OP: The Complete In Bocca Series by Edizone Il Vespro (20 vols)

$5,500 · Offered by Kitchen Arts & Letters · No longer available

The In Bocca books are marvelous in many respects. Each is either bilingual (Italian and English) or trilingual (the same material with the addition of the regional dialect). They are distinctively designed, printed on rough oatmeal paper, and bound in corrugated cardboard. The covers are imaginatively screened prints, and the interiors are nicely illustrated as well, with the dialect rendered in what appears to be actual handwriting. To be clear, however, these are not souvenir novelty items. They are serious compilations of highly unusual material, recognizing the value of recording the distinctive dishes of twenty regionalized food traditions, from the Alps in the north to Sicily and its islands deep in the Mediterranean. Widely acknowledged for both their authority and their quirky individuality (each is by a different, we presume local, author), they are much sought after. The regions covered in the series are: Abruzzo Bolzano* Calabria* Emilia* Friuli and Trieste Liguria Marche * Milano (Lombardia) * Napoli * Piemonte * Puglie Roma (Lazio) Romagna * Sardegna * Sicilia and Isole* Toscana * Trento * Umbria Valle d’Aosta Veneto* One caution for those who do not know these books: because of their somewhat unorthodox materials and construction, they must be handled with a degree of care. If they are opened too far, the interior hinges can begin to split. And the corrugated board stock used for the covers dents and bumps easily. But to be perfectly clear, the copies we offer

• Binding: Hardcover

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