Printing the "Comento sopra la Comedia" in Florence, 1481: Dante in German Collections

This paper examines the 1481 Florentine edition of Cristoforo Landino’s Comento sopra la Comedia, produced by Niccolò di Lorenzo della Magna, through the lens of the “Dante 1481” project led by the Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL). Drawing on a comprehensive copy census of 180 surviving exemplars, the study focuses specifically on fourteen copies currently preserved in German collections. It situates the edition within its late fifteenth-century Florentine cultural and political context, highlighting its role in Medicean cultural propaganda, its innovative use of copperplate engravings, and its association with prominent humanists and artists. Through a copy-specific methodology, the paper explores the material and historical peculiarities of the German specimens, including fragmentary survivals of engravings, reader-supplied textual corrections, and unique provenance evidence. Case studies—such as detached illustrative plates, manuscript additions compensating for omitted verses, and a Dresden copy containing sixteenth-century viticultural recipes—demonstrate how individual copies illuminate broader issues in printing practices, readership, and collecting history. By integrating individual copy analysis with broader bibliographical trends, the study underscores the value of collaborative, digitally supported census methodologies for advancing the study of incunabula. It ultimately highlights how the material evidence of surviving copies contributes to a deeper understanding of the production, reception, and afterlife of one of the most significant early printed editions of Dante’s Commedia.