CATULLUS, Caius Valerius; VOLPI, Gian Antonio (editor)

C. Valerius Catullus Veronensis;

Patavii: Josephus Cominus, 1737. The Best Edition of Catullus Yet Published" The Rare Veronese Gold Medal Winner CATULLUS, C. Valerius. VOLPI, Gian Antonio (editor). C. Valerius Catullus Veronensis et in eum Jo: Antonii Vulpii Eloquentiae Professoris in Gymnasio Patavino Novus Commentarius Locupletissimus. Patavii [Padua]: Josephus Cominus, 1737. First separate Volpi edition, originally issued collectively with Albius Tibullus E.R. and Sex. Aurelius Propertius (1710), here with material not found in that earlier edition. Quarto (10 5/8 x 7 1/2 in; 270 x 189 mm). xl, 608, [1, errata], [1, colophon], [2, blank] pp. Title page engraving. Head- tailpieces. Historiated initial. Includes Vopi's essay, De Metris Catulli, commentary, bibliographical references and index. Contemporary full vellum. Calf spine label. All edges dappled in red and yellow. Stab-stitch holes manifest. Text block crisp and clean. A remarkable copy of a scarce book, here in its fine original eighteenth century vellum binding with decorated edges. "'This is in every respect,' says Dr. Harwood, 'the best edition of Catullus yet published; the text is exhibited in a more correct manner, and the notes of Vulpius are very valuable.' According to Ernesti and Harles, the notes of Vulpius are not so much in emendation of the text, as in illustration of the poet by selecting parallel passages from ancient and modern writers" (Dibdin I, p. 245). "Gian Antonio Volpi, born at Padua in 1686, studied in his native town and became a good Latin and Greek scholar. In 1717 he and his brother Gaetano Volpi established a printing press in their house for the purpose of bring out correct editions of classic authors, and they engaged for their assistant the printer Giuseppi Comino. This press - known by the name Volpi-Cominiana, produced among others a valuable edition of Catullus with copious notes. The edition was much commended by scholars, and the city of Verona struck a gold medal, which was presented to Volpi" (Long, George. The Supplement to the Penny Cyclopedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, p. 699. For many years professor of philosophy and rhetoric at University of Padua, Volpi went blind in his old age and died in 1766. .

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Book number: 01821

Catalogue: Books in Latin

Keywords: VOLPI, Gian Antonio (editor) Classical Literature

FLORUS, Lucius Annaeus; FLORUS, [Lucius] Publius Annaeus

L. Annaeus Florus [Works]

Lugd. Batav. Leiden: apud Elzevirios, 1638. First Elzevier Edition FLORUS, Lucius Annaeus. L. Annaeus Florus [Works], CL. Salmasius, addidit Lucium Ampelium. & cod. M.S. nunquam antehac editum. Lugd. Batav. [Leiden]: apud Elzevirios, 1638. First Elzevier edition, second issue, with pp. 200 and 336 misnumbered as 220 and 536 respectively. Twelvemo (4 15/15 x 2 3/4 in; 126 x 70 mm). [8], 536 [i.e. 336], [16, index] pp. Engraved illustrated title-page, headpieces, tailpieces, initials. Contemporary vellum. Yapp edges. Manuscript title to spine. Bookplate of Henry Scott Boys, late Bengal Civil Service, Allahabad. Neat ownership signatures to endpapers and title-page. Quarter inch wormhole to [ii-vii, 2]. Occasional early and neat underlinings. Small loss to spine head/upper board at joint. Otherwise an excellent copy in its original seventeenth century vellum binding. "At the better grammar schools of the time the relevant authors studied were Ovid, Cicero, Caesar, Sallust and Livy. At Eton the boys in the fifth form read Valerius Maximus and Lucius Florus. There is no reason to suppose that Shakespeare knew all these, but if he went to Stratford Grammar School he would not only be able to read but to imitate the style of several of them.. if he wished to consult any of the major Roman historians in Latin he could do so profitably and without great difficulty" (Bullough, Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare). Florus was not translated into English until 1619. "Florus' abridgement of Roman history, well-known to English schoolboys in Latin form, refers to Coriolanus briefly in his Book I, and gives a version of the fable of the Body's Members" (Gillespie, Shakespeare's Books, p. 171). Goldsmid II, p. 47. Willems 467. Copinger 1738. .

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Book number: 01785

Catalogue: Books in Latin

Keywords: FLORUS, [Lucius] Publius Annaeus Classical History Classical Literature Early Books Fine Printing

KIRCHER, Athanasius

Diatribe de Prodigiosi Crucibus

Roma: Vitale Mascardi, 1661. First Edition of One of the Rarest of Athanasius Kircher's Books "Post-Vesuvius Crosses" KIRCHER, Athanasius. Diatribe de prodigiosi Crucibus: quae tam supra vestes hominum, quam res alias, non pridem post vltimum incendium Vesuuij Montis Neapoli Comparuerunt. Roma: Vitale Mascardi, 1661. First edition. Small octavo (6 1/2 x 4 1/16 inches; 164 x 103 mm). [viii], 103, [1, blank] pp. one fold-out plate. Roman and italic type. Woodcut initials, head- tailpieces. Nineteenth century full vellum, spine lettered in manuscript. Slight burn mark affecting 1/4 x 1/2 inch of top blank margin of last three leaves of text and rear endleaves (not affecting any text). Later endpapers with original marbled endpapers bound in. An excellent copy of a very rare book. Housed in a fleece-lined half black morocco clamshell case. "During 1661 a further work was published by Kircher which brought a refreshingly rational approach to a problem worrying the people of Naples. Mysterious crosses had been appearing on clothing and all manner of fabrics. In this Diatribe de prodigiosis crucibus Kircher proved that the suspected indication of heavenly wrath was little more than the presence in the air around Vesuvius-dominated Naples of minute specks of volcanic ash, settling on the texture of woven cloth." (John Fletcher. A study of the life and works of Athanasius Kircher, p. 51). One of the rarest of all works in first edition by Kircher and near impossible to find in the marketplace, Diatribe de Prodigiosis Crucibus "attempts to explain the uncanny appearance of crosses on clothing and other objects immediately after an eruption of Vesuvius in 1660. He begins by discussing the history of similar appearances and the nature of miracles in general. God, he says, works by natural means, and miracles can therefore be explained rationally..Nevertheless, he argues, the crosses are a portent from God warning the people to repent. This approach is an excellent illustration of Kircher's position between the two worlds of the seventeenth century, the scientific and the orthodox" (Merrill). Kircher: Merrill 16. Brunet III, 67. Graesse IV, 21. Sommervogel IV, 1059.18. Clendening 9.12. .

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Book number: 03235

Catalogue: Books in Latin

Keywords: Early Books Religion Science and Technology

KIRCHER, Athanasius

Magnes Sive de Arte Magnetica Opus Tripartitum

Cologne: Iodocum Kalcoven, 1643. Magnets and the Magnetic Art Second Enlarged and Corrected Edition KIRCHER, Athanasius. Magnes sive de arte magnetica opus tripartitum quo praeterquam quod universa magnetis natura, eiusque in omnibus. Artibus & Scientiis usus, nova Methodo explicetur, è viribus quoque & prodigiosis effectibus Magneticarum, aliarumq; abditarum Naturae motionum in Elementis, Lapidibus, Plantis & Animalibus elucescentium, multa hucusque incognita Naturae arcana per Physica, Medica, Chymica, & Mathematica omnis generis experimenta recluduntur. Editio Secunda post Romanum multò correctior. Cologne: Iodocum Kalcoven, 1643. Second edition, corrected and enlarged by Kircher shortly after the first edition of 1641 was published. Octavo (7 7/8 x 6 inches; 200 x 152 mm.). [28], 797, [1], [38] pp. Complete with the additional engraved title-page, engraved vignette on title. Thirty-two engraved plates (including full page woodcuts on pp. 196, 197, & 198) and numerous engraved and woodcut text illustrations, including music. Contemporary yapp-edged vellum, spine lettered in manuscript. All edges stained red, later endleaves. Small expert repair (one inch square) to blank area on title-page due to removal of ownership stamp and not affecting any text on verso. Three very small marginal paper-flaws, some leaves lightly toned, a few leaves with light, mainly marginal water-stain, otherwise a complete, fine and clean copy. This edition was rewritten and expanded from the first edition in quarto. Kircher's definitive work on magnetism and electromagnetism (a term coined by Kircher in this work), which he conceived as a universal force of nature. Kircher carefully compiled measurements of magnetic declination from several places around the world, as reported by Jesuit scholars, and particularly by his disciple Martin Martine, who in a letter suggested the possibility of determining longitudes by the declination of a magnetic needle. Recognizing the importance of this method, Kircher brought it to the attention of the scientific world. An extensive chapter discusses the magnetic properties of the planets. Kircher's Magnes is filled with curiosities, both profound and frivolous. The work does not deal solely with what modern physicists call magnetism. Kircher discusses, for example, the magnetism of the earth and heavenly bodies; the tides; the attraction and repulsion in animals and plants; and the magnetic attraction of music and love. He also explains the practical applications of magnetism in medicine, hydraulics, and even in the construction of scientific instruments and toys. In the epilogue Kircher moves from the practical to the metaphysical - and Aristolelian - when he discusses the nature and position of God: "the central magnet of the universe." Practically all of Kircher's works begin with an illustrated title-page. Sometimes these were changed even for later issues of the same work, as for this second and greatly enlarged edition of his Magnes. Sommervogel IV 1048.6; Merrill 5. Jesuit Science in the Age of Galileo, Linda Hall Library, 1986, n. 43. .

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Book number: 04296

Catalogue: Books in Latin

Keywords: Books in Latin Science and Technology Early Books Science and Technology

KIRCHER, Athanasius; BONNANI, Filippo

Musaeum Kircherianum

Roma: Georgius Plachi, 1709. The Rare Catalogue of the Great Kircher Museum [KIRCHER, Athanasius]. BONANNI, Filippo. Musaeum Kircherianum, sive Musaeum a P. Athanasio Kirchero In Collegio Romano Societatis Jesu jam pridem incoeptum Nuper restitutum, auctum, descriptum, & Iconibus illustratum.. Roma: Typis Georgii Plachi Caelaturam Prositentis, & Characterum Fusoriam propè S. Marcum, 1709. First edition of Bonanni's catalogue of the Kircher Museum in Rome. Folio (14 5/8 x 9 3/4 inches; 372 x 247 mm.). [xii], 1-39, [40, blank], [21 leaves of illustration numbered 40-60], 61-79, [80, blank], [4 leaves of illustration numbered 60-63], 84-115, [12 leaves of illustration numbered 116-127], 128-146, [147, blank], [14 leaves of illustration numbered 147-160], 161-183, [184, blank], [15 leaves of illustration numbered 184-197.2], 198-224, [225, blank], [2 leaves of illustration numbered 248-226], 225-247, [248, blank], [18 leaves of illustration numbered 284-300], 264-283, [21 leaves of illustration numbered 284-300], 302-312, [313, blank], [4 leaves of illustration numbered 313-316], 316-319, [2 leaves of illustration numbered 320-321], 322-361, [28 leaves of illustration numbered 362-387, 391], 392-411, [1 leaf of illustration numbered 412], 412-522, [1, blank], [48 leaves of illustration numbered a-bbb], [7, index], [1, blank] pp. Plate numbers 299 & 364 are double-page folding. A4-H2, I4-N4, O6, P4-T4, U6, X4-Z4, Aa4, Bb6, Cc6, Dd4-Gg4, Hh6, Ii4-Zz4, Aaa6. Text printed in two columns. Engraved portrait frontispiece of Prince Ruspoli, and 190 engraved plates, two of which are double-page. Leaf Hh2 (pp. 352/353 with small, neatly repaired lower marginal tear. Some light occasional browning to a few leaves, otherwise fine and clean. Contemporary vellum, manuscript title on spine, all edges sprinkled red. Slight cracking to upper and lower portions of spine. Engraved portrait of Athanasius Kircher on front paste-down, rectangular bookplate of Bibliotheca Kircheriana on front paste-down. Albert Vialis was an early twentieth century French translator and avid collector of Kircher material. Most copies that have appeared at auction have lacked plates or other imperfections. Just four copies have appeared at auction over the past fifty years, with only two of those purportedly complete. Our copy has 190 engraved plates which is 28 more than any other copy cited. In 1698, Jesuit Filippo Bonanni (1638-1723) was appointed curator of the internationally known cabinet of curiosities, the Musaeum Kircherianum, gathered by Athanasius Kircher and lodged in the Jesuit Collegio Romano. The museum was created in the middle of the seventeenth century. Because Kircher was interested in everything the museum included objects of every kind from many emerging disciplines: antiquities, archaeology, ethnography, natural history, etc. and also included a number of mathematical, scientific, and physical instruments. The Museum does not exist any more as such, its collections having been disbursed among the other Roman museums. It is possible, however, to reconstruct it in one's imagination, because of the elaborate description of it by Buonanni, who published this detailed, if not exhaustive, catalogue of the amazing collection of his Jesuit colleague, which, in addition to the items above, clocks, artwork, coins, mummies, a "mermaid's tail," an extraordinary collection of shoes, the first cuneiform document known in Europe, and a large collection of seashells. The catalog is divided into twelve sections (Classes) concerning the various categories of objects. These range from antiques to the natural sciences, physics and mathematics, in order to illustrate what Nature "his sinus inexausto effluxu produxit" (Proemium). The antiquities occupy the first five sections and are collected in ethnographic criteria. The critical assumptions cards to each category focus on the use and characteristics of individual types of objects. Cicognara 3372. Caillet 5784. Honeyman 550. Brunet I,1086. Nissen ZBI 2198. .

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Book number: 04867

Catalogue: Books in Latin

Keywords: BONNANI, Filippo Classical History Science and Technology