STELLUTI, Francesco. Persio tradotto in verso sciolto. Roma, Giacomo Mascardi, 1630In 4to. 210x218 mm. Legatura in piena pelle con tassello in marocchino al dorso, fogli di guardia marmorizzati. Pagine [24, incluso Frontespizio inciso], 218, [20]. Frontespizio inciso da Matthaeus Greuter, un ritratto di Persio e sei figure nel testo, di cui una a piena pagina, fregi e iniziali ornate. Al verso dell’ultima carta errata e marca tipografica. Bell’esemplare.Rara prima edizione figurata. Si tratta della prima opera che contiene immagini di organismi visti attraversi il microscopio. Di notevole rilievo le rappresentazioni incise da Stelluti dell’anatomia dell’ape e del tonchio. Garrison-Morton: “First book to contain illustrations of natural objects as seen through the microscope, specifically an engraving of the exterior surface of bees.”Freedburg: “The full-page image of a magnified bee (p. 52), showing minute details of the antennae, legs, sting, head and tongue, "still has the capacity to arouse the wonder of modern experts.” On page 127 is a smaller illustration of a magnified grain weevil, including a detail of the tip of the insect’s snout and mandibles. This translation by Francesco Stelluti of the works of the Latin poet Persio is dedicated to the powerful cardinal Francesco Barberini in an attempt to obtain the patronage of the cardinal for the Accademia dei Lincei.” Nelle ampie note Stelluti parla anche delle scoperte di Galileo e del Della Porta: risulta inoltre che questo sia il primo libro stampato in cui compare la parola "microscopio", coniata pochi anni prima dai Lincei per uno strumento ideato da Galileo. Garrison-Morton 259; Nissen ZBI 3988; Cinti 86; NLM/Krivatsy 8806; Wellcome I:4917. Ford, Images of Science: A History of Scientific Illustration, pp. 172-173, 179-180. Freedburg, The Eye of the Lynx: Galileo, His Friends, and the Beginnings of Modern Natural History (2003).

In 4to. 210x218mm. Full leather binding with morocco label on the spine, marbled endpapers. Pages [24, including engraved title page], 218, [20]. Titlepage engraved by Matthaeus Greuter, a portrait of Persius and six figures in the text, one of which full-page, ornaments and decorated initials. On the verso of the last leaf, errata and printer's device. Fine copy.
Rare first illustrated edition. This is the first work that contains images of organisms seen through the microscope. Of notable importance are the representations engraved by Stelluti of the anatomy of the bee and the weevil. Garrison-Morton: “First book to contain illustrations of natural objects as seen through the microscope, specifically an engraving of the exterior surface of bees.”Freedburg: “The full-page image of a magnified bee (p. 52), showing minute details of the antennae, legs, sting, head and tongue, "still has the capacity to arouse the wonder of modern experts.” On page 127 is a smaller illustration of a magnified grain weevil, including a detail of the tip of the insect’s snout and mandibles. This translation by Francesco Stelluti of the works of the Latin poet Persio is dedicated to the powerful cardinal Francesco Barberini in an attempt to obtain the patronage of the cardinal for the Accademia dei Lincei.” In the extensive notes Stelluti also speaks of the discoveries of Galileo and Della Porta: it also appears that this is the first printed book in which the word "microscope" appears, coined a few years earlier by the Lincei for an instrument devised by Galileo.