Susanne Schulz-Falster Catalogue Eighteen - International League ...

Basedow’s Educational Philosophy
10. BASEDOW, Johann Bernhard. Die ganze natürliche Weisheit
im Privatstande der gesitteten Bürger. Altona, Spieringk, [Halle,
Curte], [1768]. £1,250
8vo, pp. xxiv, 184 (pp. 169–175 supplement bound at end); occasional
browning and spotting; contemporary pale blue boards, rebacked and
recornered.
First edition (second issue, with revised preface dated 1771), uncommon,
of Basedow’s fundamental outline of his philosophy, the ethos he hoped
instil in his pupils through education. In sixty-six concise chapters, meant
for adolescents or young adults, he combines natural piety with loyalty to
the state, social responsibility, tolerance, but also, the right to one’s own
opinion.
In 1768 of Basedow’s had published his first significant work on
education, his privately published ‘Appeal to the friends of mankind about
schools, with a plan for an elementary book on human knowledge’, in which he
advocated non-sectarian, practical instruction by the play method. This
‘appeal’ aroused great interest and led to the foundation of his model school
in Dessau called the Philanthropin. On the strength of receiving support
(and funding) for this project, he apparently rewrote the preface to this
publication and identifies it as one of the elementary textbooks.
Overall Basedow’s educational principles were in stark contrast to the
traditional pedantic school methods, and he attracted a wide following,
amongst them Campe, Gutsmuth, Salzman etc.
OCLC: University of Illinois and Cape Town only outside of Germany.
Illustrated Fairy Tales for Children
11. [BASILE, Giambattista.] Il conto de’ conti trattenimento a’
fanciulli trasportato dalla napoletana all’italiana favella, ed adornato
di bellissime figure. Naples, Gennaro Migliaccio, 1784. £2,200
12mo, pp. 264, title within printed border, with charming title
woodcut, with 51 woodcuts (45 x 70 mm) in the text, and woodcut
endpieces; printed on cheap paper, lightly browned; a few running
headlines shaved; H2 verso, lacking 6 lines of the text, due to printing
fault; contemporary full calf, flat spine gilt, gilt-lettered spine labels,
chipped, extremities a little rubbed; with modern bookplate by A. Cid
to front pastedown; a good copy.
Rare Italian translation of this popular collection of fairy tales, originally
published in Neapolitan dialect, and illustrated with charming naive
woodcuts. First published in 1634, Giambattista Basile’s (1575–1632)
Cunto de li cunti is in fact the oldest and most complete Italian fairy-tale
collection, and was praised as such by the brothers Grimm just as much
as Benedetto Croce. It consists of a collection of fifty tales told by ten old
susanne schulz-falster rare books catalogue eighteen
hags in the course of five days, which explains the popular title Pentamerone.
Most of the stories are based in the oral tradition, and some of the most
familiar folk tales, such as Cinderella, Puss in Boots, Beauty and the Beast are
included.
The first edition of this anonymous translation had appeared in 1747,
was reprinted in 1754, 1769, and, as here, in 1784.
See Vinciana 3549; very uncommon, OCLC records copies at Glasgow and
Cornell for 1747 edition, BL for 1754, Weimar for 1769, and Weimar for this
1784 edition.
Early Study of the Book Trade
12. BATTAGLINI, Angelo. Dissertazione accademica sul
commercio degli antichi e moderni libraj recitata nella generale
adunanza tenuta nella Sala del Serbatojo d’ Arcadia il di 7. settembre
1786. Rome, Gio. Zempel, 1787. £1,600
8vo, pp. 61, [1] errata, [1] imprint, [1] blank; title printed in red and
black, with fine engraved title vignette by Giordano; printed on heavy
paper; a little spotted; early nineteenth century wrappers, spine lettered
in ink.
First edition of this early history of the trade in books, both in classical
and modern times. Battaglini (1759–1842), cleric, writer and editor, was
drawing on his library research and especially his study of codices when
compiling this study. He later became second custos of the Vatican library,
under Marini, and was closely involved in the question of restitution of
confiscated medieval manuscripts.
Battaglini comments on the earliest book dealers, who were in fact copyists
or employed them to supply the texts requested. Not much appears to have
changed, Battaglini cites unhappy authors at Roman times, who complain
about incompetent scribes and unrealistic prices, similar to later complaints
about badly-printed books or shoddy editing. He comments on book trade