Florence, Italy, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, MS Banco Rari 229 (olim Magliabechi XIX.59)
Provenance:
1. Alessandro Braccesi (or Bracci) (b. 1445, d. 1503), Florentine notary and humanist; probably made for him before 1493, the date by which his father Rinaldo was dead: coat of arms of Braccesi family with a label of cadency (f. iv verso); 2. in the Gaddi library (begun by Angelo di Zanobi Gaddi (d. 1474); 3. sold by Gasparo Gaddi in 1755: included in the 1755 sale catalogue (Florence, Archivio di Stato, Archivio della Reggenza, Busta 55, fasc. 724-25) as cod. 1024; 4. purchased with the Gaddi library by Francis I (Francis Stephen), Grand Duke of Tuscany and Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1708, d. 1865) and donated by him to the Biblioteca Magliabechiana: his bookplate recording the donation: 'Francisci Caesaris Augusti Munificientia' (pasted inside the front cover); 5. the Biblioteca Magliabechiana, which in 1861 formed the core of the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale: bookplate with the former shelfmark 'Magl. XIX. 59' and a note 'Provenienza Gaddi no. 1024' (pasted inside the front cover).
Bindings:
1492-1493 ,
Florence, Italy
brown
leather over
wood
Decoration: covers decorated with blind tooled floral and geometric ornaments; gauffered edges
gilt edges
Endpapers: front and back: 3 endpapers with pastedown
The binding was rebacked but preserved the original front and back covers with traces of clasps and corner pieces. A modern label on the spine carries the title 'Sonate di vari autori'