With Dante in Modern Florence by Mary Lacy, 1912, Hand Painted Binding

Binding Details:  A beautiful hand painted full vellum binding. The front cover has a brilliant hand colored floral design with the central highlight being the raised gold scales around the Symbol of Florence and raised gold decorations covering the entire front board. The title on the spine is also hand painted. The endpapers have a very nice floral design and the top page edges are gold gilted. A stunning unique binding.

Book Details:  This is the first edition that features a frontispiece and 28 illustrations of Florence that serve to reconstruct the Florence that existed during Dante’s time there to throw light on the influences that lead to the writing of the Divine Comedy. The last chapter is particularly noteworthy. Mary Lacy highlights the efforts by the leaders of Florence to embrace the legacy of Dante whom they treated with indifference while he was a resident.

The book measures 7” x 5” with 252 pages and contains a list of illustrations and an index.

Condition Report:  The binding is in Near FINE condition with the vellum boards having a beautiful patina with minimal soiling. The boards are very slightly splayed which is usual and customary for vellum bindings. Internally the book is clean with some light sporadic foxing and browning to the endpapers. There are a few spots of soiling to the bottom page ends. A small sticker from a Florence bookseller is affixed to the top of the inside cover.

Photographs of the cover, spine, endpapers, and some illustrations from the book appear in the photo section of the listing.