A COLLECTION OF ARCHITECTURAL ENGRAVINGS BY NELLI SHOWING THE CATTEDRALE METROPOLITANA OF FLORENCE

Nelli, Giovanni Battista Clemente. La metropolitana fiorentina illustrata. Firenze: presso Giuseppe Molini e Comp., all'insegna di Dante, 1820.

in-4to; 288x214 mm; full percaline brown cloth binding, with blind-stamped decorations, five-bands spine, gilt title ("Il Duomo di Firenze") at spine, marbled paper at end-papers, sprinkled coloured edges; pp. VII, (1 b.), 76, (2), XXXVIII tab.; title-page in black types with a little engraved Dante's portrait. The Authors' names are in the dedication and in the appendix [Nelli, Giovanni Battista Clemente (1725-1793); Molini, Giuseppe (1772-1856); Del Rosso, Giuseppe (1760-1831)]. The text is in Italian.

First edition of a collection of architectural engravings by Nelli showing the Cattedrale Metropolitana di Santa Maria del Fiore of Florence ("Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower"), also known as the Duomo di Firenze (the main church of Florence). The thirty-eight engravings show bas-reliefs, monuments, architectural plans and views of the Cathedral.
The architectural part of the text is taken principally from that of Giovanni Batista Clemente Nelli published in 1755, and the plates copied and reduced from those of Bernardo Sgrilli.

Provenance: Ex libris on a label glued to the front inside cover, with a coat of arms, a crown of a Count or a Countess, a rampant lion and a hippogriff, and the name: M.A. G-du Plessis.
Probably it could belong to Marie Duplessis, born Alphonsine Rose Plessis (15 January 1824 - 3 February 1847), a French courtesan and mistress to a number of prominent and wealthy men. She was the inspiration for Marguerite Gautier, the main character of La Dame aux Camelias by Alexandre Dumas the younger, one of Duplessis' lovers. She was briefly married to at least one of her lovers: a French nobleman, Count Edouard de Perregaux.

References: IT\ICCU\RMSE\002104 (15 copies). OCLC, 562877060 (2 copies in UK), 165786024 (3 copies in Switzerland) and 475114777 (1 copy in Denmark).

Occasional presence of foxing. A very good copy.