Le terze rime di Dante.

8° (162 x 90 mm). Collation: a-z⁸, A-G⁸, H⁴. [244]. Complete with fol. l2 blank. Italic and roman type. Blank spaces for capitals, with printer guide letters, at the beginning of each cantica. Armorial binding, straight-grain blue morocco over pasteboards. Covers decorated with blind roll, at the centre of both covers gilt coat of arms of the Goldsmit family, with the motto ‘concordia et sedulitate'. Spine with five small raised bands, title and imprint in gilt lettering. Gilt board edges, pastedowns and flyleaves in pink paper, inside dentelles. Pale pink silk bookmark, gilt edges. A very fine copy, titles and headings of each cantica ruled red. The first leaf uniformly browned, a few spots. Slight foxing at the blank margins of some leaves. On the verso of the front flyleaf the pencilled note ‘Bell'esemplare, Frontesp. Titoli c. reglé'.

Provenance: The English banker John Louis Goldsmid (1789-1835; armorial binding. See A Catalogue of the Curious and Valuable Library of John Louis Goldsmid, Esq., London, R. H. Evans, 1815, lot 308, “Dante, Divina Commedia, blue morocco, Aldus. 1502”, for the sum of 4 £ and 18 s. Goldsmit family (armorial binding); Livio Ambrogio collection.

The first Aldine edition of the Commedia, in a fine copy belonging to the first issue, identified by the absence on verso of the last leaf of famous mark with dolphin and anchor.