1706 Rare Italian Vellum Book - Il Pastor Fido by Giovanni Battista Guarini

Author: Giovanni Battista Guarini.
Title: Il Pastor Fido.
Publisher: Parigi (Paris), Appresso Tomaso Iolly, 1706.
Language: Text in Italian.
Size: 4 x 2.5 inches.
Pages: 256 pages.
Binding: Very good contemporary full vellum binding, spine with manuscript title label “Pastor Fido” and the date “1706” neatly inked at head (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. 
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing or staining - as shown, marbled free endpaper leaves removed - as shown). 
Illustrations: Complete with the engraved frontispiece and 6 additional full-page copper-engraved illustrations, all present and well preserved.

Estimate: (USD 400–500).

The book: This charming miniature-format 1706 Paris edition of Il Pastor Fido presents Guarini’s celebrated pastoral tragicomedy in an elegant and highly collectible pocket size. The drama, set in Arcadia, intertwines themes of love, sacrifice, and prophecy as shepherds and nobles confront the dictates of fate and the trials of constancy in love. The finely engraved plates enhance the theatrical and mythological atmosphere, depicting key moments of emotional tension and pastoral beauty. Such small-format early eighteenth-century editions were designed for private reading and portability, and their survival in contemporary vellum bindings adds to their historical and aesthetic appeal.

The author: Giovanni Battista Guarini (1538–1612) was an Italian poet and diplomat best known for Il Pastor Fido, first published in 1590. The work became one of the most influential pastoral dramas of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods, admired across Europe for its refined language, intricate plot, and blending of tragic and comic elements. Its exploration of idealized rural life and courtly love exerted a lasting influence on literature, opera, and visual arts well into the eighteenth century.