RAZZI (Silvano). Vite di quattro huomini illustri : M. Farinata Uberti, Gualtieri duca d'Atene, M. Salvestro de' Medici, e Cosimo il vecchio. Florence, Nella stamperia de' Giunti, 1580. 8 pages, fawn morocco, triple gilt fillet, cherubs' heads and sprays of foliage at the corners, gilt fleur-de-lis pattern covering the covers, coat of arms in the centre, smooth spine decorated with the same fleur-de-lis pattern, decorated edges, gilt edges, midnight blue morocco box (period binding). Rare first edition of this interesting work on the history of Florence, published locally by the heirs of Bernardo Giunta and dedicated to Giacomo Boncompagni. The work was written by the Camaldolese monk Silvano Razzi (1527-1611), himself a Florentine, who compiled the biographies of four illustrious figures linked to the political history of his city: Farinata degli Uberti, Gautier VI de Brienne, the gonfalone Salvestro de' Medici and Cosimo de' Medici. The work was republished in 1602 with a fifth life. A precious copy in a sumptuous fleur-de-lis binding bearing the arms of Henri III. Son of Henri II and Catherine de Médicis, King of Poland from January to June 1574, then King of France in February 1575, on the death of his brother Charles IX, Henri III (1551-1589) faced numerous economic and political problems and four wars of religion; he was assassinated by the League on 2 August 1589. The binding can be attributed to the Ève workshop: either to Nicolas Ève, the king's bookbinder from 1578 until his death in 1581, or to his heirs: first his widow Noëlle Heuqueville, then his son Clovis Ève after 1584. Fresh binding, very well preserved. Camerini, n°97 - Adams, R-231 - CNCE 27590.