Manhattan Rare Book Company

“The Courtier has gone through scores of editions and translations; has exercised a profound influence on European sensibilities; and ranks today as the most representative book of the Renaissance” (George Bull, The Book of the Courtier, Introduction).

“The Courtier depicts the ideal aristocrat, and it has remained the perfect definition of a gentleman ever since. It is an epitome of the highest moral and social ideas of the Italian Renaissance” (Printing and the Mind of Man, 59).

EXTREMELY RARE FIRST EDITION of one of the most influential books in Western civilization. Elegantly printed in folio by the Aldine Press.

“Castiglione, after serving the Sforzas at Milan and the Gonzagas at Mantua, came to the Court of Urbino in 1504. Here Guidobaldo de Montefeltre and his consort Elizabetta Gonzaga were the center of the most brilliant court in Italy, which counted among its members Bembo, Cardinal Bibbiena, Giuliano de’ Medici and many other eminent men. His book is based on his experience of life among these dazzling figures.

“It is written in the form of a discussion between members of the court, such discussions being the most popular literary form of the Renaissance. The virtues and the qualities which the courtier should cultivate form the main content of the book. The fundamental idea that a man should perfect himself by developing all his faculties goes back to Aristotle’s Ethics and many of the Aristotelian virtues reappear—honesty, magnanimity and good manners. The ideal man should also be proficient in arms and games, be a scholar and connoisseur of art; he should avoid all affectation, develop graceful speech and cherish a sense of honour. The relations between the courtier and his prince are discussed and also forms of government. Another section provides similar rules for the conduct of a lady and the book ends with the celebrated pronouncement on platonic love by Bembo.

“This Renaissance ideal of the free development of individual faculties and its rules of civilized behaviour formed a new conception of personal rights and obligations in Europe and each nation produced its own version of the ideal figure: the caballero in Spain, the honnête homme in France and the gentleman in England. Castiglione’s ‘The Courtier’ became the prototype of the genus ‘courtesy book’ published in various forms during the following century, in which rules of behaviour were formulated.

“The book was translated into most European languages and between 1528 and 1616 no less than one hundred and eight editions were published. It has great influence in Spain, where traces of it can be found in Don Quixote, and in France…. But its most potent influence was probably in England. In 1561 Sir Thomas Hoby published an English translation which became one of the most popular books of the Elizabethan age. Its influence can be seen frequently in Shakespeare—particularly Polonius—Spenser, Ben Jonson, Sir Philip Sidney and Robert Burton… Its conversational form had a great impact on the development of English drama and comedy… In spite of the changes in the character of courts during the eighteenth century and the great attack launched on the conception of the ‘courtier’ by the French Revolution, the ideal of the ‘gentleman’ still fortunately survives” (PMM 59).

Venice: Aldus, 1528 (April). Folio, twentieth-century full burgundy crushed morocco, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Complete with scarce Aldine anchor leaf. Small repair to margin of one leaf (likely paper flaw) not affecting text. Text extremely well-preserved with only very mild occasional foxing. A beautiful copy. SCARCE.

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