Dante Estense: Cod. α.R.4.8 (Ital. 474): Biblioteca Estense Di Modena
Pavone Canavese (Torino): Priuli & Verlucca, 1995
Another limited edition facsimile in the collection, shown here, makes available a copy of the so-called Dante Estense, a significant manuscript housed at the Biblioteca Estense in Modena, Italy. The original dates from the end of the 14th century (likely between 1380 and 1390). The manuscript presents the full text of the Divine Comedy, written in a Gothic script in one vertical column. In addition there are a number of illuminated and colored initials, and colored illustrations of various scenes in the upper margin. Before landing in Modena, the manuscript was for a time housed in France at the Bibliotheque Nationale, as indicated by the seal on the first page. The facsimile volume is accompanied by another volume of scholarly commentary. Vassar’s copy was the gift of Carlo Zuccaro in honor of his wife Bertha Bates Zuccaro, class of 1899.