Catalogue Number 7 - Susanne Schulz-Falster

change value, its importance for commerce and trade, and the inXuence of
scarcity and supply and demand in the establishment of a price. However,
he warns that monetary value and monetary riches are not the only aim in
life. In individual chapters he discusses the inXuence of talent, courage,
knowledge, and also government and climate on the active pursuit of riches.
A further chapter deals with indirect measures such as frugality, and individual
virtues such as honesty, constancy, and perseverance. He concludes
that the pursuit of riches activates mostly positive ambition in individuals.
However, the use and defence of riches brings less attractive features to the
fore, such as luxury, avarice and ostentation.
Magnanima’s work is bound with a collection of essays by Carmeli.
(Dissertazioni. Padova, Stamperia del Seminario, 1756. pp. [viii], 56).
Goldsmiths’–Kress 11232.9; not in Einaudi; NUC, RLIN and OCLC list just the
Harvard copy.
In Defence of Brothels
46 [MANDEVILLE, Bernard.] Venus La populaire ou Apologie
des Maison de Joye. .. Traduite de l’Anglois. A Londres [?The
Netherlands.], chez A Moore, 1727. £ 750
8vo, pp. xii, 130; uncut in the original marbled boards, spine lettered in
manuscript, spine a little chipped and some wear to head and tail; title
lightly browned, else very clean and crisp.
Rare Wrst edition in French of Mandeville’s ironic defence of brothels, in the
manner of his earlier Fable of the Bees and anticipating Swift’s Modest Proposal.
The original was published in 1724 under the title A Modest Defence of
Publick Stews: or, an Essay upon Whoring, with the preface signed ‘Phil-
Pornix’. This work is a further expression of his pragmatic approach to morality,
Wrst displayed in the Fable of the Bees, and here applied to prostitution.
Again he uses paradox and wilful exaggeration to make his point, and eventually
recommends governmental regulation of brothels and prostitution.
In this work Mandeville states his utilitarianism most succinctly and
shows himself a clear fore-runner of the nineteenth century utilitarian
movement: ‘it is the grossest absurdity, and a perfect contradiction in terms,
to assert, that a government may not commit Evil that good may come of it;
for, if a publick Act, taking in all its Consequences, really produces a greater
quantity of good, it must, and ought to be term’d a good act’ (Kaye, p. lx).
ESTC t115816; Kaye I xxxi.
47 [MARCELLO, Benedetto.] Il Teatro alla Moda, o sia Metodo
sicuro, e facile per ben comporre, & esequire l’Opere Italiane in
Musica all’uso moderno, nel quale si danno Avvertimenti utili, e
necessarij a Poeti, Compositori di Musica, Musici dell’uno, e
dell’altro sesso, Impresari, Suonatori, Ingegneri, e Pittori di Scene,
susanne schulz-falster rare books catalogue seven
Parti buVe, Sarti, Paggi, Comparse, Suggeritori, Copisti, Protettori,
e Madri di Virtuose, & altre Persone appartenenti al Teatro. . .
Stampato ne Borghi di Belisania per Aldiviva Ligante. . . [1720].
£1200
8vo, pp. 64; Wnely engraved emblematic title page vignette, decorated
initials; title a little dust-soiled; contemporary full vellum, re-cased with
new endpapers provided; a Wne copy.
First edition, very rare, of this witty commentary on the Italian opera scene
during the late Baroque period. To draw attention to declining standards
in opera production, especially in the opera buVa, Marcello gives a satirical
account of the various professions involved in the production of an opera
and maintains that in fact none of them need to be trained professionals at
all. One by one he assesses composers, librettists, singers and soloists,
musicians, stage designers, dress-makers, and Wnally the all-important
Wgure of the young diva’s mother. No need for the composer to know the
classic principles of musical composition, so long as he produces catchy
tunes. In the same vein, all other professionals are described as cutting corners
and producing what is no longer a work of art, but instead merely a
popular show. Marcello attacks stupidity and laziness in opera, and maintains
that the audience treat it as a social occasion to be seen at, without
having any real interest in music. Marcello (1686–1739), a Venetian aristocrat,
fuses his satire with elements of true parody and caricature. His
acute observations and timeless criticism of popular opera tradition ring
true still today.
In an ironic twist Marcello’s satire in itself became part of the musical
tradition. Both Metastasio’s Didone abbandonata and Goldoni’s La Cantatrice
take their main character from Marcello’s description of the constantly
interfering diva’s mother.
The false imprint is in fact composed of the names of famous singers of
the time. The satire was very popular, and was reprinted not quite every
year, as indicated on the title page, but in 1733 and 1735.
Uncommon, NUC, RLIN and OCLC locate copies at Yale, Harvard, the University
of Chicago and the Getty Library.