Di Herone Alessandrino De gli automati, overo machine se moventi, Libri due, Tradotti dal greco da Bernardino Baldi Abbate di Guastalla
Features
Author: Erone Alessandrino
Publisher: Girolamo Porro
Place of printing: Venice
Year of publication: 1589
Product Condition:
Parchment binding with calligraphic title on the spine: very dirty parchment, especially on the spine and along the edges of the plates and in the upper right corner of the back plate; small brown spots and ink marks on the plates; lack of parchment covering at the lower edge of the back plate. Traces of dust on the cuts; Calligraphic title at the bottom cut. Ancient cataloging formula in pen on the pastedown and on the front flyleaf. Ancient signature of ownership on the title page. Papers in general well preserved with rare small brown spots: we point out humidity stains in the lower portion of the cc on the title page, from D2 to D4, from F2 to F3, from G1 to G3; cc K2-K3 detached.
Pages: 47cc (1c)
Format: Fourth
Dimensions (cm):
Height: 21
Width: 15
Description
Rare first edition of the first Italian translation of Heron of Alexandria's treatise Peri automatopoietikes (On the manufacture of automatic devices) by the poet, mathematician and architect Bernardino Baldi, translation completed, as indicated at the end of the text, in 1576 and published only in 1589 with a dedication to Giacomo Contarini. As indicated in the dedicatory letter, the undertaking had begun under the aegis of Baldi's master, Federico Commandino, and various vicissitudes had postponed its publication. The text, divided into two books (the first dedicated to self-moving machines, the second to stable self-moving machines) is preceded by a detailed "Discourse by those who translate above the self-moving machines" in which Baldi presents "the status of mechanics, as a discipline "subaltern" to mathematics and characterized by the harmonious union of the two components: theoretical and empirical" (Davide Pietrini, Ancient mathematics, machines and instruments, Mimesis Filosofie N. 873) with also interesting reflections on the ethical dimension of technological innovations. The text is followed by the "Annotations of S. Bernardino Baldi Abbate of Guastalla on Herone's Machine se moventi" of a more strictly philological nature. The treatise of Heron (mathematician and engineer, of uncertain dating (between the 1st and 3rd century AD), teacher at the Museum of Alexandria) is a manual for the design of self-propelled devices linked to the staging of theatrical shows and symposium or scenography intended for sanctuaries, through mechanical and pneumatic means with weights and pulley systems. The text is illustrated by 6 full-page intaglio engravings and 16 engravings (5 intaglio and 11 xylographic) nt The title page inserted in an elaborate architectural frame is very accurate. Woodcut headers, finials and drop caps.
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