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Il Nuovo Cantiniere by Busnelli, Valerio, a rare captivating detail of the 1879 - wine book.
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  • Il Nuovo Cantiniere by Busnelli, Valerio, a rare captivating detail of the 1879 - wine book.
  • Il Nuovo Cantiniere by Busnelli, Valerio, a rare image from the book of the 1879 - wine book.
  • Il Nuovo Cantiniere by Busnelli, Valerio, a rare representative view of the 1879 - wine book.
  • Il Nuovo Cantiniere by Busnelli, Valerio, a rare captivating detail of the 1879 - wine book.
  • Il Nuovo Cantiniere by Busnelli, Valerio, a rare image from the book of the 1879 - wine book.
  • Il Nuovo Cantiniere by Busnelli, Valerio, a rare representative view of the 1879 - wine book.
Il Nuovo Cantiniere

Uncut booklet on winemaking, gender roles, and science in a quirky occult-themed series.

Busnelli, Valerio

Il Nuovo Cantiniere
Ossia L'Arte Di Fabbricare E Conservare Ogni Sorta Di Vini Vecchi E Nuovi Con Istruzioni Speciali Per La Cura Dei Medesimi, Risanamento Di Quelli Malati (...) Ed Altri Importanti Segreti (...).

1879, Milano, Cesare Cioffi

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Overview

Published in 1879, this booklet reflects how science and modern processes in winemaking, along with the figure of the cantiniere (cellar master), were beginning to spread and become democratized, even extending to women.
Remarkably, it forms part of a series of booklets that also addressed occult sciences and other popular pastimes of the era.

Inside the book

The work highlights a shift away from agrarian traditions in which knowledge was passed directly from parent to child. Instead, the author emphasizes the role of science in improving “vino normale,” making it suitable for export, and offering this compiled knowledge (claimed to be drawn from numerous foreign studies) at an accessible price (around 2 lire). The text further distinguishes between the winemaker and the cantiniere, underscoring how rural Italy was evolving from wine made solely for personal use to a system of broader, more professional production.

Why La Fenice chose it

A rare glimpse into the gendered labor of winemaking, wrapped in an eclectic series that mixed science, leisure, and the occult. Even better, this copy is uncut, just as it left the printer’s press.
Condition Report

Pp. 127, [1].

Conditions: Original illustrated wrappers with title and large steel engraving of a cellar woman tasting wine from the cask. The same image is repeated as a frontispiece, with the caption (in Italian - here translated): “I enjoy other wines, but Barbera is the one I prefer.” Paper uniformly browned. A pleasant, uncut copy.

Dimensions (inches): 6 1/4 x 4 1/4 x 1/4
About the author

Likely a practical writer on popular sciences in Milan

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