Pirotechnia. Li diece libri della pirotechnia, nelli quail si tratta non solo la diversita delle minere, ma ancho quanto si ricera alla prattica di esse: e di quanto s'appartiene all'arte della fusiione ouer getto de metallic, e d'ogni altra cosa a Questa
by BIRINGUCCIO, Vannoccio
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See Description
- Seller
-
Concord, Massachusetts, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Venice: Comin da Trino di Monferrato, 1558. Hardcover. See Description. Third Edition. 4to in 8s. ff. [8], 168. Including decorative initials and 84 woodcut illustrations with the text. Title within woodcut border depicting a variety of metallurgical and mining equipment. Final leaf (recto) contains a printers device and colophon - "In Vinegia per Comin da Trino di Monferrato MDLIX" [1559]. Attractive copy. Pages are generally clean and fresh with occasional mild spotting / staining. An old bookplate from the "Royal Military College" is located on the inside front cover. The bookplate is stamped "Sold by H.M Stationery Office." Bound in original limp vellum (minus thong fore-edge ties). Minus binders blank fly-leaf in the rear. Vannoccio Biringuccio (1480-1539?) was a Siennese nobleman, engineer and metallurgist. His "Pirotechnia" (first published in Venice, 1540) is considered the earliest detailed hand-book on metallurgy. The work contains the first accounts of silver amalgamation, the use of sodium chloride for separating gold and silver from baser metals, the first description of cobalt blue and manganese, and the earliest account of metallic antimony [See Neville Library and Singer, Hist. of Technology III, p. 30] Other sections discuss mining, smelting, alchemy, the reverbartory furnace, the process of glassmaking, the distilling of acids, the production of gunpowder, the making of chemicals used in warfare, the founding of cannon etc. The "Pirotechnica" also contains the first known account of type casting for printing. The description is given in considerable detail [See DSB II, pp. 142-43]. [Edit 16 CNCE 6158; Adams B-2083; Honeyman Sale Cat. 336. Also - Duveen, pp. 79-80; Dibner, p.38; Neville Library I, p.156, Stillwell 827; Mortimer Italian 66 describing first edition].
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Details
- Bookseller
- Robert McDowell Antiquarian Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 000284
- Title
- Pirotechnia. Li diece libri della pirotechnia, nelli quail si tratta non solo la diversita delle minere, ma ancho quanto si ricera alla prattica di esse: e di quanto s'appartiene all'arte della fusiione ouer getto de metallic, e d'ogni altra cosa a Questa
- Author
- BIRINGUCCIO, Vannoccio
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - See Description
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- Comin da Trino di Monferrato
- Place of Publication
- Venice
- Date Published
- 1558
- Keywords
- METALLURGY MINING TECHNOLOGY CHEMISTRY RENAISSANCE BIRINGUCCI
Terms of Sale
Robert McDowell Antiquarian Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged. All listings subject to prior sale. Customers who wish to use credit cards, please make your purchase through biblio.com. All items payable in U.S. dollars, by checks drawn on a U.S. bank or by U.S. postal money order. Bank/wire transfer can also be arranged. All checks must clear before shipping. Massachusetts residents must add 6.25% sales tax.
About the Seller
Robert McDowell Antiquarian Books
Biblio member since 2009
Concord, Massachusetts
About Robert McDowell Antiquarian Books
Specializing in Pre-19th century European Imprints - History, Travel & Exploration; Theology, Philosophy & Occult; Illustrated books; Science & Medicine.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
- Colophon
- The colophon contains information about a book's publisher, the typesetting, printer, and possibly even includes a printer's...
- Device
- Especially for older books, a printer's device refers to an identifying mark, also sometimes called a printer's mark, on the...
- Vellum
- Vellum is a sheet of specialty prepared skin of lamb, calf, or goat kid used for binding a book or for printing and writing. ...
- Fly-Leaf
- ...