Il Rinomato Novissimo Metodo per Vincere al Lotto
Rome: G. Gentili, 1862. Second edition. 8vo (7 x 5 inches). 262 pages. 6-page section of woodcut illustrations. Contemporary linen-backed marbled boards. Binding worn and soiled, text a bit foxed and with occasional staining, one page loose at end. These were books that clearly saw great use and condition defects are not unexpected. Item #411009
The book contains some 30,000 entries, each corresponding to a single number, attempting to provide methods for divining winning numbers for the Italian state lottery. The section of woodcuts at the center of the volume uses the smorfia system that is still used in Italy today for linking dreams/omens to lottery numbers. The iconography here does not conform exactly to the most broadly established Neapolitan system but is rather a regional variant for the Roman market. The preliminaries provide a history of the lottery in Italy, an account of the regulation and reestablishment in Rome, and an introduction to the alphabetical "dream book" list (events, objects, characters, etc.). A reader could look up a word, and the index would tell them what to play in the lottery.
Price: $150.00