Our Ancestors Trilogy Signed Set Reference

Calvino’s Our Ancestors trilogy — The Cloven Viscount (1952), The Baron in the Trees (1957), and The Nonexistent Knight (1959) — represents one of the great trilogies of philosophical fable in modern literature. Assembling a signed set of all three in either Italian or English first editions is an extraordinarily ambitious collecting goal.

Italian Set

All three were published by Einaudi. A complete signed set of Italian first editions would be a museum-quality acquisition.

English Set

The English publication history is complicated: The Baron in the Trees was published separately (Random House, 1959), while The Cloven Viscount and The Nonexistent Knight were published together (Random House, 1962). A “complete” English set thus comprises two physical volumes.

Market Values

• Complete signed Italian set: $1,500–$4,000+
• Complete signed English set: $400–$1,000
• Unsigned complete Italian set: $400–$1,000

A signed complete set of the Our Ancestors trilogy — in any language — would be one of the outstanding Calvino acquisitions possible.