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ALDROVANDI, Ulisse.
Ornithologiae.
Bologna; Baptiste Bellagamba, Nicolaus Tebaldini. 1599-1634-1603.
£11850.00
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Folio, 3 volumes, FIRST EDITION of vols 1-3, 4th ed of vol. 2. pp., [xiii], 893, [cvi]; [vi], 862, [cviii]; [x] 560 [xii]. Roman letter, foliated woodcut initials, 100 or more whole-page and 130 half and quarter-page fine ornithological illustrations per volume, extra illustrated in margins with early woodcuts from other works of birds of the same genus, potential prey, habitats etc. Occasional browning, infrequent light foxing. Very good copies in 17th C mottled calf, 16th C red and black gothic letter printers' waste visible through endpapers, edges speckled red. Covers with double gilt-ruled panels with central gilt arms, griffin surmounting an escutcheon of two griffins with patonce crosses alternating blind on gilt and gilt on calf. Spines in 7 compartments with armorial emblems, chipped at base. Surface of joints cracked but bands sound, corners worn. Early ms pressmarks on flyleaf. Armorial bookplate of Dominique Barnabé Turgot de St Clair, bishop of Séez 1710 - 1727. A handsome set of probably the finest illustrated ornithology of the Renaissance, with superb woodcut illustrations. The driving force behind Bologna's pioneering botanical garden, Aldrovandi is reckoned the father of natural history studies. Graduating in medicine and philosophy in 1553, he taught at the University of Bologna, becoming professor of philosophy and its first professor of natural sciences. These 3 vols of Ornithologiae constitute the whole of the encyclopædic ornithological section of his collected treatises on natural history; the others, published over a number of years, were concerned with flora and fauna. Dedicated to Pope Clement VIII, the work opens with a description of the happy omen that led Aldrovandi to begin his work and a eulogy to the eagle. Having described how to use the book, Aldrovandi systematically describes birds of prey such as eagles, vultures, and falcons; nocturnal birds such as owls; '4-legged' birds such as bats; mythical 'birds' like griffins, sirens and the phoenix; tropical birds such as parrots and 'rhinocerous birds;' domestic birds such as crows and jays and exotic birds like peacocks, pelicans and turkeys. Each is named and any alternative appellation given, as are descriptions of appearance, temperament, breeding and nesting habits, habitat, method of flight, call, prey, uses for consumption, hunting and medicine, depiction in legends and art, and the individual muscles of its wings and body, accompanied by detailed woodcuts of the complete birds and their subspecies, cross-sections of the feet and wings, skeletons, heraldic usage, and the birds with their prey. The text is almost wholly a compilation of what went before, tacitly dismissive of Gesner and adopting Belon's method of arrangement with much more elaborate detail. Its real value lies in the quality and realism of its illustrations which were greatly superior to anything else available.
Although Volume II was first published in 1600, the BM copy in common with our own dates 1634. It appears that this combination of editions was the most desirable.
'The value of Aldrovandi's ornithology is enhanced by its many original illustrations, which are often good and are generally better than Gesner's… No effort or expense was spared in obtaining the pictorial material on which, and on the provision of a large collection, Aldrovandi spent his fortune. As for the woodcuts themselves, Aldrovandi stated in the preface that they were executed so carefully, so elegantly, that they seemed to be carved, not in wood but in copper.' Anker 11.
BM STC It. p16. Nissen 18. Adams A647. Cottrell 13. Ellis/Mengel 42. Stresemann 21: 'A far better collection than anything existing at the time'. Alden 599/4: 'Included are American birds, e.g. Brazilian magpie (pica Brasilica).' IA 103.119-120.
L651-3
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