Pietro Bembo. LE PROSE DI M. PIETRO BEMBO, NELLE QUALI SI RAGIONA DELLA VOLGAR LINGUA. Venice: Giacomo Vidali, 1575. Later vellum with brown leather label and gilt lettering on spine. 12mo; *12 **14 A-K12 L10; [52], 258, [2]pp. Woodcut device on title page and colophon, full-page woodcut; printed marginalia. Italic type with roman; text in Italian. Adams B577; Edit16 5085; USTC 813469.

5 1/2 x 3 1/4 in.

From the Collection of Professor Roberto Severino, Washington, D.C.

Pietro Bembo (Italian, 1470-1547) was an important scholar and poet of the Italian Renaissance. His circle included Raphael, one of the most famous artists of the time. Bembo's portrait in the National Gallery, London, painted by the celebrated Venetian artist Titian, was painted after he became cardinal in the late 1530s.

Boards with discoloration and slight warping; loss to tail margin of title page without impact on text; pages toned with occasional stain, marginalia, and underlining; several leaves with light corner damp stain; a good and sound copy of this popular and influential book of 16th-century Italian prose.