Add MS 8510

RELAZIONE OF THE GRASCIA; mid 18th cent (see watermark on f. v: coat-of-arms, similar to Heawood, no. 803: Subiaco 1761-1763). Italian. Copy. Anonymous Relazione of the Grascia, the board in charge of the quality and price of provisions in the Papal territories. Title (f. 1) 'Raccolta delle notizie più particolarità che riguardano la Presidenza della Grascia / Tomo unico', inc. (f. 2) 'La Presidenza della Grascia è di un'autorità grandissima', expl. (f. 89) 'e i prezzi non solo si sostenevano, ma si diminuivano ancora'. Followed (ff. 90-102v) by two registers of stocks of lambs, and (ff. 103-106) by a contemporary table of contents. Owned by Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford, but lacking his armorial bookplate. '62' in pencil in top left corner of front pastedown. Purchased, together with Add. 8359, 8372, 8463, 8552, 8563, 8568, 8572, 8625, 8672, and 8807, from R. H. Evans, 8 Dec. 1830, lot 62 (part).

Paper; ff. 106+v. Old foliation in ink '1-96' (ff. 2-97). 270 x 195mm. One Italian hand. Quarter binding of light brown leather with gilt-tooled spine and decorated paper covers over pasteboards. Decorated papers with the same xylographic pattern were frequently used on 18th-cent. Roman bindings; see P. Quilici, Carte decorate nella legatoria del '700 dalle raccolte della Biblioteca Casanatense (Rome, 1988), no. 2, p. 56.