FERRETTI, Marco Antonio. Mirinda favola pastorale. Venice: Domenico Venturati. 1613.
4to. Contemporary vellum, spine lettered and ruled in gilt; pp. viii, 152, [8], pagination including engraved title-page and 5 full-page engraved illustrations by Giacomo Lauro after P. Gaia, woodcut initials and tailpieces; binding minimally spotted; occasional light foxing but generally a very good copy.
First edition, very rare, of this late Renaissance Italian pastoral drama, set in Greek antiquity on the island of Crete, and illustrated with five full-page engravings by Giacomo Lauro (1561-after 1635).
Mirinda was first performed in Parma in 1612. Its author, Count Marco Antonio Ferretti (1589-1629) of Ancona, was a member of the Parma Accademia degli Innominati, where he was known by the name Rugginoso (“the Rusty One”). Ferretti also published a collection of madrigals, the play Nenia, and the long poem Gli horti del sole (1621), dedicated to Federico, Prince of Urbino.
The volume is dedicated to Giulia Orsini, second wife of Lotario Conti, Duke of Poli (d. 1635), whose engraved coat of arms appears on the title-page.
In some copies, the engraved title is undated and lacks the imprint year “1613”.
Very rare outside Italy: Library Hub shows Trinity College, Cambridge only.
#2101438