Trattato del Giuoco della Palla di messer Antonio Scaino da Salò, diviso in Tre Parti...
“Trattato” on title within a cartouche of scrollwork, woodcut printer’s device on title, six double-page woodcuts (collation as in Mortimer), & another woodcut printer’s device on verso of final leaf. 16 p.l., 315, [3] pp. Small 8vo, 18th-cent. Italian mottled sheep (a bit of browning), flat spine gilt, red leather lettering piece on spine. Venice: G. Giolito, 1555.
First edition of the earliest work on the game of tennis; this is a fine copy of a most uncommon book. In this work, Scaino not only describes the game but, for the first time, codifies the rules, sets the standard court... More