In-folio (39,5 x 27 cm), [8], 665, [2 bl. + 1] pp, woodcut printer's device with the arms of De Medici on title page and on last page, beautiful woodcut initials, small woodcut portrait of the author on A4v, marginal foxing, some lvs age-toned, pages 168-169 heavily soiled. Full vellum binding, morocco title piece on spine
Large paper copy of the first edition. Without the final four books which were only published in 1564. There were numerous other 16th-century editions. Guicciardini's history covers events in the Italian peninsula from 1490 to 1534. As a lawyer and statesman, he worked as a governor in the papal states and represented the Florentine state abroad, and was therefore well placed to understand events beyond his native city. He viewed the death of Lorenzo de' Medici as catastrophic not just for Florence but also for Italy; however he was not himself in favour of the Medici of his own time. Provenance: heraldic bookplate ""nunquam non paratus"" Ref. Edit 16 CNCE 22304
