his estate.

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