A Masterful Poem

A Masterful Poem

The life of poet Torquato Tasso (1544–1595) was far from easy. Sixteenth-century Italy had little of the cultural openness of the previous century: the Counter-Reformation cast a stifling shadow over art and science, a challenging climate for a brilliant mind with a difficult temperament.

Tasso spent time in confinement due to supposed madness and had frequent clashes with his patrons, the d’Este family, the art-loving rulers of Ferrara. In 1581, Tasso completed the masterpiece that would make him famous: Gerusalemme Liberata. This long poem recounts the events of the First Crusade (1096–99), blending historical episodes with elements of fiction and fantasy. We meet the chivalrous knight Rinaldo and the enchanting sorceress Armida, the tragic romantic Tancredi and his great love Clorinda.

The poem has appeared in numerous editions and has had a profound influence. Composers such as Monteverdi and Handel, as well as many lesser-known names, drew inspiration from it for their operas and musical works.

A Remarkable Edition

The name Bodoni is familiar to many, if only because a typeface by that name is found on nearly every computer. Giambattista Bodoni (1746–1813) was, in his own time, a celebrated typographer, type designer, and printer. He created so many fonts that his widow was able to dedicate an entire monumental volume to his work. His original materials are still preserved in Parma, where Bodoni served as director of the ducal printing house.

He was fortunate to work at a time when it became fashionable for royal courts to publish books, with little concern for cost. Prestige was what mattered. Thanks to that fashion, we now have a legacy of stunningly produced books, including those printed by Bodoni.

An extraordinary copy

One such treasure was discovered in the estate of Wilma Schumacher: a monumental two-volume edition of Tasso’s Gerusalemme Liberata. It is a rare copy. Instead of the lavish binding one might expect, it has a simple paper wrapper. The pages are untrimmed, with rough edges. And that’s precisely what makes this copy so exceptional. Here, we see the book as it left the printer’s workshop — ready for the buyer to have it bound to their taste. Only 130 copies of this edition were printed, making it a highly sought-after and valuable book.

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