4to in 6s. 34, [2] pp., thick paper printed in decorative woodcut borders except final blank. Woodcut head- and tailpieces, footnotes. Bound in contemporary cat’s paw calf with gilt roll boarder and small fleuron at each inner corner, spine ruled in gilt, black endpapers and edges (extremities very lightly rubbed, small stain to front cover).
ONLY EDITION of this account of the proceedings in Cremona following the death of Holy Roman Em- press maria theresa of austria on November 29, 1780, including a letter to the public from bishop Fraganeschi announcing a mass in her honor, and the text of the funeral oration given by the master of ceremony, Torregiani.
On December 19, local bishop Ignazio-Maria Fraganeschi posted a letter to the public making known his plans for a special mass to take place December 22. A detailed description of the setting and ceremony follows: that day, the main gate to the city was draped in black fabric, the bells tolled, and the cathedral was decorated with a mock catafalque and urn of ashes. The ceremony, attended by the elite, began with the singing of the Requiem, followed by Torregiani’s oration, and finally a candlelit procession.
A section title-page introduces the oration, in which Torregiani extolled Maria-Teresa’s religious, charitable, and sensible qualities; and praised the men and women closest to her, among whom the women of her family: Empress Elizabeth of Brunswick, her mother; Maria Carolina, Maria Amalia, and Maria Antonia, i.e., Marie Antoinette of France, her daughters.
OCLC finds just one location in the U.S. (Getty, with a portrait of Maria Theresa by Ferdinando Gregori); ICCU adds just three locations in Italy (Ancona, Cremona, Varese).
Offered by Zoe Abrams Rare Books
$750
To purchase, email zoe@zoethebookseller.com
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