Pulcinellopaedia Seraphiniana Hardcover – Illustrated, October 18, 2016

The Deluxe Edition came in a sturdy red, fabric finished "folio" style case. It opens up to reveal the book sitting in the recessed compartment, and on the back of the front cover an envelope is attached, the flap opens to reveal a "Tarot" card Luigi has designed. There are 3 different cards: BIM, BUM & BAM. Of the 900 copies of this edition, each set of 300 has it's own card. Mine was the 1st card "BIM" #278/300. It is signed by both Serafini & another person... whom I have yet to figure out the identity (around this person's signed name, is a seal that says: Polecenella Cetrulo 'Nventore". If anyone can shed light on this I would appreciate it). The card is made of decently heavy stock and is pretty big at like 7" x 12" - ish...beautifully illustrated with bright inks, the art style, present only on this card, is similar to the type of art he made for "Il Conglio D'oro", in that it seems to be computer generated in some way, rather than his usual Prismacolor®-like pencil drawings. Unfortunately mine had a piece of sticky substance, probably glue from the manufacturing, that caused a mar on the back of the card.The whole package itself comes in a brown cardboard tuck-latch protection case, double walled on the edges. Affixed to the front is a glossy paper detailing the books attributes, with a few photos, one of which reveals the specific card you get within the book. This paper also tells you which book copy # you got, X/900, and which card # you got, X/300. The book's hardcover front spine and back is made of some type of rough material, not similar to his other Rizzoli books, maybe this is unique to the Deluxe Edition, not sure, but it's gorgeous. The Cover of the Deluxe Edition is unique in that the picture on the botton are different, and there is a facsimile of Serafini's signature adorning the bottom. The rear cover has bright orange in the drawings, which I am not sure are present in the regular version. The paper is the same type of textured heavy stock used the "Codex Seraphinianus" & "Storie Naturali". The drawings are perfectly detailed and very very compelling, each tells it's own story, and the whole layout is that of a story or play acted out in scenes and growing, Luigi is a MASTER at his craft, and this book illustrates that in spades. Although he chose to do all the drawings in mainly plain old pencil, he throws in dashes of red pencil through most all of them. There is a multi-colored tidbit in there at one point too. It was finally on my 3rd "reading/skimming" of the book that I noticed the signed & numbered card attached to one of the last pages of the book. In the rear is where the table of contents is contained, as well as a page and a half of the only writing (with the exception of the scene names) within the book.The book is a work of art. Bravo.

Compared to the 2021 Deluxe version of Codex this is an amazing bargain for a signed, boxed edition. It came out 4 years ago and is still priced very low. You get an actual print/card signed by Serafini in this one, far nicer than the print that comes with the new Codex deluxe - where he only signed a book plate attached to the card.Yes, this is not like Codex but it's just as inventive. And the set is just gorgeous (the original book was a trade paperback so this edition is much nicer). If you like Serafini it's actually one of his best books. But if you are just looking to collect his work in signed editions then you can not beat this price while it's still around. It makes a great supplement to Codex on your shelf.

Fantastic images. Beautifully crafted book!

As a book, it's a lovely book - beautifully bound, great paper quality, and whimsical, illustrations. The illustration technique is average and the compositions are often enigmatic (not a bad thing in itself). However, I am not a big fan of this work and would have returned it if I could - no fault of the book dealer/suppler here as the book came on time and its condition was as advertised. A quick glance in a bookstore at this work would have kept in on the shelf. Still, I certainly won't complain about the great availability of everything here on the Internet. You win some and lose some.I was looking for some something more akin to Dave McKean's work in regards to Pulcinella/Petruska/Punch variations on this Commedia dell' Arte stock character. Even John Cruikshank's illustrated, albeit rough, characterizations of the Punch & Judy play are more evocative to me. If anything, this work might provoke me to more closely contemplate what's missing and go out and create/fill that gap on my own.

Disappointing after the Codex

It just didn't meet my expectations as an historical reference book

Don't bother. This is nothing like his original Codex. Most illustrations are full page and only on one side. It's a cash grab based on the reputation of his previous work

Just when you thought Luigi was finished with his witty and beautiful art, you are treated with this beautiful book.