August 22, 2010
PRINTED 1606: HIGHLY IMPORTANT ITALIAN BOTANICAL
109 BEAUTIFUL FULL PLATE ETCHINGS
The Book:
COLONNA, Fabio (1567-?1650). Minus cognitarum stirpium aliquot ac etiam rariorum nostro coelo orientium [in Greek: Ekphrasis], Rome: Faciotti, 1606. 4to., 215 x 163mm., title in red and black with woodcut printer’s device, engraved portrait of Colonna on verso, woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces, 109 etched full-page plates of 114 of which 97 are botanical and 12 are molluscs, marine creatures and a hippopotamus set in type ornament borders. 19th century Italian boards with vellum spine, old repair to t.p., some marginal dampstaining, some marginal tears and occasional old repair, some occasional staining, wanting signatures p4, q4 (i.e. 297-312) and 1 leaf, kkk4 of index.), needless to say a Rare and an Attractive Copy; the etchings struck with fine plate-tone. Ref: Brunet II, 173; Nissen BBI 385 [$6000]
The Minus cognitarum stirpium is not only an important book in the history of botany, but also typifies the furious pace of scientific advancement in 17th century Rome, despite the historical setback of Galileo’s censorship. “Fabio Colonna, a leading botanist and botanical illustrator, was a member of the Accademia dei Lincei, founded in Rome by Prince Federico Cesi whose own botanical interest Colonna encouraged. Colonna’s interest in describing and illustrating hitherto unknown plants extended to local as well as exotic specimens. The new scientific society Accademia dei Lincei (“academy of the lynx- eyed,” so-called from the keenness of sight of its members) gave a powerful example of collective study of scientific problems– the beginning of something like modern laboratory work.”
[Ref: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/vatican/nature.html]
Interestingly, it is recorded that Colonna suffered from epilepsy and his interest in botany was peaked by his desperate search for a cure, eventually discovering the therapeutic herb Valerian through Dioscorides. That pharmaceutical intent encouraged a very careful scientific approach to his undertaking, with Colonna collecting mostly wild specimens for study- a Kunst und Wunderkammer with clear scientific purpose. A very high standard of illustration was thus reached with this publication, depicting details of plant parts decades before their taxonomic importance was recognized. Colonna is believed to have executed all the etchings himself; the original drawings for which are preserved in the Biblioteca Nazionale, Naples.
Price Ref. of the 1616 2nd edition: Christies, June 4, 1997. $7475.00 [Ref: http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=228261&sid=2a257c48-0d49-4272-9e56-e59ba2148e2f]
