Paradossi, by Lando (or Landi), Ortensio - 1543: cioè, sententie fuori del comun parere novellamente venute in luce, opra non men dotta, che piacevole, & in due parti separata

Lyon: per Gioanni Pullon da Trino" (i.e., Jean Pullon dit de Trin), 1543. First edition. Very Good. Octavo (17cm); [112] leaves (signed A-O\8). Printer's device on title page (Ferraris, 1), showing a human-faced moon in the sky reflected on the surface of the land. Bound in later 18th-century or 19th-century dark green leather in neoclassical style with gilt central losenge within gilt borders on both boards; gilt-tooled spine with leather title label. Joints reinforced but tender; light marginal stain along bottom edge; O7 torn and repaired (remains of tape). Early marginalia trimmed close. Later (c19) notes in French on endleaves. Pages not bright. All in all a very good copy of a very rare book. References: Ferraris, "Giovanni Pullone e altri stampatori trinesi a Lione" in "Trino e l'arte tipografica nel XVI secolo..." (2014), #1; USTC 116008, BM Italian, 399; Grendler, "Critics of the Italian World," #8; Gültlingen, "Bibliographie des livres imprimés à Lyon..." vol. X, p. 7; [Bongi], "Catalogo delle opere di M. Ortensio Lando," p. xxxvi ("eseguita in bel carattere rotonde, cui la originalità e la bellezza danno il pregio sopre le ristampe"); not in Adams; not in Baudrier.

Exquisitely rare first printing of Ortensio Lando's most famous book (his first in a modern language), that in later editions and in translations became a 16th-century best seller.
Lando's name does not appear on the title page, or anywhere in the book except in code. (His real name shows up on no edition published in the 16th century.) A dedicatory leaf after the colophon attributes the text to "M.O.L.M," interpreted generally as "Messer Ortensio Landi Milanese." More cryptically, there is a phrase printed after the telos, "SVISNETROH TABEDVL," mirror writing for "ludebat Hortensius," Ortensio has played.
It is serious play. The Paradossi undertakes, in the key of popular "world upside down" folklore, to prove black what is commonly accepted as white. For instance, it is better to be poor than rich, better ugly than handsome, better drunk than sober, and so on.
Biographical sketches of Lando are remarkable for how little information about him is available. Peer of Aretino and Doni, friend to Etienne Dolet (later incinerated for heresy), he was a non-believer who nevertheless took Augustinian orders and later deserted them. Member of a prestigious literary club (L'accademia degli elevati), he was above all an outsider. All of his books landed on the Index of Prohibited Books, and "I paradossi" in particular was widely banned and copies of it were confiscated.
Probably the first book printed by the obscure Italian printer working in Lyon, Giovanni Pullone da Trino (later called "Jean Pullon de Trin"). Following Pullon's modest press run, the text was quickly taken up and reprinted, badly, by Bindoni and others in Venice (twice in 1544, 1545, 1563, 1594, etc.), and translated into Latin, into French by Charles Estienne (1553) and into English (1596). If you Google "Jean Pullon," you will get dozens of pages advertising pull-on jeans.