VETTORI, Francesco (1474-1539). Eight autograph letters signed to Niccolò Machiavelli, Rome and Florence, 30 March 1513 - 5 August 1526, one in Latin, 7 in Italian (the letter of 5 August 1526 with passages in cipher), reporting on affairs in Rome where he was ambassador from Florence to Pope Leo X (Giovanni de' Medici), speculating on political developments in Italy and the alliances of Italian states with foreign powers, outlining possible approaches to peace in Italy and Europe, saying that he cannot help Machiavelli obtain pardon and a position under the Medicis, proposing that if Machiavelli can get permission to visit Rome they can keep each other company reading the classics and pursuing erotic adventures, altogether 23½ pages, 295 x 215mm, address panels on some versos (Machiavelli's name deleted from addresses), traces of seals, slips of paper with summaries in an early hand pasted onto blank areas (several letters waterstained and discoloured, reinforced along folds and at edges and on some versos, two leaves reinforced with tissue, several holes with loss of text from three leaves, disbound from a volume); in a modern black morocco case.PROVENANCE:1. Richard Heber (1773-1833) (sale, 10 February 1836, part of lot 1666).2. Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872): his no. 8388 (sale, Sotheby's, 25 June 1968, lot 920).CONTENTS:Vettori and Machiavelli served together as representatives of Florence at the court of the Emperor Maximilian I in 1507-08. The friendship they formed there was close enough that in 1510 Vettori served as godfather to one of Machiavelli's sons. With the fall of the Florentine republic and the return of the Medicis in 1512, Machiavelli lost his post as second chancellor, was jailed briefly, and found himself excluded henceforth from any role in public affairs. During this period of exile from politics, which lasted until his death in 1527, Machiavelli devoted himself to writing the works for which he is best known, Il Principe, the Arte della guerra, the Discorsi sopra il prima deca di Tito Livio, and the Historie Fiorentine.Unlike Machiavelli, Vettori made the transition to the new regime, serving the Medicis in various capacities until 1527, when he entered the service of the last Florentine republic as ambassador to Pope Clement VII (Giulio de' Medici). After playing a role in the fall of the republic in 1530, he supported first Alessandro de' Medici and then Duke Cosimo I before his own death in 1539.Six of the present letters date from the period 30 March 1513 - 3 December 1514, when Machiavelli was finishing The Prince, the first references to which occur in letters of December 1513 from Machiavelli to Vettori. This was a period in which Machiavelli was still trying desperately to re-establish a position in public life, and the correspondence makes it clear that he appealed more than once to Vettori, then Florentine ambassador in Rome, to intervene on his behalf with the Medicis. This Vettori professed himself unable to do, perhaps from a sense of self-preservation. Nevertheless, he wrote frequently to Machiavelli, reporting at length on the political situation in Italy and Europe as a result of the April 1513 truce between France and Spain, discussing the significance of events and soliciting Machiavelli's opinions. The Machiavelli - Vettori correspondence thus provides a remarkable view of Machiavelli's continued access to political information and to a potentially influential, if unofficial, audience for his opinions during the period immediately after his fall from power, when he was at work on The Prince and the Discourses.The seventh letter of the present group, written in Florence, 17 April 1522, relays some Florentine gossip, comments on the political situation between France and Spain, and mentions Turkish naval operations in the Mediterranean. The eighth letter, the third-last from Vettori to Machiavelli, was written from Florence on 5 August 1526, when Machiavelli was with Francesco Guicciardini, then acting as commander of the army formed by the league between France, the papacy, Florence and Venice against the Emperor Charles V; in this letter, Vettori says that he has sent Machiavelli's letters on to Filippo Strozzi in Rome so that their opinions and counsels regarding political and military affairs may be read to the pope.The present collection of eight letters constitutes a third of the known correspondence addressed to Machiavelli by Vettori. Seven of these letters have been published in N. Machiavelli, Lettere, ed. F. Gaeta, Milan 1961, pp.236-38, 240-42, 245-49, 267-70, 282-90, 348-49, 474-78; the letter of 17 April 1522 was first published in full by R. Ridolfi in La Bibliofilia, LXXI, 1969, pp.259-64. (8)

VETTORI, Francesco (1474-1539). Eight autograph letters signed to Niccolò Machiavelli, Rome and Florence, 30 March 1513 - 5 August 1526, one in Latin, 7 in Italian (the letter of 5 August 1526 with passages in cipher), reporting on affairs in Rome where he was ambassador from Florence to Pope Leo X (Giovanni de' Medici), speculating on political developments in Italy and the alliances of Italian states with foreign powers, outlining possible approaches to peace in Italy and Europe, saying that he cannot help Machiavelli obtain pardon and a position under the Medicis, proposing that if Machiavelli can get permission to visit Rome they can keep each other company reading the classics and pursuing erotic adventures, altogether 23½ pages, 295 x 215mm, address panels on some versos (Machiavelli's name deleted from addresses), traces of seals, slips of paper with summaries in an early hand pasted onto blank areas (several letters waterstained and discoloured, reinforced along folds and at edges and on some versos, two leaves reinforced with tissue, several holes with loss of text from three leaves, disbound from a volume); in a modern black morocco case. PROVENANCE: 1. Richard Heber (1773-1833) (sale, 10 February 1836, part of lot 1666). 2. Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872): his no. 8388 (sale, Sotheby's, 25 June 1968, lot 920). CONTENTS: Vettori and Machiavelli served together as representatives of Florence at the court of the Emperor Maximilian I in 1507-08. The friendship they formed there was close enough that in 1510 Vettori served as godfather to one of Machiavelli's sons. With the fall of the Florentine republic and the return of the Medicis in 1512, Machiavelli lost his post as second chancellor, was jailed briefly, and found himself excluded henceforth from any role in public affairs. During this period of exile from politics, which lasted until his death in 1527, Machiavelli devoted himself to writing the works for which he is best known, Il Principe, the Arte della guerra, the Discorsi sopra il prima deca di Tito Livio, and the Historie Fiorentine. Unlike Machiavelli, Vettori made the transition to the new regime, serving the Medicis in various capacities until 1527, when he entered the service of the last Florentine republic as ambassador to Pope Clement VII (Giulio de' Medici). After playing a role in the fall of the republic in 1530, he supported first Alessandro de' Medici and then Duke Cosimo I before his own death in 1539. Six of the present letters date from the period 30 March 1513 - 3 December 1514, when Machiavelli was finishing The Prince, the first references to which occur in letters of December 1513 from Machiavelli to Vettori. This was a period in which Machiavelli was still trying desperately to re-establish a position in public life, and the correspondence makes it clear that he appealed more than once to Vettori, then Florentine ambassador in Rome, to intervene on his behalf with the Medicis. This Vettori professed himself unable to do, perhaps from a sense of self-preservation. Nevertheless, he wrote frequently to Machiavelli, reporting at length on the political situation in Italy and Europe as a result of the April 1513 truce between France and Spain, discussing the significance of events and soliciting Machiavelli's opinions. The Machiavelli - Vettori correspondence thus provides a remarkable view of Machiavelli's continued access to political information and to a potentially influential, if unofficial, audience for his opinions during the period immediately after his fall from power, when he was at work on The Prince and the Discourses. The seventh letter of the present group, written in Florence, 17 April 1522, relays some Florentine gossip, comments on the political situation between France and Spain, and mentions Turkish naval operations in the Mediterranean. The eighth letter, the third-last from Vettori to Machiavelli, was written from Florence on 5 August 1526, when Machiavelli was with Francesco Guicciardini, then acting as commander of the army formed by the league between France, the papacy, Florence and Venice against the Emperor Charles V; in this letter, Vettori says that he has sent Machiavelli's letters on to Filippo Strozzi in Rome so that their opinions and counsels regarding political and military affairs may be read to the pope. The present collection of eight letters constitutes a third of the known correspondence addressed to Machiavelli by Vettori. Seven of these letters have been published in N. Machiavelli, Lettere, ed. F. Gaeta, Milan 1961, pp.236-38, 240-42, 245-49, 267-70, 282-90, 348-49, 474-78; the letter of 17 April 1522 was first published in full by R. Ridolfi in La Bibliofilia, LXXI, 1969, pp.259-64. (8)

Details

VETTORI, Francesco (1474-1539). Eight autograph letters signed to Niccolò Machiavelli, Rome and Florence, 30 March 1513 - 5 August 1526, one in Latin, 7 in Italian (the letter of 5 August 1526 with passages in cipher), reporting on affairs in Rome where he was ambassador from Florence to Pope Leo X (Giovanni de' Medici), speculating on political developments in Italy and the alliances of Italian states with foreign powers, outlining possible approaches to peace in Italy and Europe, saying that he cannot help Machiavelli obtain pardon and a position under the Medicis, proposing that if Machiavelli can get permission to visit Rome they can keep each other company reading the classics and pursuing erotic adventures, altogether 23½ pages, 295 x 215mm, address panels on some versos (Machiavelli's name deleted from addresses), traces of seals, slips of paper with summaries in an early hand pasted onto blank areas (several letters waterstained and discoloured, reinforced along folds and at edges and on some versos, two leaves reinforced with tissue, several holes with loss of text from three leaves, disbound from a volume); in a modern black morocco case.

PROVENANCE:

1. Richard Heber (1773-1833) (sale, 10 February 1836, part of lot 1666).

2. Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872): his no. 8388 (sale, Sotheby's, 25 June 1968, lot 920).

CONTENTS:

Vettori and Machiavelli served together as representatives of Florence at the court of the Emperor Maximilian I in 1507-08. The friendship they formed there was close enough that in 1510 Vettori served as godfather to one of Machiavelli's sons. With the fall of the Florentine republic and the return of the Medicis in 1512, Machiavelli lost his post as second chancellor, was jailed briefly, and found himself excluded henceforth from any role in public affairs. During this period of exile from politics, which lasted until his death in 1527, Machiavelli devoted himself to writing the works for which he is best known, Il Principe, the Arte della guerra, the Discorsi sopra il prima deca di Tito Livio, and the Historie Fiorentine.

Unlike Machiavelli, Vettori made the transition to the new regime, serving the Medicis in various capacities until 1527, when he entered the service of the last Florentine republic as ambassador to Pope Clement VII (Giulio de' Medici). After playing a role in the fall of the republic in 1530, he supported first Alessandro de' Medici and then Duke Cosimo I before his own death in 1539.

Six of the present letters date from the period 30 March 1513 - 3 December 1514, when Machiavelli was finishing The Prince, the first references to which occur in letters of December 1513 from Machiavelli to Vettori. This was a period in which Machiavelli was still trying desperately to re-establish a position in public life, and the correspondence makes it clear that he appealed more than once to Vettori, then Florentine ambassador in Rome, to intervene on his behalf with the Medicis. This Vettori professed himself unable to do, perhaps from a sense of self-preservation. Nevertheless, he wrote frequently to Machiavelli, reporting at length on the political situation in Italy and Europe as a result of the April 1513 truce between France and Spain, discussing the significance of events and soliciting Machiavelli's opinions. The Machiavelli - Vettori correspondence thus provides a remarkable view of Machiavelli's continued access to political information and to a potentially influential, if unofficial, audience for his opinions during the period immediately after his fall from power, when he was at work on The Prince and the Discourses.

The seventh letter of the present group, written in Florence, 17 April 1522, relays some Florentine gossip, comments on the political situation between France and Spain, and mentions Turkish naval operations in the Mediterranean. The eighth letter, the third-last from Vettori to Machiavelli, was written from Florence on 5 August 1526, when Machiavelli was with Francesco Guicciardini, then acting as commander of the army formed by the league between France, the papacy, Florence and Venice against the Emperor Charles V; in this letter, Vettori says that he has sent Machiavelli's letters on to Filippo Strozzi in Rome so that their opinions and counsels regarding political and military affairs may be read to the pope.

The present collection of eight letters constitutes a third of the known correspondence addressed to Machiavelli by Vettori. Seven of these letters have been published in N. Machiavelli, Lettere, ed. F. Gaeta, Milan 1961, pp.236-38, 240-42, 245-49, 267-70, 282-90, 348-49, 474-78; the letter of 17 April 1522 was first published in full by R. Ridolfi in La Bibliofilia, LXXI, 1969, pp.259-64. (8)

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