Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) - photo 1
Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) - photo 2
Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) - photo 3

Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375)

Starting price
£ 3 000
Auction dateClassic
09.12.2020 00:00UTC +01:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
United Kingdom, London
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 470242
Lot 159 | Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375)
Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375)

Il Decamerone. 1757-1761

BOCCACCIO, Giovanni (1313-1375). Il Decamerone. 'Londra' [Paris]: n.p. [Ranieri & Giovanni Antonio de' Calzabigi and François Gerbault], 1757 [-1761].



'One of the masterpieces of the illustrated book' (Ray). Some of the finest illustrators of their day contributed to this Decameron, including Eisen, Boucher, and Cochin, but it is rightly considered Gravelot’s masterpiece: more than two-thirds of the plates and all of the tailpieces are by him. The same publishers issued a French translation in the same year, but 'the earlier Italian text has better impressions of the illustrations' (Ray). Cohen-de Ricci 158-160; Ray, French, 15.



Five volumes, octavo (205 x 125mm). 116 engraved plates, including the portrait of Boccaccio and five frontispieces, most by Le Mire after Gravelot, many with a printed mark on the verso in the lower margin, engraved head- and tail-pieces throughout (first frontispiece cut-down and mounted, occasional faint and insignificant browning). Contemporary French red morocco with flat spines gilt in compartments, sides with triple gilt fillet border with small corner fleurons, gilt edges and turn-ins, marbled endpapers; housed in two modern cloth boxes. Provenance: Maire (contemporary Lyon bookseller's letterpress label on front pastedown in vol. I).

Category:Book
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
09.12.2020 – 09.12.2020
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.