Descrizione

First edition, 8vo (222 x 120 mm), xvi, [17]-292pp., with half-title, folding engraved frontispiece of a male dancer, folding plate of a Chinese procession, some light spotting, contemporary marbled boards, expertly rebacked in calf, raised bands ruled in gilt, red morocco lettering piece. The rare first edition by the Italian director of dances at the Royal Theatre in the Haymarket. Giovanni-Andrea Gallini (1728-1805), later known as Sir John Andrew Gallini, presents a history of dance, arguments for learning the art of dance, and a discourse on the minuet. Especially interesting are Gallini's comments on European and non-European dance, and discussion includes practices in Britain, Spain, Naples, the peasants of Tirol, Russia, Turkey, China, Africa, and the Americas. Beaumont, Bibliography of Dancing, pp.79-80.