The Baron in the Trees (1957/1959) First Edition Reference

Il barone rampante (Einaudi, 1957) is Calvino’s most beloved novel and the centerpiece of the Our Ancestors trilogy. Cosimo Piovasco di Rondò, a twelve-year-old Italian nobleman, climbs into the trees after refusing to eat snails at dinner — and spends the rest of his life in the canopy, never touching the ground again. From the trees, he hunts, reads, loves, fights, and engages with the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. The English translation was published by Random House in 1959.

First Edition Identification

Italian: Einaudi, 1957. One of Einaudi’s most important post-war publications. English: Random House, 1959. Translated by Archibald Colquhoun.

Signed Copy Market Values

• Signed Italian first: $500–$1,500
• Signed English first: $200–$600
• Unsigned Italian first: $150–$400
• Unsigned English first: $50–$150

The Baron in the Trees is the most widely loved Calvino novel — its premise is irresistible, its execution enchanting, and its philosophical implications (the value of commitment to an absurd principle) resonate across cultures.