BOCCACCIO, Giovanni. The Nymphs of Fiesole. Verona: Editiones Officinae Bodoni, 1952.
A superb example of twentieth-century Italian private-press printing and one of the most attractive productions of Giovanni Mardersteig’s Officina Bodoni.
This is Copy No. 36 of only 225 numbered copies, printed by hand in Mardersteig’s Griffo type on handmade Fabriano paper, illustrated with 23 Renaissance woodcuts recut by Fritz Kredel, and preserved in the original publisher’s quarter-vellum binding with patterned boards and slipcase.
The book is recorded as Mardersteig 102 in the standard bibliography of the press.
Auction and dealer records confirm the continued desirability of the edition: examples have sold for $575 at Heritage in 2019, $531.25 at PBA in 2023, and as high as $937.50 at Swann; specialist dealers have priced copies considerably higher.
The Nymphs of Fiesole is the English version of Boccaccio’s Ninfale Fiesolano, the pastoral tale of Africo and Mensola and the legendary origins of Fiesole.
For this edition, Mardersteig used the rare English prose translation by John Goubourne, first printed in London in 1597. The text was edited by R. H. Boothroyd from the sole surviving copy of that edition.
Mardersteig had previously printed an Italian edition of the work and later conceived this English version after locating the extraordinarily rare 1597 translation. Oak Knoll’s bibliographical description likewise notes that the present edition resulted from that discovery and from Mardersteig’s subsequent reworking of the layout and typography.
The volume contains 23 woodcuts after Bartolomeo di Giovanni, derived from illustrations associated with a lost fifteenth-century Florentine edition of the Ninfale Fiesolano.
The surviving designs were gathered from their later appearances in other books and recut in pearwood by Fritz Kredel for this edition.
The edition comprises seven woodcuts traced to material from the earlier edition and sixteen from the 1568 edition, all newly prepared for Mardersteig’s press.
A facsimile of the title page of the 1597 English edition is also included.
Printed by Giovanni Mardersteig in his proprietary Griffo type, on heavy handmade Fabriano paper.
The typography, generous margins, Renaissance-derived illustrations, and handmade paper make this a particularly characteristic Officina Bodoni production: restrained, historically informed, and exceptionally harmonious in design.
Bound in the publisher’s quarter vellum with vellum corner tips over purple patterned paper boards, with gilt lettering to the spine.
The binding was designed by Ugo Zovetti.
Features include:
The edition was also issued with a plain paper dust jacket; that jacket is not present with this copy.
Author: Giovanni Boccaccio
Title: The Nymphs of Fiesole
Original title: Ninfale Fiesolano
Translator: John Goubourne
Editor: R. H. Boothroyd
Printer: Giovanni Mardersteig
Press: Editiones Officinae Bodoni
Place: Verona
Date: 1952
Edition: One of 225 numbered copies
Copy: No. 36
Illustrations: 23 woodcuts after Bartolomeo di Giovanni, recut by Fritz Kredel
Type: Griffo
Paper: Handmade Fabriano
Binding design: Ugo Zovetti
Binding: Publisher’s quarter vellum over patterned boards
Edges: Top edge gilt; fore and lower edges untrimmed
Pagination: xi, [1], 127, [1] pages, plus colophon
Size: Approximately 11¼ × 7½ inches / 28.7 × 19.1 cm
Reference: Mardersteig 102
Near Fine book in the original publisher’s slipcase.
The publisher’s binding remains especially attractive, with only slight natural toning and a few small age spots to the vellum. The patterned boards remain clean and crisp, the vellum corner tips are well preserved, and the gilt spine lettering remains clear.
Internally, the book is exceptionally clean and bright. The heavy handmade Fabriano paper remains fresh, with strong impressions of the woodcuts and excellent contrast throughout.
The limitation page shows only a couple of faint handling marks.
The original slipcase is present, with moderate rubbing, shelf wear, and age toning consistent with its relatively fragile construction, but it remains sound and fully functional.
The plain paper dust jacket originally supplied with some copies is not present.
Please examine the photographs carefully, as they form an integral part of the condition description.
A particularly desirable Officina Bodoni title combining:
Giovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Mardersteig
Officina Bodoni
Fritz Kredel
Bartolomeo di Giovanni
Renaissance woodcut illustration
Griffo typography
Handmade Fabriano paper
Italian private-press printing
Ugo Zovetti binding design
Limited-edition book arts
A beautifully preserved copy of one of the more admired Officina Bodoni productions, No. 36 of only 225 copies, complete with its original publisher’s slipcase.