1997

BD -- Literature and Literary Studies


An RREO Original Review

Libri di poesia [Books of Poetry]. Ed. Italo Pantani. Milano: Bibliografica, 1996. xxiii, 488 p. 29 cm. (Biblia: La biblioteca volgare, 1) ISBN 887075757X: Lit. 200,000

A group of Italian Renaissance scholars meeting in 1984 came to the conclusion that their field needed a more systematic inventory of early Italian printed books. From this consensus emerged a proposal for compiling a complete short-title catalog of everything published either in Italy or in Italian from 1465 through 1600.

The first volume in the resulting catalog has now appeared, and it sets the highest of standards. If its promise is fulfilled by the rest of the project, the bibliography will do for early Italian publications what Pollard and Redgrave did for the English. Indeed, many scholars may come to feel that its organization makes the new catalog an even more effective catalyst for future research than the original STC. Instead of producing a continuous alphabetical catalog from A to Z, the editors have opted for a series of catalogs by genre which together will inventory the entire universe of the early Italian book.

The general series is called "Biblia: La biblioteca de libro Italiano antico." It will consist of twenty volumes subdivided into four broad disciplinary areas. The first, "La biblioteca volgare," will comprise seven catalogs devoted to creative writing in Italian, the first of which, "Libri di poesia," is reviewed here. The other titles will cover narrative poetry in ottava rima, chivalry books, theater, miscellaneous prose, and music (in two volumes, "Libri per musica" and "La poesia in musica"). The second series will consist of "La biblioteca umanistica," whose four volumes will catalog editions of classical literature, schoolbooks and manuals ("I libri dei maestri e della scuola"), and neo-Latin poetry and prose. The third series, "La biblioteca religiosa," will inventory the field from editions of the Church Fathers and devotional and sacred books to works in theology, liturgy, and so on, in six volumes. The last series, "La biblioteca delle professioni," in three volumes, will cover law, philosophy, medicine, and science.

The poetry volume lists 5,270 entries from 1470 (Petrarch’s Trionfi [Venice]—the only entry for the year) to 1600. The arrangement is alphabetical by author and then chronological within each writer’s publications. Although this is notionally a short-title catalog, extreme care has been taken in reproducing as much of the title as possible when it is descriptive of the content and nature of the book. The entries also have short annotations which may describe the poetic form or provide content information ("Comprende il commento di Francesco Filelfo" [includes Francesco Filelfo’s commentary] on Petrarch’s 1476 Bologna edition of the Canzoniere). Sometimes the annotation provides interesting information of publishing history. Machiavelli’s first book of poetry, Decennale (1506) was soon pirated by Antonio Tubini and Andrea Ghirlandi, in an edition described here as a "contraffazione immediatamente sequestrat" [pirated edition that was seized immediately]. Curiously, the same printers published another edition in March 1506 or shortly thereafter, this time a "Riedizione rivista, e autorizzata della contraffazione" [authorized reivision of the pirated edition]!

One particularly welcome feature, essential given the series’ novel arrangement, is its four cross-indexes (chronological index; index of secondary authors; of printers, typographers and booksellers; and of place of publication). These permit the bibliographic record to be used for a much wider range of scholarly inquiries than a typical work of this type: in addition to the various disciplines and literary genres, it lends itself readily to questions about the history of printing and publishing, economic and social history, and intellectual trends within the Italian Renaissance as a whole.

A project of such near exhaustive scope requires the consultation of the major printed bibliographic sources and library catalogs, as well as the collaboration of a number of libraries. All the entries have been verified against the holdings of all the Italian state libraries, the major municipal, university, and diocesan libraries, and, of course, the Vatican library, some 101 institutions in all. Each entry carries the source institution which verified or provided that bibliographic record. When a particular edition could not be verified, the printed bibliographic source is cited. Finally, one should mentio that two institutions having related ongoing projects provided valuable records to Biblia. The British Library made available the tapes of its Incunabula Short-Title Catalog, to be published on CD-ROM. The Istituto centrale per il catalogo unico in Rome (ICCU), which is publishing its own catalog of sixteenth century imprints, Le edizioni italiane del 16 secolo: censimento (A through C—four volumes—so far), has put its card catalogs at the disposal of the editors of what can only be described as a major publishing event.

Frank Di Trolio, University of Florida

97-1/2-123

Der Literarisierungsprozeß der Volksaufklärung des späten 18. und frühen 19. Jahrhunderts: dargestellt anhand der Volksschriften von Schlosser, Rochow, Becker, Salzmann und Hebel; mit einer aktualisierten Bibliographie der Volksaufklärungsschriften [The Literarization of the People's Enlightenment . . . ]. Annegret Völpel. Frankfurt am Main [et al.]: Lang, 1996. 439 p. 21 cm. (Europäische Hochschulschriften: Reihe 1, Deutsche Sprache und Literatur, 1568). Originally: Frankfurt (Main), Univ., Diss., 1994. "Bibliographie zur Volksaufklärungsliteratur," p. 341-402. ISBN 3-631-48802-5: DM 108.00

Although containing material pertinent to fields such as ethnography, history of education, agriculture, medicine and journalism, Völpel's study focuses primarily on the literary aspects of works written to educate the masses during the "people's enlightenment" movement of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Focusing specifically on literature for children and young adults, Völpel investigates how writers such as Schlosser, Rochow, Zacharias, Salzmann, and Hebel used literary processes and techniques to make educational materials accessible and appealing to the less well-educated public. In addition, Völpel's work reviews the theoretical discussion that accompanied the education for the masses initiative.

Völpel's study includes an extensive two-part bibliography of over 800 titles on the literature of the popular enlightenment and its preferred formats (non-fiction books, newspapers, magazines, etc.). One part contains a listing of works (meant for children or inhabitants of rural areas) that integrated literary elements (narratives, dialogs, songs, etc.) as a means of communicating educational content; the other provides a listing of theoretical writings on the "education for the masses" movement. Unfortunately, for most titles only the edition used by the author herself is given, and no effort was made to trace later editions and reprintings that would have provided insight into the reception history of the writings of the popular enlightenment. It should be noted that a projected three-volume bio-bibliography on the eople's enlightenment (compiled by the reviewer) is being published under the title Volksaufklärung: Biobibliographisches Handbuch . . . (Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt: Frommann-Holzboog, 1990- ). [hob/jb]

97-1/2-132

Literaturwissenschaftliches Lexikon: Grundbegriffe der Germanistik [Dictionary of Literary Criticism: Basic Concepts of German Literary Studies]. Ed. Horst Brunner and Rainer Moritz. Berlin: Erich Schmidt, 1997. 372 p. 24 cm. ISBN 3-503-03745-4: DM 44.80

There seems to be quite a demand for dictionaries of literary terms these days: see, for example, the volumes of the Literaturlexikon: Autoren und Werke deutscher Sprache edited by Volker Meid (RREO 94-3/4-444) and the Fischer-Lexikon Literatur (RREO 96-4-445). This lexicon contains some 150 jargon-free articles on broad topics relating to German Studies-periods, genres, theories, etc. Instead of brief entries on the anecdote, riddle, or joke, the summary article on "literary short formats," for example, integrates information on these and other important formats that belong in this category. An index provides access to terms that do not have their own entry. Unfortunately, the bibliography is restricted to the recent monographic literature, and title entries provide only minimal information. However, the unique approach taken and its low price make this an attractive and affordable reference work, especially for students. [hak/jb]

97-1/2-133

Carl Gottlob Cramer: Verzeichnis der selbständig erschienenen Werke [Carl Gottlob Cramer: Index of Separately Published Works]. Michael Olderdißen. Bielefeld: Granier, 1994. 108 p. 24 cm. ISBN 3-9801672-4-0: DM 98.00

In his day, Carl Gottlob Cramer was a widely-read author of romances and Gothic fiction. This exemplary bibliography is particularly useful because so much of Cramer's work was pseudonymously published. It is also most helpful that Olderdißen has tracked down library holdings information on many of these titles as well as providing information on adaptations of Cramer's works. [hak/jb]

97-1/2-134

Goethe in the History of Science. Ed. Frederick Amrine. New York; Bern [et al.]: Lang. 24 cm. (Studies in Modern German Literature,...)

Vol. 1. Bibliography, 1776–1949. 1996. xii, 465 p. (Studies in Modern German Literature, 29) ISBN 0-8204-1076-4: $64.95

Vol. 2. Bibliography, 1950–1990. 1996. 464 p. (Studies in Modern German Literature, 30) ISBN 0-8204-1077-2: $64.95

Interest in Goethe's relationship to the natural sciences has increased in recent years. Amrine's two-volume bibliography offers a comprehensive listing of relevant materials beginning with the first publications in this area by Goethe and his contemporaries and extending into the present.

Carefully researched and based largely on personal examination of materials included, Amrine's work covers all publication formats, including reviews. The wealth of material covered is overwhelming-in fact, that is the major criticism of this work. A certain amount of selectivity would have been advisable (e.g., limiting entries to works by Goethe and the associated secondary literature; forgoing separate entries for prefaces, postscripts and individual essays in books; a more judicious, less repetitious handling of works by Goethe's contemporaries marginally related to the central theme). Organization by year provides the proper framework for tracing the origin, reception, and research of Goethe's natural scientific writings.

Eleven different alphabetical indices at the end of volume two provide access to the entries. Among these are an index of Goethe's writings in the natural sciences, an index to translations of these writings, an author index (the largest), and a subject index. The large number of individual indices is, again, too much of a good thing.

Despite the high demands this bibliography makes on the user, it is an excellent collation of materials detailing Goethe's involvement and influence in the natural sciences. [ss/jb]

97-1/2-135

Goethes Leben von Tag zu Tag: eine dokumentarische Chronik [Goethe's Life Day by Day: A Documentary Chronology]. Angelika Reimann. Zürich: Artemis-Verlag. 24 cm. Vols. 1–5 ed. Robert Steiger, vol. 6 ed. Robert Steiger and Angelika Reimann

Vol. 8. 1828–1832. 1996. 619 p. ISBN 3-7608-2738-1: DM 168.00

The goal of this multi-volume "documentary chronicle" is to integrate all important sources of biographical information about Goethe. Dates, factual information, excerpts from Goethe's letters, diaries, as well as his conversations with others, together with an explanation and commentary, make this a reference work rich in information.

What is entirely new here is the precise rendering of each day as Goethe experienced and reflected upon it. Thus, the actual historical date of an event is not the deciding factor in the location of the entry, but rather the date on which Goethe became aware of an event. For example, the death of Goethe's son in Rome on October 26, 1830 is treated under November 10, 1830—the day on which Goethe was informed of it. The result is a work of sometimes fascinating immediacy.

This approach has the drawback of making it sometimes difficult to trace the exact historical chronology of an event Another problem is the lack of overarching divisions, years or similar periods, as well as the sheer amount of information, particularly in Volume 8, which covers the last four years of Goethe's life. This was an intense time of activity devoted to editions of his work, completion of other significant works (Faust II), and visitors, conversations, and correspondence. Also, explanations of names and obscure passages, enclosed in square brackets and inserted into the flow of the entry, often cause the reader to lose track of the main topic.

The index volume, still to be published, will present numerous challenges to the editors which will be of critical importance to the use of this exhaustive reference work by scholars. [ss/jb]

97-1/2-136

Goethe-Handbuch: in vier Bänden [Goethe Handbook: In Four Volumes]. Ed. Bernd Witte . . . Stuttgart; Weimar: Metzler. 25 cm. ISBN 3-476-00923-8

Vol. 1. Gedichte [Poems]. Ed. Regine Otto and Bernd Witte. 1996. xviii, 571 p. ill. ISBN 3-476-01443-6: DM 198.00, DM 168.00 (subscription price)

Bd. 2. Dramen [Dramas]. Ed. Theo Buck. 1996. x, 553 p. ill. ISBN 3-476-01444-4: DM 198.00, DM 168.00 (subscription price)

This four-volume Goethe handbook is the third to have been published by Metzler Verlag. The first (1916-1918) was edited by Julius Zeitler and appeared in two volumes. The second, edited by Alfred Zastrau, was never finished (volume 1 only, 1961). This edition will be completed by the 250th anniversary of Goethe's birth in 1999. It provides an introduction to Goethe's works and the ensuing scholarship by offering a combination of survey articles and interpretations of individuals works. Volume 1 focuses on Goethe's poetry, Volume 2 on his dramatic works, Volume 3 on prose works, while Volume 4 will provide biographical information. Arrangement of articles is from the general to the specific, i.e., from an overview of Goethe's lyrical or dramatic works to a more detailed analysis of selected poems, plays or specific periods or subgenres.

This reference work is characterized by its focus on the text itself, eschewing the "objectivity" of traditional reference works and offering instead interpretations that are honestly subjective, though also balanced. The bibliographic information serves as a starting point for further study. The inevitable shortcomings are inevitable given the selection of a few works for close attention from among many, and the stylistic and methodological unevenness stemming from the multiplicity of contributors (over 200). Indices in each volume provide access to Goethe's works and to individuals mentioned in the articles. No cumulative index is planned. Once completed, the Goethe-Handbuch is sure to become an indispensable reference work not only for Goethe scholars, but also for researchers in other areas, students, teachers, journalists, as well as avid readers of Goethe in general. [ss/jb]

97-1/2-138

Bibliographie der Werke Ernst Jüngers [Bibliography of Ernst Jünger's Works]. Horst Mühleisen. New, expanded ed. Stuttgart: Cotta, 1996. 350 p. 22 cm. (Veröffentlichungen der Deutschen Schillergesellschaft, 47) ISBN 3-7681-9803-0: DM 178.00

A revision and continuation of Des Coudres and Mühleisen's Bibliographie der Werke Ernst Jüngers, (1985), this work represents a complete and reliable compilation of the works of the controversial writer Ernst Jünger, now close to celebrating his one hundredth birthday. It contains 1262 arranged in seven categories: complete works; individual works; edited works; contributions to books and serials; documents; translations; and addendum. Coverage is through 1995. A useful twenty page timetable is included. Unfortunately the 120 post-1985 entries are simply appended rather than integrated with the earlier entries. The indexing is superficial, providing access by title, periodical title, and personal names. Access to translations is provided only by references to entry numbers from the entry for the work in its original title. The most significant deficiency is that republications in collections, anthologies, newspapers and magazines have been omitted, which is unfortunate given the usefulness of such sources in assessing Jünger's ambiguous relationship to the Nazis. Under the circumstances this work is overpriced. [mb/ab]

97-1/2-141

Die Thomas-Mann-Literatur: Bibliographie der Kritik. Klaus W. Jonas and Helmut Koopmann. Frankfurt am Main: Klostermann. 23 cm. Vols. 1–2, 1956–75 (1979) published by Verlag E. Schmidt, Berlin

Vol. 3. 1976-94 (1997). xliii, 614 p. ISBN 3-465-02847-3: DM 198.00

This third volume of Klaus W. Jonas's indispensable analytical bibliography of Thomas Mann criticism continues to meet the high standards of the first two volumes, although the publisher has changed. More than 6,000 consecutively numbered entries are arranged alphabetically within each publication year and are indexed by author, work, subject, and periodical title. The introduction provides an overview of the activities of the Thomas Mann colloquia during the time period covered. Sadly, more than 300 citations of publications from Eastern Europe and Asia were omitted due to space considerations, and the index is not cumulative as in past volumes. Should anyone wonder about Helmut Koopman's name on the title page: be advised that this is merely a legal recognition of the support granted by the University of Augsburg. [hak/ab]

 97-1/2-142

Conrad-Ferdinand-Meyer-Bibliographie. U. Henry Gerlach. Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1994. 319 p. 25 cm. ISBN 3-484-10699-9: DM 162.00

This complete bibliography of works by and about the Swiss writer Conrad Ferdinand Meyer fills a long recognized gap in the field. The section on primary works comprises 900 entries for collected and selected works, mixed writings, individual works, and letters. 1,600 entries representing secondary publications of all varieties and in all languages are arranged in 15 categories, including standard reference works, bibliographies, research reports, and a section on creative works inspired by Meyer. Citations are based on examination unless otherwise noted. Indexes are by author, editor, and topic. The reviewer notes some inconsistencies in the citation of authors' names and objects to the use of MLA style. [hak/ab]

97-1/2-143

Bibliographie Heiner Müller. Ingo Schmidt and Florian Vaßen. Bielefeld: Aisthesis-Verlag (Bibliographien zur deutschen Literaturgeschichte, 3)

Vols. 2–3. 1993–1995, with supplements and index for vols. 1–2. 1996. 400 p. ISBN 3-89528-151-4: DM 78.00

Objections leveled at the earlier volume of this bibliography on the great, recently deceased German playwright Heiner Müller (see RREO 94-3/4-453) must be reiterated for volume two. New to this volume is an eighth section of primary literature: radio plays, libretti, recordings, and scores. Every last bit of text is squeezed onto the unacceptably crowded pages of this poorly executed work. If it is a necessary acquisition, it is only because no better alternative is available. [hak/ab]

97-1/2-145

Hauptwerke der österreichischen Literatur: Einzeldarstellungen und Interpretationen [Major Works of Austrian Literature: Summaries and Interpretations]. Ed. Ernst Fischer. München: Kindler, 1997. xxvi, 646 p. 25 cm. ISBN 3-463-40304-8: DM 49.80

This extract from the huge compendium of plot summaries and mini-interpretations, Kindlers neues Literatur-Lexikon, presents the entries for Austrian authors rearranged to fit eight literary-historical categories. This would be a redundant purchase for libraries that own the complete twenty-volume set. [gr/ab]

97-1/2-150

Bibliografie van het Nederlandstalig narratief fictioneel proza 1701–1800 = A Bibliography of Prose Fiction Written in or Translated into Dutch (1701–1800). Ed. J. Mateboer. Nieuwkoop: De Graaf, 1996. xix, 576 p. ill. 25 cm. (Bibliotheca bibliographica Neerlandica, 31) ISBN 90-6004-426-6: Hfl. 225.00

This bibliography is the second in what had been a projected set of three volumes, intended to comprise prose fiction written in, or translated into, Dutch from 1670 to 1830. (The first volume was published in 1988 under the title Bibliografie van het Nederlandstalig narratief fictioneel proza 1670–1700.) It is a worthy but overly ambitious project for the personnel resources that were available: works in this volume are entered by short title only (as opposed to full entries in the volume covering 1670 to 1700), and publication of the final volume, for the period 1801 to 1830, has been cancelled altogether. The current volume lists 1,798 titles in 2,100 entries and provides numerous indexes, allowing access via date, place, publisher, author, other contributors. There is also an index by original language of translations (with translations from French being the most numerous), though sub-listings under author would have been desirable. [sh/mjc]

97-1/2-152

Dictionnaire des lettres françaises [Dictionary of French Literature]. Ed. Cardinal Georges Grente. Paris: Fayard. 24 cm

Le XVIIe siècle [The Seventeenth Century]. Original ed. Albert Pauphilet, completely revised by Emmanuel Bury. 1996. lxiv, 1278 p. ISBN 2-213-59435-X: FF 390.00

Le XVIIIe siècle [The Eighteenth Century]. Revised by François Moureau. 1995. lxvi, 1371 p. ISBN 2-213-59543-7: FF 390.00

This revised and updated edition of the volumes of the venerable Grente, covering the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, is not up to the standard of the first volume, which deals with the Middle Ages (RREO 96-2/3-250). Although it claims to be "completely revised and updated," the changes are fairly minimal, expecially in the eighteenth century volume (bringing the citations up-to-date and correcting errors from the first edition.) As in the original edition of 1960, the proportion of entries for clerics is surprisingly high. Unfortunately this new edition does not provide a revision thorough enough to justify purchase if a library already owns the original. One should rather spend the money on other French literary dictionaries. [bk/mjc]

97-1/2-153

Roland Barthes. Gilles Philippe. Paris; Roma: Éditions Memini, 1996. 246 p. 24 cm + 1 diskette. (Bibliographie des écrivains français, 3) (Bibliographica) ISBN 88-86609-04-3: FF 295.00, Lit. 90.000

The third in the series Bibliographie des écrivains français, this bibliography of the semiologist Roland Barthes is astonishingly comprehensive, focusing on the secondary literature, dissertations, and a selection of reviews of his theoretical publications. Barthes's own writings are so extensively listed in the three volume edition of his complete works published by Éditions du Seuil (Oeuvres Completes, 1993– ) that it was not thought necessary to list them again here. Separate chapters are dedicated to each of Barthes's book-length works, along with entries for the secondary literature pertaining to that work. Annotations are very brief. There are numerous indexes. [bk/mjc]

7-1/2-154

Jean de La Bruyère. Marc Escola. Paris; Roma: Éditions Memini, 1996. 201 p. 24 cm. (Bibliographie des écrivains français, 5) (Bibliographica) ISBN 88-86609-06-X: FF 290.00, Lit. 90.000

The fifth in the series Bibliographie des écrivains français, this work fills a gap in bibliographic resources, as it is the first comprehensive monographic bibliography of La Bruyère (although it does not attempt completeness, listing, for example, "only" the fifty most important editions of his works). It includes not only published works, but also those in preparation and is recommended for both its currency and scope, indeed for the fact that a good La Bruyère bibliography finally exists at all. [bk/mjc]

  • An RREO Original Review

    Dictionnaire de Jean-Jacques Rousseau . Ed. Raymond Trousson and Frédéric Eigeldinger. Paris: Champion, 1996. 961 p. 24 cm. (Dictionnaires et Références, 1) ISBN 2-8520-3604-5.

  • The sheer number of critical works published on Jean-Jacques Rousseau was the stated impetus behind this dictionary. As an example of the state of Rousseau scholarship, the editors cite the recent bibliography by Guiseppe Roggerone and Pia Vergine (RREO 96-2/3-256), which encompasses over 5,000 books and articles published between 1941 and 1990. Such a number understandably creates panic in the hearts of Rousseau students and scholars, and alphabetical dictionaries to his life and work provide some measure of control over this huge amount of secondary literature. Trousson and Eigeldinger's is the second Rousseau dictionary to be published. N.J.H. Dent's A Rousseau Dictionary, published in Blackwell's series Philosopher Dictionaries (1992), covers about 100 topics written in English, most of them on philosophical issues. Trousson and Eigeldinger, with the collaboration of an international team of close to one hundred scholars, some well known, others just beginning their career, have included some 700 entries, written in French and signed by the scholars, on Rousseau's works, on the people who influenced him, the significant places in his life, and on the themes in his work-this last category the most difficult to delimit and to treat.

    The entries could be described as review articles. They are comprehensive and well written, with plentiful cross-references. Brief bibliographies follow each entry and, as a bonus, give locations for manuscripts of Rousseau's works. While the range of topics in this new French dictionary is much greater, there are some, such as "vanity" and "sexuality," which are dealt with in Dent's dictionary but not in Trousson and Eigeldinger's. (See also the following IFB review of the same work.)

    Eva Sartori, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    97-1/2-155

    Dictionnaire de Jean-Jacques Rousseau [Rousseau dictionary]. Ed. Raymond Trousson and Frédéric S. Eigeldinger. Paris: Champion, 1996. 961 p. 24 cm. (Dictionnaires & références, 1). ISBN 2-85203-604-5: FF 480.00.

    97-1/2-156

    A Rousseau Dictionary. N. J. H. Dent. Oxford [et al.]: Blackwell, 1992. vii, 279 p. 23 cm. (The Blackwell Philosopher Dictionaries) ISBN 0-631-17568-7 (hbk.) (out of print): ISBN 0-631-17569-5 (pbk.): £15.99

    The Dictionnaire is a comprehensive encyclopedia that strives to present all facets of the life, work, and thought of Rousseau, though "comprehensive" is a relative term in the context of an author as protean as Rousseau. The ca. 700 articles cover four general areas (his writings-with a good deal of excellent biographical information-people, places, and over 200 subject entries). It contrasts with the Rousseau dictionary, which limits its focus to Rousseau as a philosopher in shorter, more summary articles and offers less commentary on the texts themselves. With the appearance of the Dictionnaire, the Rousseau Dictionary becomes superfluous. Because of the broad spectrum of its coverage and the quality of its bibliographic apparatus, the Dictionnaire is a decidedly useful entrée into the life and work of this important thinker. (See also the immediately preceding RRE original review of Dictionnaire de Jean-Jacques Rousseau.) [bk/mjc]

    97-1/2-157

    La letteratura italiana del Novecento: repertorio delle prime edizioni [Italian Literature of the Nineteenth Century: Catalog of First Editions]. Lucio Gambetti and Franco Vezzosi. Genova: Graphos, 1997. 527 p. 21 cm. Lit. 88,000 (Graphos, Campetto 4, I-16123 Genova)

    97-1/2-158

    Prime edizioni del Novecento letterario italiano: (narratori e poeti); manuale di bibliografia pratica [First Editions of Nineteenth Century Italian Literature: Prose Writers and Poets; A Practical Bibliographic Handbook]. Renato Spaducci. Roma: Il Calamaio, 1995. 312 p. 21 cm. Lit. 50,000 (Il Calamaio, Via B. Orero 35, I-00159 Roma, Fax [39 6] 438 40 95)  

    Of these two catalogs of twentieth-century Italian first editions, the Gambetti/Vezzosi work is superior. According to the foreword, it treats 709 Italian poets, prose authors and critics born between ca. 1850 and 1950. The bibliographical information supplied is brief: title, author(s), place of publication and publisher. Illustrations and illustrators are also noted when applicable. Edition size is indicated for limited editions, while later editions are listed in footnotes. The editorial cutoff date was applied differently to different authors, and the foreword provides no insight into the relationship between titles actually examined and those taken from the secondary literature and publishers' catalogs. The extensive list of secondary literature indicates its importance for the compilation.

    This catalog will be the standard for a long time to come. Compared with it, the Spaducci volume cannot measure up, not only because its coverage is limited to twentieth century belles lettres, but also because the bibliographical information supplied is sparse indeed, providing as it does only year of publication, title, place of publication and publisher. The Spaducci volume is also less complete in its coverage than Gambetti/Vanzzosi. [sh/sbd]


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