174
Bianchini, Francesco
Universal history proven with monuments, and figured with symbols of the ancients, 1697
Estimate
€ 350 - 450
Sold
€ 448
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Information
Rome, Antonio de Rossi, 1697. In 4th. Allegorical front door, cardinal's coat of arms on the title page, 2 headpieces and 37 vignettes in the text, 10 engraved copper plates of which 4 folded, 3 folded tables, browning and blooms, coeval parchment binding, manuscript title back, slight defects. Ex libris G. Sitta glued to the counterplate.
Specialist Notes
Rare first edition, in copy showing the author's handwritten dedication to Count Ignazio Rocchi on the title page . The work, dedicated by the author to the Cardinal Prince Pietro Ottoboni, is highly sought after for the branches engraved by the author himself (most of them on drawings by Pietro Sante Bartoli) and lost after printing. Abbot Francesco Bianchini (1662-1729), a well-known astrophysicist and authoritative antiquarian, planned to publish this monumental work in two parts, but only the first saw the light because the author hastened to send it to print at his own expense to make a title in the competition for the position of first custodian (now prefect) of the Vatican Library, which has always been his dream. Particularly interesting are the 6 tables depicting some obelisks of Rome.