Antique books, precious and rare editions alongside games, posters and ceramics traced the historic and chronological story of the popularity of the book.
The exhibition traced the fortunes of the story of Pinocchio through the historic editions and the illustrators who, starting with the first illustrated edition in 1883, worked first for Paggi, then for Bemporad and Marzocco, and finally for Giunti. Displayed alongside the original drawings, large and small plates in China ink and tempera, are works by contemporary painters and sculptors that illustrated the evolution of the style and taste of the illustrators of Collodi’s text. Paintings and sculptures accompanied the itinerary, showing the cultural context of twentieth-century Tuscany and highlighting the extraordinary popularity of the wooden puppet.