A Dialogue between Scipio and Bergansa Two Dogs Belonging to the City of Toledo, Giving an Account of Their Lives and Adventures with Reflections on the Lives, Humours, and Employments of the Masters They Lived with to Which; Is Annexed, the Comical History of Rincon and Cortado

LIMITED EDITION (1966) : 1500 COPIES, OF WHICH THIS IS NUMBER 261. Near Fine: shows several tiny spots a the bottom and top edges of the text block; mild rubbing and faint consequent soiling to the rear panel; else flawless; the binding is square and secure; the text is clean. Free of any creased or dog-eared pages in the text. Free of any underlining, hi-lighting or marginalia or marks in the text. Free of any ownership names, dates, addresses, notations, inscriptions, stamps, plates, or labels. A handsome, nearly-new copy, structurally sound and tightly bound, showing minor, unobtrusive cosmetic imperfections. Bright and clean. Corners sharp. Very close to "As New", In a maroon slip case that shows a small spot of soil and mild rubbing to the rear panel: Again, Near Fine. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. Large 8vo (9.15 X 5.85 x 0.85 inches). Illustratrated with duotone drawings by Peter Palombi. The Translation is unattributed. Foreward by Hal Stebbins. Language: English. Weight: 15 ounces. Maroon quarter-cloth on red boards with gilt titles at the back-strip. Marbled endpapers. Hardcover in Slipcase. No DJ as issued. The first talking-dog story in Western literature—from the writer generally acknowledged, alongside William Shakespeare, as the founding father of modern literature, no less? Indeed, The Dialogue features, in a condensed, powerful medium, all the traits the author of Don Quixote is famous for: It's a picaresque rich in bawdy humor, social satire, and fantasy, and it uses story tactics that were innovative at the time, such as the philandering husband who, given syphilis by his wife, is hospitalized. Late one feverish night he overhears the hospital's guard dogs telling each other their life's story—a wickedly ironic tale within the tale within the tale, wherein the two virtuous canines find themselves victim, time and again, to deceitful, corrupt humanity. This parody of a Greek dialogue is so entertaining it belies the stunningly prescient sophistication of this novella—that it is a story about telling stories, and about creating a new way to discuss morality that isn't rooted in empiricism. In short, it's a masterful work that flies in the face of the forms and ethics of its time.and perhaps ours as well.; Large 8vo 9" - 10" tall; x, 112 pages. …