Scene di vita privata

This first Italian translation would remain the standard reference for later ones, which followed in quick succession given Balzac’s great renown in Italy. It contains the following titles: “La Vendetta” (Vendetta, 1830), “La moglie virtuosa” (La Femme vertueuse, 1830), “I pericoli del mal costume” (Les Dangers de l’inconduite, later Papa Gobseck, 1830), “Il ballo di Sceaux” (Le Bal de Sceaux, 1830), “Gloria e sventura” (Gloire et malheur, later La Maison du Chat-qui-pelote, 1830) and “La pace domestica” (La Paix du ménage, 1830), some titles still following those of the original French edition of 1830, before the author’s later changes.

Its small format, the pink boards and the delicately colored contemporary prints suggest that the publisher intended it for a female readership, Italian women admirers of Balzac.

Only two copies are recorded in Italian collections: the Biblioteca di Arezzo (a copy with only 5 of the 6 volumes, bound in 3 volumes); the Biblioteca Labronica in Livorno (a copy with only 1 of the 6 plates).

Rare and minimal foxing, but a superb copy in its original pink temporary boards.