[MINIATURE BOOK]. ALIGHIERI, Dante (ca 1265-1321). La Divina Commedia di Dante. Milan: Ulrico Hoepli, 1878. 128mo (51 x 29 mm). Half-titles, engraved frontispiece, title in red and black. Contemporary black levant, spine in 5 compartments with 4 raised bands, gilt-lettered in one compartment, turn-ins and black morocco doublures gilt, blue watered silk endpapers, edges stained red (light rubbing to upper joint). Originally printed by the Salmin Brothers of Padua, Hoepli purchased a number of copies and issued the identical volume but with a new title page. The printing process was arduous, in part because of the minuscule 2-point Didot type (so-called "flies' eye" type), according to Spielmann, "thought to be the smallest ever employed," and "said to have injured the eyesight of both the compositor and the corrector." Because only 30 pages could be printed in a month, the work took many years to complete. The project was begun in 1850 by Giacomo Gnocchi, but the work was abandoned. Resumed in 1873 by his son Giovanni, the edition was completed at the Printing Works 'Alla Minerva' in Padua overseen by Gaetano Gianuzzi and completed on 9 June 1878. After "1,000 copies were printed and the type was destroyed."(Welsh 2168). Spielmann 114. Property from a Private Collection, Chicago, Illinois