Item #16000097 Mariano/ BECHERINIE CARDENA, F.

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CARDENA, Mariano/ BECHERINIE, F.
An Exquisite Manuscript Map of Cuba
[Havana, 1848]



Cuba/ Opera History.  CARDENA, Mariano/ BECHERINIE, F. [Havana, 1848]  Arribo de Albina Steffanoni a la Isla de CUBA. 1848. 8 x 11 inches (sheet size).  Manuscript in pen & ink & watercolors on heavy, watermarked wove paper, bit of soiling & toning, else excellent.  [With:] A ms. sonnet titled Omaggio Che distinto merito ed all rara modestia della Gentile Balbina Steffennone. Signed F. Becherinie Habana.  On like paper, also in excellent condition.                               


Fine, signed and dated manuscript map of Cuba made on the occasion of the visit of the celebrated Italian soprano Balbina Steffenone (1825-1896) to Cuba in 1848.  It is accompanied by a sonnet heralding the soprano’s visit.  Both bear witness to Cuba’s embrace of high culture at the time.  Steffenone was then both world-renowned and world-traveled having sung throughout Italy, at the Royal Opera House in London and in North America in Boston, Mexico, Havana, and at least twice New York, including the American premier of Il trovatore.  In this charming map her name can be seen in large letters within a rainbow terminating in Havana toward which a dove, no doubt symbolizing the soprano, flies.  The draftsmanship of the map is of professional quality, with its title cartouche featuring a banner hanging between two palm trees, with coffee trees and sugar cane in the background, all in vibrant color.  A pair of doves and floral garlands are above the cartouche.  Despite the evident skill of the mapmaker, we have not been able to find any information about him nor about the author of the sonnet.  The latter, in Italian, is a quite eloquent and subtle tribute to great soprano and nicely expresses the meaning of her visit to Cuba. 


Not in Cueto; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balbina_Steffenone








 

Price: $750.00

Status: On Hold

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