PETRONI (Stefano Egidio). La Napoleonide. Parigi, dai torchi - Lot 19

PETRONI (Stefano Egidio). La Napoleonide. Parigi, dai torchi di P. Didot il magg[iore], 1813. In-8, red morocco, smooth spine cloisonné and decorated with gilt fleurons and rings with geometric frieze at tail, gilt foral frieze framing boards with gilt coat of arms in center (period binding). xxiv-550-(2) pp. printed in Italian and French; binding worn and stained, upper endpapers and title leaf detached, marginal tears to leaves 35*4 and 564, small angular wetness to last leaves. PARTLY ORIGINAL EDITION dedicated to Empress Marie-Louise, printed on wove paper. A poetic suite originally printed by the French printing house in Naples in 1809, which subsequently underwent deletions, additions and amendments for a bilingual edition begun in 1811 but left unfinished. The present 1813 edition presents for the first time the complete revised version of the Italian text. It also includes, printed in French, a general introduction and notes on the medals by the writer Joseph Lavallée, also head of division at the Grand Chancellery of the Legion of Honor, and, printed in Italian, notes on the text by the doctor and man of letters Antonio Pitaro. 100 ODES TO CELEBRATE THE GREAT STAGES OF NAPOLEON I'S LIFE: this veritable Aeneid or modern Henriad runs from his early youth in Brienne to the Polish campaign, culminating in the peace of Tilsit. UN MEDAILLIER DE LA GLOIRE: ILLUSTRATION OF 101 ENGRAVED MEDALS ON COPPER IN THE TEXT: one on the title (portrait of the emperor) and 100 at the head of each of the odes, captioned on the engraving in Latin, and below in French and Italian typography. They were engraved by Tommaso Piroli after drawings by Benoît Pécheux. It seems that some copies, such as that of Queen Hortense, also include a portrait by Petroni. It should also be noted that these engravings are entirely different from those illustrating the 1809 edition, and that they began to be executed for the unfinished bilingual edition of 1811. POET, PHILOLOGIST AND PEDAGOGIST, LE PERE STEFANO EGIDIO PETRONI (1770-1837) was a native of the province of Perugia, and, having embraced the new ideas, favored French action in Italy. He seems to have turned his attention to England, publishing a poem in 1814 on the naval actions of the English monarchy. He also published an Italian-English-French dictionary, and Italian translations of La Fontaine and Lesage. EXEMPLAIRE EN MAROQUIN AUX ARMES DE NAPOLEON Ier (OHR, pl. n° 2652, fer n° 12).