[Andrea Maffei, Italian poet and librettist for Verdi and Mascagni.] Autograph Manuscript of his poem ‘Il tramonto’ (put to music for voice and piano by Verdi), signed ‘Andrea Maffei.

Holograph of sixteen-line poem in four four-line stanzas, headed ‘Il tramonto’ and signed at bottom right ‘Andrea Maffei’. 1p, 16mo. Text entirely clear and complete, on discoloured laid paper with chipping and slight loss at right-hand margin. Begins: ‘Amo l’ova del girono che muore / Quando il sole già stanco declina,’. No variations from the version printed in the 1864 Florence edition of Maffei’s works, apart from ‘Una età’ beginning l.6 here, as opposed to ‘Un' età’ there. The 1864 printed version itself differs a couple of ways from the version put to music by Verdi as the first of his ‘Sei Romanze’ (1838). See Image.