Chess.- Lopez de Sigura (Ruy) Il giuoco de gli scacchi, translated from the Spanish by Giovanne Domenico Tarsia, collation: *⁴ A-Z⁴ Aa-Dd⁴, first edition in Italian, title with woodcut printer's device, woodcut illustrations of a board and pieces, woodcut historiated and decorative initials, light water-staining at foot, occasional spotting, lightly browned, contemporary limp vellum, lacking ties, soiled, [LN372; Adams L1475; EDIT 16 CNCE 29870], small 4to, Venice, Cornelio Arrivabene, 1584.

⁂ The scarce first Italian edition of this classic of the chess canon, with a distinguished provenance. Lopez gave his name to the most popular of all chess openings. His book was the first chess book to follow Damiano's small treatise of 1512. The first part deals with the origin and utility of chess, the second part provides a miscellaneous collection of openings and the third and fourth parts are a severe critique of Damiano, with corrections of his moves, and new openings included.

Provenance: Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa, 1818-1899, chess master, historian and theoretician (armorial bookplate with initials and 'N:t 3006 / (344) and dated 1884and his ms. notes to inside front cover and p.133); Albrecht Buschke (acquired in Munich in 1935. It is identified on p.100 of his typescript 1938 catalogue); sold by Buschke to Karl A. Baer (an invoice dated 11/16/54 is loosely inserted in the volume).