19 Il commercio degli incunaboli a Padova nel 1480: il Quaderneto di Antonio Moretto
abstract
In 1480 publisher and bookseller Antonio Moretto delivered a total of over 900 incunabula to be sold in his shop in Padua. The details of this business transaction survive in a small paper gathering of 8 leaves, known as the Quaderneto, in which the titles of the books, the number of copies available, and the sale prices fixed by Moretto himself are listed. It is an important source for our knowledge of Italian Renaissance book-trade and – thanks to a comparison with the Zornale of Francesco de Madiis – provides valuable information about book prices and sales towards the end of the 15th century.
Keywords: Book prices • 15th century • Padua • Incunabula • Book trade