A COLLECTION OF LETTERS, TALES, SPEECHES AND JOKES BY ANTON FRANCESCO DONI

Doni, Anton Francesco. La zucca del Doni fiorentino. Diuisa in cinque libri di gran valore, sotto titolo di poca consideratione. Il ramo, di chiacchiere, baie, & cicalamenti. I fiori, di passerotti, grilli, & farfalloni. Le foglie, di dicerie, fauole, & sogni. I frutti, acerbi, marci, & maturi. & Il seme; di chimere, & castegli in aria. Espurgata, corretta, e riformata [...] da Ieronimo Gioannini [...]. In Venetia: appresso Girolamo Polo, 1589.

8vo (156x104 mm), original vellum binding, later covered with decorated paper; [40], 279, [3] leaves.
Woodcuts: Polo's device on the title page, featuring the three-headed dog Cerberus, and motto "Vis vincitur arte;" head-pieces; ornamental initials.
Text printed in large italic type; introduction in roman type.

The "Zucca" collects letters, little stories, rumors, discourse, jokes, descriptions, mostly published elsewhere, without a precise compositional structure.

Provenance: Some handwritten ownership inscriptions at title-page, partially deleted.

References: IT\ICCU\CFIE\001155. OCLC, 22013169 (4 in USA, 1 in the Netherlands, 1 in Ireland).

Traces of use to the binding, which is a slightly untight. Tear at leaf 255 (no loss of paper); solings, brownings, and water-stains at many leaves.