Beschreibung:

FERRARI, Giovanni Battista (1584-1655). De Florum Cultura Libri IV. Rome: S. Paulino, 1633. 4 o (229 x 172 mm). Engraved frontispiece, engraved title, 6 engraved plates of parterres and 39 engraved plates illustrating plants, gardening, implements etc., after A.M. Variana, Pietro Cortona, Guido Reni and A Sacchi. (Some scattered light browning and staining.) Contemporary vellum (recased and endpapers renewed, some worming to spine). Provenance : Grenoble, Jesuits (bookplate on verso of title); purchased from Rousseau Girard, 1965. FIRST EDITION. "This is the first of Ferrari's elaborately illustrated books on botanical subjects... The Fame... rests more on the quality of the engraved plates than on their contribution to botanical knowledge" (Hunt 222); Nissen BBI 620; Pritzel 2877.