Il Moretto del Pittoni : narrazione encomiastica serio-faceta delle dignissime prerogative, che in lui si attrovavano.
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | Italian |
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In Venezia :
Presso Leonardo Pittoni,
MDCCXIII [1713]
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| Item Description: | Signed at end (p. 67): J.B. Pittonus poeta Venetus; author's name also appears on p. [2]. Printing date precedes name of printer on t.p. Signatures: A-D⁸ E⁴. Printer's device on t.p.; numerous woodcut ill. throughout. Author's and printer's advertisements on p. 70-72. Michael Laird, bookseller, description: Original cartonnage binding. Illustrated with 14 woodcuts (including frontispiece). Splendid account about the life and adventures of Moretto, the beloved dog belonging to the author, Giovanni Battista Pittoni, and his father, the printer of the present volume (Leonardo). This is the account of Moretto's life from a young puppy to his death at the age of 25; Moretto had been blinded by the house cat, which inspired his owners to take even better care of him. For a detailed discussion of the significance of this work, see: Ian Doodley, The Noble Life of Moretto: An 18th-century Venetian Dog (https://blogs.princeton.edu/cotsen/2016/07/the-noble-life-of-moretto-an-18th-century-venetian-dog/). "It's not a children's book, but it could be considered a forerunner of fictional animal autobiographies like Edward A. Kendall's Keeper's Travels in Search of His Master (1799) or Anna Sewell's better known Black Beauty.” Cataloguer's note: While otherwise completely, this copy clearly never contained the final signature E when it left the printer's shop, and it has never been rebound. In fact, it survives exactly as it left the printer's shop 305 years ago, in the same so-called "temporary" drab stiff wrappers. The sewing on the outside of the wrappers is entirely original, and there are no empty stab holes on the spine edge that would indicate some missing string (or a gathering that had been extracted). The cohesive shape of the pastepaper wrappers surrounding the textblock is exactly what we expect; in short, there no evidence to suggest that this copy was sophisticated. |
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| Physical Description: | 72 p. : ill. (woodcuts) ; 18 cm. (8vo) |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |
| Place of Publication: | Italy -- Venice. |