Bertelli & Innocenti. Bib. machiavelliana, XIX.38
Prepared under the direction of Francesco Tassi; the preface is that by Tanzini of the 1782 and 1796 Florence editions (updated and modernized). See Bertelli & Innocenti, p. cxlv-cxlvi; G. Procacci, Studi sulla fortuna del Machiavelli, p. 401 n.
Found in two states: (1) 12mo, in 12s (with a few portions in 8vo), signed throughout with arabic numerals; (2) 8vo, in 8s, signed with lower-case letters (except for the first part of v. 1). These appear to result from printing the 12mo first, on sheets ca. 62 x 50 cm., after which the type pages were reimposed for 8vo on smaller sheets, probably with new headlines. Side-notes included in the 8vo text of the Istorie (v. 1-2) are lacking in the 12mo, which does have side-notes in the Prefazione. Vols. 1-2 of the 12mo include 3 of the 4 cancellations found in the 8vo; only the 8vo has cancels in vols. 3 and 8, the earlier settings being found in the 12mo.
Bertelli & Innocenti include two entries (XIX.40, 41) in addition to no. 38 for this edition, with variant imprints "Firenze, Cardinali" and "Firenze, Piatti"; but according to their introd. (p. cxlvi, n.1) these represent (unexamined) "varianti" (which seems unlikely) or "attribuzioni". This has no apparent relation to the existence of two states, which are not noted in any of the sources consulted.
Signatures (12mo): v.1. pi1 1-6¹² 7⁸(-7₈); 1¹² 2¹²(*2₁₁) 3-10¹² 11⁶ 12⁴ [13]1 (7⁸ and 12⁴ are 8vo; last leaf also has vertical chainlines) -- v.2. pi² 1¹² 2¹²(2₈) 3-15¹² 16⁶(-16₆, 16₃+3⁴) 17¹² 18¹²(18₇) 19⁴ (16 consists of 8vo half-sheet, 1st leaf signed "3", quired between 16₃ and 16₄; 19⁴ is 8vo; cancellans 18₇ has vertical chainlines) -- v.3. pi² 1-19¹² 20⁴(-20₄) (20⁴ is 8vo) -- v.4. pi⁴ 1-19¹² 20⁸ (pi⁴ and 20⁸ not machined together: one is 8vo half-sheet, the other 12mo without an inner quire) -- v.5. pi1 [1]¹² 2-19¹² 20⁴ [21]1 [=v.8 leaf 13₁₂ (noted in Brown copy)] -- v.6. pi1 1-23¹² 24⁸ (1₁ unsigned, 1₂ signed as for 1₁; 24⁸ is 8vo) -- v.7. pi² 1-21¹² 22⁴ ("10" not printing) -- v.8. 1-12¹² 13¹²(-13₁₂) (1₅ and 5₅ unsigned). $1 signed, including "Vol.