Anatomy of a Collection Item: Discorsi di Niccolo Machiauelli cittadino et segretario fiorentino sopra la prima deca di Tito Liuio

In this new blog series, ‘Anatomy of a Collection Item,’ Louisa McKenzie takes an in-depth look at some of the books held by the Warburg Institute Library. Today – a sixteenth-century copy of a Machiavelli text with a rather unusual feature. Read on to find out how our copy highlights the fortunes of Machiavelli’s writings after his death, aspects of the printing process, and how Aby Warburg acquired the books that would form the basis of the Library.

The Item

Niccolò Machiavelli, Discorsi di Niccolo Machiauelli cittadino et segretario fiorentino sopra la prima deca di Tito Liuio, Florence 1531. Classmark HNH 3000 (Rare Books Room). 

History of the Text

His name may now have become a byword for cunning and political machinations, but Niccolò Machiavelli was a Florentine diplomat, statesman and writer whose views challenged the political and religious currents of the day. Machiavelli wrote the Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio (or, Discourses on Livy) between 1513 and 1519. By this time, Machiavelli had fallen victim to Florence’s febrile political atmosphere. The statesman had been imprisoned and tortured in 1513, suspected of being involved in a plot against the Medici family, who were newly restored to power. After his release, Machiavelli retreated from political life to the family farm at Sant'Andrea in Percussina, seven miles south of Florence. He soon returned to the city to join a group of like-minded individuals in discussions on literature and politics at the Orti Oricellari, located close to Santa Maria Novella. These gardens were created in the grounds of a house belonging to Bernardo Rucellai, the noted humanist and brother-in-law of Lorenzo ‘Il Magnifico’ de’ Medici, Florence’s ruler in deed but not in name for much of the second half of the fifteenth century. Rucellai's interest in all things humanist led to the growth of an informal literary salon in the house and its grounds. By the time of Machiavelli’s attendance at the salon, the Accademia Neoplatonica, which had been founded in 1462 by the philosopher and humanist Marsilio Ficino, was also meeting in Rucellai's Florentine home. It was in this environment that the idea for the Discourses on Livy took shape. 

The influence on Machiavelli’s work at this time of the intellectual circles meeting in the Orti is clear. He would use the gardens as the setting for one his most famous works, The Art of War, in around 1519-20. One of the two individuals to whom Machiavelli dedicated the Discourses was Cosimo Rucellai, Bernardo’s grandson and Machiavelli’s friend. Cosimo also plays a key role in The Art of War, as one of the interlocuters. Marked by his previous experiences, politics was never far from Machiavelli’s mind in this period. As the full Italian title suggests, the Discourses on Livy are based on the first ten books of Livy’s Ab urbe condita. The ancient Roman historian’s monumental work traces the history of Rome from Aeneas to Drusus. Machiavelli’s work mirrors Livy in being composed of 142 books. In the guise of a commentary on the first ten books of Livy’s work, Machiavelli discusses early Roman history and later periods as a means to assess the merits of a republican government – something with direct relevance to him and his contemporaries: “If someone wished, therefore, to order a republic anew, he would have to examine whether he wished it to expand like Rome in dominion and in power or truly to remain within narrow limits.”[1]

The Publication of the Discourses

The Discourses were not published in Machiavelli’s lifetime, although manuscript copies likely circulated. The text of the Discourses first went into print in 1531 – which is where the Warburg Library’s copy comes in. Found among the rest of our holdings of Machiavelli’s works is one of the earliest printed copies of the Discourses – and it holds quite a surprise. 

After Machiavelli’s death in 1527, there was the Renaissance equivalent of a bidding war over his writing. Two publishers in particular – Antonio Blado d’Asola in Rome and Bernardo di Giunta in Florence – competed to produce the first editions of Machiavelli’s then-unpublished works. This included The Prince, the Florentine Histories, and the Discourses. On 31 August 1531, Blado d’Asola received a papal privilege from Pope Clement VII to publish Machiavelli’s works exclusively for a period of ten years, “Wherefore for ten years they should not print the said works which are about to be printed by the abovementioned Antonio as he is privileged, nor should they dare to put to print, or sell, or have for sale, or should presume to do so, unless express assent is granted to it by the said Antonio.”[2] (Fig. 1) The Discourses is one text explicitly mentioned in this privilege. The privilege’s strict penalties – the destruction of the books and a fine of 25 gold ducats – did not deter Bernardo di Giunta, who cheerfully went about publishing his own versions of the works. By 20th December of the same year, however, Giunta (the firm is now commonly referred to as Giunti) had his own papal indult – extending the privilege granted to Blado d’Asola (Fig. 2). This was partly predicated on Giunta’s assertion that he had permission from the heirs of Machiavelli – something that Blado d’Asola apparently did not: “…you, wherefore, who have the will and consent of the descendants of Niccolò Macchiavelli himself, whose consent the said Antonio at no time ever had.”[3]

This was something of a matter of national pride. Machiavelli was a son of Florence, and Giunta was a Florentine printer. Blado d’Asola, an adopted Roman, was an outsider. Giunta’s dedicatory preface to the edition is full of this sentiment – referring to Machiavelli as ‘our Niccolo’ for example.[4] The papal indult conceding rights to Giunta followed suit: “We, considering it equitable that the books of the said Niccolò be printed both in his Fatherland and also with respect to the will of his descendants.”[5]

Dating Discrepancies

The copy of the Discourses held by the Warburg was published by Giunta on 10 November 1531, a month before the indult and less than a month after Blado d’Asola’s 18th October publication. This date can be found on the colophon (Fig. 3). However, the title page instead contains the date MDXXX, or 1530 (Fig. 4). The discrepancy of one year may well be a printing / typesetting error. Elements present on the title page suggest poor execution. There are small lines near some of the letters, for example the final ‘O’ of the first line (Fig. 5), where ink has been transferred on to the page from the bottom right-hand corner of the letter. Similar lines appear under the three ‘X’s of the date – again indicating a transfer of ink (Fig. 5). It is possible, therefore, that the ‘I’ which was meant to follow MD XXX simply fell out of the frame at the time of printing and that the firm sold the book regardless. The date is not the only error in the book. It is also missing p. 9, instead, having two double-sided blank pages. On these, the missing text has been written neatly in hand (Fig. 6). Another possibility for the errors is that the copy was part of a trial printing run. Another copy which similarly lacks the ‘I’ from the date on the title page can be found in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.[6]

Alternatively, seen in light of the duelling papal privileges obtained by Blado d’Asola and Giunta, it is possible that the mistake may have been a deliberate marketing ploy on the part of Giunta to make it appear that he had published first.[7] This was not unheard of. In fact, a similar scenario may have arisen with one print run of Machiavelli’s Florentine Histories. Some copies published by Giunta are dated 16th March 1532 in the colophon, although both the dedicatory preface of the same copies, and the colophon of additional copies, states 27th March 1532. Antonio Blado d’ Asola had published his version of the Histories on 25th March 1532.[8] In the case of the Discourses, by the November 1531 publication of Giunta’s version, the indult reversing Blado d’Asola’s privilege must have already been in the works. Giunta would have been active in seeking this papal concession – which often cost a printing firm a considerable amount of money. Furthermore, printing was a lengthy process and Giunta’s own version of the text was nearly finished when Blado d’Asola’s appeared.[9] Giunta may, therefore, have felt confident enough to change the date to one which indicated that he was the true guardian of Machiavelli’s printed legacy. This remains, of course, pure speculation. 

The Warburg Copy

Markings on the book held by the Warburg indicate that it entered Aby Warburg’s collection in Hamburg (Fig. 7). We know that it was purchased from Hiersemann (Fig. 8), an antiquarian book firm and one of Warburg’s many regular book suppliers. Although the title page is damaged, you can see the remains of the earliest classification system of Warburg’s books, which employed Roman numerals in the top right corner (Fig. 8). The Warburg Institute Archive holds registers of the books acquired by Aby Warburg from 1905 onwards. A look at these suggests that the weight of probability is that this copy of the Discourses was acquired by Warburg before 1905. 

Date 1531

Publisher Bernardo di Giunta 

Publisher’s logo Florentine lily supported by two putti surmounting a stylised plinth. Initial ‘F’ in the centre of the logo, on a shield on the plinth. The motto ‘NIL CANDIDUS’ or, ‘nothing fairer’.  

Dedication Author to Zanobi Buondelmonti and Cosimo Rucellai. Publisher: to Ottaviano de’ Medici. 

Size / number of pages 155 leaves 

Condition This copy has suffered over the centuries. There is damage from insects, as well as water damage, leading to tears and abrasions. 

Interesting Features Following manuscript tradition, early books often included illuminated or printed initials at the beginning of chapters. In this copy, as in other books of the period, space is left at the beginning of each chapter for the inclusion of an initial letter. However, here none is added. Instead, only the small guide letter remains. This was likely a cost-saving feature as well as an aesthetic one. 

Spine Stickers What do the small, colourful pieces of paper that are found on the spines of some of the Library’s books mean? They are the remains of a colour-coded classification system once in use in the Library. Each colour equals a different letter and the letters in turn refer to the classification of books. The system was described by Gertrude Bing in 1934: “A book on, let us say, the life of Botticelli would have at about one and a half inches from the lower edge three paper slips, one wine red, the second pink, the third dark green; the press-mark would accordingly consist of three letters: C (always standing for wine red), N (for pink), A (for dark green), and a number denoting the books treating of Botticelli’s life only. This comparatively simple press-mark is representative of the entire scheme of arrangement: Colours and letters in their relative and, of course, varying sequence denote a system of classification, the top colour and first letter signifying the department of study (C = Art History), the second the country (N = Italy), and the last one the respective subdivision (e.g. A = painting). Thus, the second colour would reappear in the section on Italian literature, only then headed by a different top colour (e.g. light blue = E = literature)...The coloured slips are to prevent a book from being misplaced, books being ordered by their press-marks only.”[10] In the case of this Machiavelli, the stickers are dark brown, pink and dark brown for HNH. 

Where to Find Further Reading in the Library 

• On Machiavelli:
  • His Writings
  • His Life, Thinking and Influence 
• Orti Oricellari
• History of Printing, General 
• Printing in sixteenth-century Europe, General 
• Papal Privileges for Printing
• Antonio Blado d’Asola - and here 
• Bernardo Giunta/Giunti

References

[1] Niccolò Machiavelli, Discourses on Livy, transl. (English) H. C. Mansfield and N. Tarcov, Chicago 1966, VI. 4, p. 74.