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Books and Manuscripts

Thursday 25 June 2026, 03:00 PM • Rome

11

Autografi

Sciascia, Leonardo / Guttuso, Renato

(Bagheria 1911 - Roma 1987)

Drawing of a Cactus with a dedication to Sciascia, 1965

Artist's Resale Right

Estimate

€ 800 - 1.200

Sold

€ 1.397

The price includes buyer's premium

Information

Splendid ink drawing by Renato Guttuso, 210 x 145 mm. mounted on a passe-partout, depicting a cactus with two handwritten inscriptions by Guttuso : "to Leonardo [Sciascia] on the 22nd" and, at the top right, "dictated by Martino." At the bottom is a dedication: "To Fortunato Grosso, this impromptu drawing by Guttuso, in memory of Leonardo Sciascia."
Included in this lot is a rare edition of an artist's book: Leonardo Sciascia. A Sicilian Comedy . Catania, Orizzonti Bibliofilia Italiana, 1983. Copy XXXIV/XL (of 100 total).
A Sicilian Comedy is a brilliant short story by Leonardo Sciascia, first published in «Amica» in 1969. The precious art edition printed in May 1983 by Orizzonti Bibliofilia Italiana in Catania is a prized collector's item, produced in a limited edition of just 100 copies.

Specialist Notes

Fortunato Grosso, an antiquarian bookseller and publisher from Catania (publishing Orizzonti della Bibliofilia Italiana and Taurus ), was a great admirer of the Racalmuto-born writer. In 1983, Grosso edited and published for his art publishers a tribute to Sciascia entitled: Una commedia siciliana. Illustrations by Bartolo De Raffaele and Antonio Calascibetta. The volume, printed in a limited edition and intended for bibliophiles, reads in Grosso's introductory note: "This book is intended as a tribute to Leonardo Sciascia. But more than to the writer, it is dedicated to the secret man: the refined bibliophile, in love with finely printed paper."

The volume is enriched by drawings by Bartolo De Raffaele and seven original etchings by Antonio Calascibetta . The work presents a story with Pirandello-like overtones, in which Sciascia addresses the theme of the "theater of behaviors" with a surprising finale linked to Borges's Averroes.

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