Hesperides sive de malorum aureorum cultura et usu. Libri Quatuor.
FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST BOOK OF CITRUS
Rome: Hermann Scheus, 1646. First edition.
Folio (13 7/8" x 9 3/8", 352mm x 240mm). Letterpress title, engraved frontispiece by Johann Friedrich Greuter after Pietro da Cortona, 101 engraved plates (of which 80 are of citrus fruits by Cornelis Bloemaert after Vincenzo Leonardi and 8 other non-botanical plates after Andrea Sacchi, Nicolas Poussin, G.F. Romanelli, Domenico Zampieri (Domenichino), Pietro Paolo Ubaldini, Francesco Albani, and François Périer). The remaining plates were engraved by Camillo Cungi, Claude Goyrand and Greuter after Filippo Gagliardi, Guido Reni, and others.
Bound in modern speckled calf, with the original covers laid down. On the spine, six raised bands. Title gilt to red morocco in the second panel, date gilt to red morocco in the fourth panel. (Original) marbled end-papers. All edges of the text-block stained red.
Rebound. Internally quite lovely, with mild toning throughout.
One of the most attractive and lavishly illustrated botanical works of the Baroque era. Ferrari's greatest works were De Florum cultura (1633) and the Hesperides (1646). In each he attempted to name and classify new species, his predecessors having failed to provide solid nomenclatural coverage. His second treatise resulted directly from his close association with Cassiano dal Pozzo, one of Rome's leading scholars and patrons of natural history. Hesperides was a collaborative work, with Cassiano providing the source of much of the information through correspondence and specimens while Ferrari as editor and author dedicated himself to establishing a precise taxonomic classification for this family of fruit.
The Hesperides is divided into four books. The first deals with the archaeological, numismatic, mythological, and etymological background of citrus lore, beginning with the story of Hercules' penultimate labor: his procurement of the golden apples, guarded by the Hesperides, daughters of Atlas. The frontispiece depicts one of the Hesperides timidly offering him the laurel wreath of victory. Three other plates show the arrival of the apples in Italy, specifically at Rome, Lake Garda, and Naples. Also featured are dramatic engravings by Bloemaert depicting the mythological metamorphosis into citrus trees of Harmonillus (after Andrea Sacchi, p. 89), Tirsenia (after Giovanni Francesco. Romanelli, p. 277), and Leonilla (after Domenico Zampieri, p. 419).
The last three books are named after each of the Hesperidean nymphs: Aegle, Arethusa, and Hesperthusa. These are devoted to the citrons, lemons, and oranges over which they presided respectively. Ferrari also details various aspects of the cultivation of citruses that range from propagation, grafting, potting, and pruning to irrigation, manuring, and protection against heat and cold. Several plates depict orangeries and hothouses as well as pruning and grafting tools. Also mentioned in the treatise are culinary uses of citrus such as details on candied peel and pastilles, and recipes for lemon sherbet. Arader possesses five magnificent 17th century Italian watercolors of citrus fruits, of which three were produced by Leonardi (one corresponding to plate 67 and another very similar to plate 311). Two other drawings of clusters of citrus fruit on branches are attributed by scholar David Freedberg to a 17th century Italian artist whose style parallels that of Leonardi. For information on the watercolors, please inquire. Property from the Estate of Anita Peek Gilger, M.D. (sale, Christie's New York, 14 October 2003, lot 48); Acquired from: Lathrop C. Harper (1966).
Cleveland Collections 206; Freedberg, David, and Enrico Baldi, The Paper Museum of Cassiano dal Pozzo. Part One. Citrus Fruit, pp. 60-76 passim; Hunt 243; Nissen BBI 621; Oak Spring Pomona 67; Pritzel 2878. See also, Mazzoni, Christina. Golden Fruit: A Cultural History of Oranges in Italy (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2018).
Item #6JLR0053
Price: $28,000