Criminology.- Beccaria (Cesare) Dei Delitti e delle Pene, first edition, woodcut device on title, errata leaf at end, foxing and browning, floral pastedowns, contemporary vellum, a little soiled and with ink marking to upper cover, [Einaudi 3362; PMM 209], small 4to, [Livorno, Marco Coltellini], 1764.

⁂ Rare and important anonymously written work on crime and punishments. "One of the most influential books in the entire History of Criminology [...] Beccaria maintained that the gravity of the crime should be measured by its injury to society and that the penalties should be related to this. The prevention of the crime he held to be of greater importance than its punishment...He denounced the use of torture and secret judicial proceedings. He opposed capital punishment, which should be replaced by life imprisonment...and the conditions in prisons should be radically improved... [his] ideas have now become so commonplace that it is difficult to appreciate their revolutionary impact at the time" (PMM).

Provenance: "W.Ashburner Dedit mihi v.cl. Ferd. Bosi IC 1925" (ink inscription on title); unidentified ink library stamp on last 2 leaves; Luigi Firpo (bookplate).