1540 BARBARO ON BLUE PAPER 1540 BARBARO ON BLUE PAPER | Page 16

The commercial edition printed by Marcolini
It is spontaneous to think that this poem, dedicated to Giulia Ferretta, was initially
printed, in a limited edition, for a private distribution for author and dedicatee.
Subsequently, sure of the appreciation within his circle, Daniele Barbaro prepared a
commercial edition for a wider audience with the addition of four compositions. They
are just suppositions and the reason why the author’s choice was made remains
unknown. Barbaro entrusted Marcolini for the commercial edition for economic
reasons, because everything was at his own expense and therefore he chose the most
affordable printer? Whatever the truth, the story of the two editions of the “Predica dei
sogni” can not leave indifference to the judgment of Daniele Barbaro: he was, without
a doubt, a man attentive to the market and to what could have affected the public.
Marcolini's edition has three issues, and we believe that the first and second one were
editorial prototypes before the authors definitive approval of the commercial edition:
FIRST ISSUE: 20 cc. On A1v the dedication of Daniele Barbaro to Giuilia Ferretta.
On D4v the text ends with the evocation to "PREDETTA MADONNA";
SECOND ISSSUE: 20 cc. A1v is blank with no dedication. On D4v the text ends
with the evocation to "GIULIA FERRETTA";
THIRD ISSUE: 20 cc. On A1r there is no dedication. On D4v the text ends with
evocation to "PREDETTA MADONNA". This variant, found in 8 of 10 copies
located, confirms Barbaro’s choices for the commercial issue, thus full anonymity for
him as author and for Giulia Ferretta as dedicatee;