Creator
Petrarch.
Title
[Sonetti et Canzoni. Triomphi].
Coverage
Venice
Publisher
Aldus Manutius and Andrea Torresani
Date
August 1514.
Description
The second Aldine edition of Petrarch, following the 1501 imprint shown earlier in the exhibition. The opening page of the text is illuminated with a floral border, the Greek initials “ΙΣ” at the top of the frame, and a blank shield for arms at the bottom. Note the birds to the right of the text, two of which hold golden leaves in their beaks and seem to be pointed at specific lines. Similar marginal miniatures recur sixty times throughout the text of this copy, each bearing a gold leaf and indicating a particular line of text … perhaps favorite verses of an early owner?
Source
From the collection of T. Kimball Brooker.