Giorgio Vasari (1511-74) was a noted art historian, born in Arezzo in North Central Italy (also Petrarch's home town) He studied under Andrea del Sarto, and lived mostly at Florence and Rome. Vasari was an architect and painter, best known for his design of the Uffizi Museum in Florence, but today his fame rests on The Lives of the Most Eminent Italian Architects, Painters, and Sculptors (1550), which remains, almost 500 years later, the major source of information on its subject. Our offering is for that portion of the original concerning Lives of the Most Eminent Italian Painters. The noted art historian Marilyn Aronberg Levin wrote the brilliant Introduction to our two books, and edited them, to include 47 painters she regarded at the most important innovators of their time. She rearranged the order of the biographies in chronological sequence, and corrected some translation mistakes by Mrs. Jonathon Foster, who made the first complete translation into English in 1851, and our source translation. Also, Ms. Levin provided us with a Glossary, and Notes that correct Vasari's own errors, explain obscure passages, and identify a number of artists and their works. Of the 47 great painters in our edition, the works of 32 are represented, all in full color. Our books' designer and printer, Dr. Giovanni Mardersteig of Stamperia Valdonega in Verona, Italy, worked closely with Ms. Levin while he obtained photographic transparencies of each painting from the Scala Isituto Fotografico Editoriale in Florence, a firm that specialized in photographing works of art. After being printed, each plate was carefully trimmed and then painstakingly tipped by hand onto the proper blank page, by skilllful hands. For the text, Dr. Mardersteig chose Bembo type. Now, as far as the paper is concerned, it is awesome. No two ways about it. It is a beautifully soft, cream-colored sheet, crafted in an Italian mill under the watchful eye of Dr. Mardersteig, and with a watermark. The pages are deckled, so no two are the same. For the binding, Dr. Mardersteig selected a staunch buckram of a brownish-maroon color. On the spines, the title is blocked in gold on a black background; the number of the volume is indicated there by one or two small gold fleur-de-lis. On the front cover he stamped a large version of the fleur-de-lis design in gold. The slipcase is specially reinforced to bear the weight of our heavy books, and it is covered with a harmonizing hand-marbled paper imported from France. This is number 92 of 1500 copies, and includes the absolutely essential four page Limited Editions Club Monthly Letter. It is signed by Giovanni Mardersteig. This is an fantatastic set of detailed biographies for anyone who loves art and especially the works of the Italian masters. Here we read about them in their actual historical context. It should also appeal to anyone who appreciates the history of Italy during the time of these painters, as the art history spills over into the history of Florence and other parts of Renaissance Italy. Thank you for reading this presentation, and good luck in your searches. Feel free to contact me with any questions.