Bibliotheca Maphaei Pinellii Veneti magno jam studio collecta, a Jacopo Morellio... descripta et annotationibus illustrata. Tomus primus [-sextus]

6 volumes, 8vo (230x156 mm). Maffeo Pinelli's portrait as a frontispiece (engraved by Francesco Bartolozzi), LIV, 377, (3 blank) pp.; V, 468 pp.; IV, 367, (1 blank) pp. and 1 folding plate (specimen of the Pinelli's papyrus); LVI, 471, (1 blank) pp.; VIII (the first is a blank), 360 pp. with V engraved plates; XVI, 365, (3 blank) pp. The last three volumes are in Italian: La libreria già raccolta con grande studio dal signor Maffeo Pinelli veneziano, descritta e con annotazioni illustrata da don Jacopo Morelli. Contemporary marbled cardboards with lettering-piece on spines. A beautiful uncut copy.
FIRST EDITION, privately printed and edited by Jacopo Morelli, the librarian of the Marciana Library, of the catalogue of the celebrated Maffeo Pinelli's book collection, one of the most significant in Europe. The catalogue was published with the purpose of selling the library, which was actually purchased soon after, for £6000, from Maffeo's heirs by the British bookseller James Edwards together with his partners Robson and Clarke to be sold at auction in London. The sale took place in two sessions in 1789 and 1790.
Pinelli's is one of the most important Italian private library catalogues ever published. Vols. 1-3 contains classical and oriental books (7953 titles); vols. 3-4 Italian literature, manuscripts, incunables, French, English and Spanish books, books on vellum, medals, etc. (overall 4610 items). The final volume provides the essential indexes.
Maffeo Pinelli was born into a wealthy family, whose members for almost two centuries were the official Ducal printers to the Republic of Venice. Beside the family business, Maffeo assembled in his life a valuable collection of coins, medals, books, prints, statues and paintings that were put up for sale after his death in 1585. In the same year, his fellow student and friend Jacopo Morelli compiled the catalogue of the paintings (Catalogo di quadri raccolti dal fu Signor Maffeo Pinelli ed ora posti in vendita, Venezia 1785) and, upon request of Maffeo's stepfather, Daniele Zanchi, the catalogue of the library (cf. L. Borean & S. Mason, Il collezionismo d'arte a Venezia. Il Settecento, a Venice, 2009, p. 289).
“Ce catalogue est un des meilleurs qui existent, tant par la valeur et le nombre des ouvrages curieux qui le composent, que par la manière dont il est redigé, et par les notes savants dont l'a enrichi le célèbre M. Morelli. Maphée Pinelli, directeur de l'imprimerie ducale à Venise, avoit l'une des plus belles bibliothèques de l'Europe” (Peignot, p. 118).
Catalogo unico, IT\ICCU\TO0E\006958; Cicogna, 4380; De Ricci, p. 89.