[MAGALOTTI (Lorenzo)]. - Lot 46

[MAGALOTTI (Lorenzo)]. Saggi di naturali esperienze fatte nell'Accademia del Cimento. Firenze [Florence]: Giuseppe Cocchini, 1666 [1667]. - In-folio, 338 x 246 : (8 ff.), CCLXIX pp., (8 ff.). Parchment, stiff, smooth spine, speckled edges (18th century binding). Highly sought-after first edition, dedicated to Ferdinand II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, of this collection of scientific experiments carried out by the Accademia del Cimento (Academy of Experimentation). This was Europe's first learned society, founded by Ferdinand II and his brother Leopold in 1657. It lasted only 10 years, dissolved in 1667 by a decision of the ecclesiastical authorities. Research and experimentation were nonetheless plentiful, and the results are revealed in this precious compendium published by Lorenzo Magalotti, the Academy's young secretary, on behalf of the Academy. It includes research into instruments for determining changes in the air caused by heat and cold, for measuring time and atmospheric pressure, etc., as well as experiments on artificial freezing, natural ice and magnets. Among the instruments described are the Florentine thermometer and an improved barometer. Printing of this work began in 1664, but was not completed until October 1667. Some copies, such as this one, bear a title page dated 1666. Eight hundred copies, though perhaps fewer, were printed. They were not intended for the trade, but for distribution exclusively to patrons of the arts or their friends. The edition is richly and beautifully illustrated, with a title vignette, 18 chapter headings, 14 culs-de-lampe and 75 full-page engravings. Missing is the portrait of Ferdinand II, which is not always found. Copy in 18th-century Italian binding, from the library of the Venetian procurator and censor Michiel Domenico (1707-1791). Soiling to binding. False title and title rebacked. Provenance: Michiel Domenico, with bookplate. - Italian bookshop G. Pedone Lauriel, with label. Attached is the second edition of the work: - Saggi di naturali esperienze fatte nell'Accademia del Cimento... Seconda edizione. Firenze [Florence]: Giovanni Filippo Cecchi, 1691. - In-folio, 362 x 247: (8 ff.), CCLXIX pp., (10 ff.), 1 portrait. Speckled rust-colored stiff parchment, spine ribbed, handwritten title label affixed to second panel, speckled edges (period binding). Second edition, this time dedicated to Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. It is illustrated with an out-of-text portrait of the dedicatee drawn and engraved by Arnold van Westerhout, which is often missing, a title vignette, 17 bands, 15 culs-de-lampe and 75 full-page engravings. While the latter are identical to those of the original edition, the headbands and culs-de-lampe have been re-engraved. Spine faded, corners dull, one nerve missing, some rubbing and soiling. Slight marginal wetness on the edge of the first 5 leaves, soiling on a few leaves, especially on the false title and title. Brown stain on the portrait, level with the signature.