Bartolomeo Scanavacca - Novissima inventione per...

We offer at auction a splendid original first edition from 1688 of this rare treatise on gnomonics and astronomy, titled "Novissima inventione per dissegnare con grandissima facilità, e prestezza horologi solari, italiani, babilonici, e francesi", by the Filipino priest Bartolomeo Scanavacca, printed in Padua at the celebrated Stamperia del Seminario for Bernardo Luciani. The volume rigorously and practically illustrates the geometric methodologies for tracing and constructing the various types of sundials and is accompanied by rich numerical tables and calculations to determine the solar motion and the entry into the signs of the Zodiac. The copy is presented in quarto format (about 21 x 15.5 cm) preserved in its fascinating contemporaneous full parchment binding, genuine and never restored, with physiological and slight signs of age on the covers that attest to its authenticity. Inside the sheets are solid and well preserved, with natural and light marginal foxing that does not disturb reading, enhanced by fascinating antique ownership annotations dated between 1696 and 1784 on the flyleaves and margins. A strong point of this exemplar is its absolute iconographic completeness: it includes all four large folded plates bound with fine copper-engraved prints (specified as Plate 1, 2, 3 and 4), rich in geometric diagrams, protractors, and practical diagrams for the construction of sundials, all well preserved and printed on strong paper. What makes this volume extraordinary and unique is the presence of contemporary manuscript material attached inside, the result of careful work by a scholar, mathematician, or gnomonomist of the eighteenth century who used the book concretely for his studies. The attachments include a large folded sheet with complex scientific diagrams drawn by hand in ink (with era-appropriate inscriptions such as "Linea di Contingenza", "Circolo equinotiale" and "Regolatrice"), together with a dense sheet of calculations and equations for determining the height of the pole, transforming this book into an irreplaceable historical testimony. The volume will be shipped with extreme care using packaging with a layer of bubble wrap and reinforced cardboard. Shipping will be managed exclusively via a fully tracked express courier, with a tracking number provided immediately after dispatch to allow real-time monitoring of every stage of delivery.

Estimate:£293.15

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