Phytologiae; hoc est De Plantis partis primae tomus primus. (all published) de AMBROSINI, Giacinto - 1666

Bologna: Haeredes de Duccijs, 1666. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Folio - over 12 - 15" tall. Folio (313 x 208 mm). [14], 576, [72] pp., including two blanks, allegorical engraved frontispiece by Lauren Tineus showing a large garden, title with woodcut device, woodcut initials, woodcut headpiece and 36 mostly full-page woodcut illustrations of plants in text. Contemporary vellum, spine hand-lettered in ink and with 4 raised bands, original endpapers (joints and head of spine repaired, binding a bit tight and boards bowed). Light even browning, some occasional mostly marginal foxing, few pages with light finger-soiling. Provenance: Congregazione dell'Oratorio di San Filippo Neri Bologna (oval stamp on title). A very good copy. ----

RARE FIRST EDITION. The Phytologiae was intended to be the first of a two-volume dictionary of plants with the second volume planned to be devoted to trees never published due to Ambrosini's death. The woodcuts in this work on herbaceous plants were done by Lorenzo Tinti. "Giancinto (Hyacintho) was director of the Botanical Gardens at Bologna from 1657-1665, following the directorship of his brother Bartolomeo. The genus Ambrosinia was named after the two brothers" (Hunt). The book contains a description of the tobacco plant on p. 377/378. References: Nissen, BBI 22n; Hunt 303; Pritzel 132; BM(NH) 36; Wellcome II, 39. - Visit our website to see more images!