A rare edition of Petrarch in a stunning Lyon strapwork binding, combining one of Rouillé’s finest humanist productions with a luxury binding style reminiscent of the great French and Italian collectors of the Renaissance.

PETRARCA, Francesco. Il Petrarca con nuoue, e breui dichiarationi…

In Lione, appresso Guglielmo Rouillio, 1551.

12mo (123 × 78 mm), pp. 576, [32]. Italic type for the poems, roman type for commentary and life. Rouillé’s device on title-page. Includes woodcut double portrait of Petrarch and Laura (a8v) at the opening of the Sonnets, and six medallion woodcuts in the Triumphs, adapted from Giolito’s 1543 edition. The most complete of Rouillé’s Petrarch editions (Graesse).

Binding: A superb contemporary Lyonnaise strapwork binding in dark brown calf, gilt with an intricate symmetrical design of strapwork, arabesques and volutes enclosing a central oval (dry-stamped in slight relief), flanked by gilt monograms “G T”, all within a single gilt-ruled frame. Spine with raised bands, compartments gilt in geometric and organic patterns within single gilt rules; traces of original red paint. Some light cracking at hinges, corners rubbed with minor repairs, but an excellent survival of a mid-16th-century luxury binding in the style of Grolier and Maioli.

Condition: Light staining affecting early leaves; otherwise clean, fresh impressions.

Provenance & Rarity: This style of Lyon binding, executed with gilt strapwork and sometimes later painted or enamelled, was produced by a handful of highly skilled ateliers for wealthy patrons. It reflects the influence of Italian bindings fashionable among collectors such as Jean Grolier and Tommaso Maioli, adapted for the Lyon market by Rouillé’s circle.

Significance: An exemplary production of Guillaume Rouillé (1518–1589), one of the foremost humanist printers in Lyon. Rouillé was both bookseller and publisher, with a Paris branch and his own paper mill. His press specialised in humanist works, including the celebrated emblem books of Alciati. Here Petrarch’s Rime are accompanied by Alessandro Vellutello’s biography and Antonio Brucioli’s extensive commentary, running alongside the poems and offering detailed exposition of the sonnets and canzoni.

References: USTC 847847 (no UK or US copies); Edit16 CNCE 30141; BMSTC Italian 505; Brunet V, 54; Graesse V, 227; Baudrier IX, 175.