The Castle of Crossed Destinies.

UK,slim 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.[First published in Italy as 'Il castello dei destini incrociati.' Translated from the Italian by William Weaver. First published in England by Martin Secker & Warburg Limited, [London],1977. This particular example reprinted by same publisher, 1993. Pages 3 to 48 originally appeared in Italo Calvino's 'Tarots: The Visconti Pack in Bergamo and New York. Grateful acknowledgement is made to The Pierpont Morgan Library for permission to use and for the reproduction of the colour illustrations of the eight tarot cards from the Visconti pack in their collection.] VG/VG. No owner inscrptn no clip to dw/dj - absence of publisher price.These unpriced editions are generally believed to be export edns released before the trade edition's publication and distribution in the country of its origin.Bright,glossy black background with 2 colour pictorial Tarot card illustrations side by side - i.e. Strength and the Queen of Swords to front panel of dw/dj with capitalised,glossy gilt lettered title and author name,black spine/backstrip similarly lettered as the front and publisher's name to foot of same,rear panel with white background and critics' black-lettered reviews.Negligible shelf-wear,bumping, creasing to edges and corners.Minimal chipping with miniscule paper loss at head+foot of front-facing spine's gutter's edge/fold of dw/dj,whilst internally at the head of same,an amateurish pasted paper repair - more as a strenghtener rather than a tear/splits repair.No other major nicks,tears or splits present.Top +fore-edges aged/toned but without foxing; contents bright,tight clean with inevitable but minor page-edge toning,solid and sound - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips - would appear unread,other than my own collation.Publisher's bright,crisp, unblemished,plain light tan cloth boards with bright, crisp,blocked gilt lettered spine/backstrip,all corner tips with minimal bumping and creases,bright clean plain white endpapers.UK,slim 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn, 3-129pp [paginated] includes 2 sections/Pts: Castle of Crossed Destinies+Tavern of Crossed Destinies comprising a short intro and collections of 7 tales each,page margins with b/w tarot cards illustrations, 8pp colour plates illustrations of 8 tarot cards of/from the Visconti tarot pack in 1 block between pp68/9,and a Note at the rear.Plus [unpaginated] blank,half-title page with blank verso,advert for author's other books also with blank verso,title page,contents list/table with blank verso,colour plates list/table,individual Pts and Note separator pages also with a blank verso,and as last pages,2pp blanks. Visually the exterior appearance is more than acceptable,and even internally,the book is also in an acceptable condition/state of preservation and presentation for a book of its age. It is only the exterior faults that prevents a slightly higher grading overall.Despite them,it really is still a more than acceptable copy. The tarot pack,the ancient cards used for games and for fortune-telling,have been interpreted in inumerable ways - cabalistic, astrological, symbolic. Decorative and sinister,they range from the conventional suits (Cups,Coins,Clubs and Swords) to the Arcanum - the Popess,the Tower,the Wheel of Fortune,the Hanged man. In 'THE CASTLE OF CROSSED DESTINIES',Italo Calvino's inspiration turns the seventy-eight tarot-cards to an entirely new use that links image and word to the purposes of narrative: a band of travellers,trapped in an ominous castle in the heart of a wood,find themselves struck dunb,and are only able to converse by using the tarot cards to tell each other how they came to the castle.Behind the printed images flicker visions of forests,cities,deserts: the garish colours blend to call up Oedipus,Orlando, Macbeth,expand to encompass the private idyll and the universal holocaust. A group of travellers chance to meet first in a castle, then a tavern. Their powers of speech are magically taken from them and instead they have only tarot cards with which to tell their stories. What follows is an exquisite interlinking of narratives,and a fantastic, surreal and chaotic history of all human consciousness. Please contact seller,because of the lighter weight of this item,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note, stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded, after order's receipt and before the order's despatch, especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence, then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **