Dec 6, 2024 10:00 EST
Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
646
Ferrari's Hesperides, with superb plates of fruit
FERRARI, GIOVANNI BAPTISTA
Hesperides sive de malorum aureorum cultura et usu. Libri quatuor. Rome: Hermann Scheus, 1646. First edition. 19th-century green morocco spine, patterned cloth, all edges speckled. 13 1/2 x 9 1/4 inches (34 x 23.5 cm); engraved additional title by J.F. Greuter after Pietro da Cortona, 101 engraved plates on 100 sheets by Cornelis Bloemaerts and others, though this copy lacks three plates, all classical studies: pp. 31/2 (D4), the Farnese Hercules; pp. 51/2 (G2) and pp. 277/8 (2M3). The binding rubbed, small tear to the head of the spine, edges of boards rather worn; the first few leaves detached from the sewing as a quire, three plates missing as noted, a minor stain at the foot of this section, scattered toning throughout (as is frequently the case), but generally a clean copy. Offered not subject to return.
This is the first book devoted to citrus fruit, and it is noteworthy for the superb engravings by Cornelis Bloemaert, "one of the great Dutch 17th-century botanical artists" (Hunt). Bloemaert produced eighty plates after Vincenzo Leonardi, each displaying a single fruit, roughly life-size, both in full and in section, together with the foliage. "Ferrari's detailed descriptions of individual varieties of these fruits, many of them monstrous-looking objects with strangely distorted shapes or very thick bumpy skin, are illustrated by plates showing them in their full size, often with flowers and leaves. The names are inscribed on ribbons winding round the twigs and across the plates, which usually show a cross or transverse section below the whole fruit. [Bloemart] illustrated eight citrons, thirty-nine lemons, nine strange fruits grouped with lemons but four of which look more like grapefruit (at a date when the West Indian parents of the modern grapefruit were unknown in Europe), four limes, and twenty oranges, among them a couple of precursors of the navel kind (pages 315 and 405)" (Oak Spring Pomona, p. 180). This is among the finest botanical works of the Baroque period. An Oak Spring Pomona, 67; Hunt 243; Nissen BBI 621; Pritzel 2878.
Sold for $7,680
Estimated at $3,000 - $5,000
Includes Buyer's Premium
FERRARI, GIOVANNI BAPTISTA
Hesperides sive de malorum aureorum cultura et usu. Libri quatuor. Rome: Hermann Scheus, 1646. First edition. 19th-century green morocco spine, patterned cloth, all edges speckled. 13 1/2 x 9 1/4 inches (34 x 23.5 cm); engraved additional title by J.F. Greuter after Pietro da Cortona, 101 engraved plates on 100 sheets by Cornelis Bloemaerts and others, though this copy lacks three plates, all classical studies: pp. 31/2 (D4), the Farnese Hercules; pp. 51/2 (G2) and pp. 277/8 (2M3). The binding rubbed, small tear to the head of the spine, edges of boards rather worn; the first few leaves detached from the sewing as a quire, three plates missing as noted, a minor stain at the foot of this section, scattered toning throughout (as is frequently the case), but generally a clean copy. Offered not subject to return.
This is the first book devoted to citrus fruit, and it is noteworthy for the superb engravings by Cornelis Bloemaert, "one of the great Dutch 17th-century botanical artists" (Hunt). Bloemaert produced eighty plates after Vincenzo Leonardi, each displaying a single fruit, roughly life-size, both in full and in section, together with the foliage. "Ferrari's detailed descriptions of individual varieties of these fruits, many of them monstrous-looking objects with strangely distorted shapes or very thick bumpy skin, are illustrated by plates showing them in their full size, often with flowers and leaves. The names are inscribed on ribbons winding round the twigs and across the plates, which usually show a cross or transverse section below the whole fruit. [Bloemart] illustrated eight citrons, thirty-nine lemons, nine strange fruits grouped with lemons but four of which look more like grapefruit (at a date when the West Indian parents of the modern grapefruit were unknown in Europe), four limes, and twenty oranges, among them a couple of precursors of the navel kind (pages 315 and 405)" (Oak Spring Pomona, p. 180). This is among the finest botanical works of the Baroque period. An Oak Spring Pomona, 67; Hunt 243; Nissen BBI 621; Pritzel 2878.
Auction: Rare Books, Autographs & Maps, Dec 6, 2024
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Auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on December 6, 2024
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Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions
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We Invite You to Contact Us for a Complimentary Auction Evaluation of Your Books, Autographs & Maps
NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle held a successful auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps onDecember 6, 2024 showcased is a wonderful diversity of Americana, maps, autographs, early books and landmarks of literature and science.
Highlighting the sale was the first edition of Spinoza's Tractatus theologico-politicus from 1670 that soared to $70,350. Spinoza’s Tractatus is his only work published during his lifetime and remains his most significant. It presents a clear theory of natural right, asserting that the love of God leads to love for others. The state exists to ensure liberty, not oppression, with justice, wisdom, and toleration as key. Influential to thinkers like Blake and Goethe, it shaped Romanticism.
The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection offered the largest trove of unpublished Raymond Chandler stories, poetry, letters, books and personal artifacts to come to market. Best known for his Philip Marlowe detective novels including The Big Sleep (1939) and Farewell, My Lovely (1940) and as screenwriter of film noir classics such as Double Indemnity (1944) and The Blue Dahlia (1946), Raymond Chandler is considered one of the top writers in the hardboiled fiction genre alongside Dashiell Hammett and James Cain. Held for decades, the archive belonged to Jean Fracasse [later Vounder-Davis] who was first hired in January 1957 as Chandler's personal secretary but quickly became his close friend, confidant, fiancé and muse to whom he dedicated his last book.
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Consignments are currently being accepted for future auctions. We invite you to contact us for a complimentary auction evaluation. Our Specialists are always available to discuss the sale of a single item or an entire collection.
For information, please contact Peter Costanzo at 212-427-4141 ext 248, Edward Ripley-Duggan at ext 234, or Noah Goldrach at ext 226, or email Books@Doyle.com
