Plancus Janus (5 results)

First edition. 4to., contemporary paper boards, (36)pp. [a-c4, d6] . With three engraved plates, depicting 'monstrosities' such as siamese twins of a cow and cat, malformed organs and appendages. The lower 3" of the title-page has been restored with new paper, boards a little soiled but o/w an about fine copy. Giovanni Bianchi [1682-1771] Italian anatomist, archaeologist and zoologist, who wrote under the pseudonym Janus Plancus. Educated at the University of Bologna, he received degrees in medicine, physics and botany, and then moved to Padua in 1719. He then returned to his native city where he practiced medicine for twenty years, but was 'often in conflict with contemporary scientists over questions of a medical nature, a field in which he showed a strong preference for the experimental method.' Bianchi was 'a scrupulous observer and ardent collector' and a member of many academies in Italy and abroad.

Condition: Buono (Good). 4to (292x215mm). 136 pp. and 24 engraved numbered plates. Collation: A-R4. With the printer's woodcut device on the title page: a Minerva sitting on a pile of books with an owl on a box bearing the monogram ?P?, in the background the Colosseum. Contemporary cardboards, rebacked, lettering piece on spine (very worn and rubbed). Manuscript ownership entries on the front flyleaf (?M.A. Plazza?) and on the title page (?Hieronymi Plazza MD [?] Calaritani?). The edition illustrated with many woodcut headpieces, tailpieces and 24 full-page plates designed by Ercole Lelli and engraved by Carlo Antonio Pisarri, illustrating various mollusc species. On l. F4 begins, with its own title page, the part ?Specimen aestus reciproci maris superi ad littus portumque Arimini? Some scattered foxing, but a good, genuine copy. Uncut with deckle edges.Second edition (the first edition was published at Padua in 1739). Giovanni Bianchi is commonly known as Janus Plancus, the name he gave himself and under which he published most of his writings. In 1717, he attended medical courses at the University of Bologna, where, under Anton Maria Valsalva and other distinguished professors, he acquired a scientific education in botany, physics, and medicine. An attentive observer and systematic annotator of every natural phenomenon, Bianchi studied the extent and manner of the tides on the Rimini beach and analysed the organic debris of the sandy sediment with the aim of finding living shells similar to the fossil Ammonites. He collected the result of his studies in the present work. Particularly important is the first part, in which some hitherto unknown forms of Foraminifera are described, along with species that are poorly known. This volume remained fundamental to the knowledge of living Foraminifera species for a long time and gave impetus to more in-depth research in that field of naturalistic studies. De conchis minus notis was followed by other important zoological writings. Janus Plancus dealt with many other scientific fields such as astronomy, physical geography, veterinary and medicine; his contribution to the sciences of the 18th century is broad and profound, as confirmed by the eclectic work and rich correspondence he left to us.Cfr. Cermenati, Evoluzione scienze geologiche p. 189, Diz. Biograf. Italiani X p. 105. Book.

Cm. 27,5, pp. 88 + 5 tavole incise in rame e ripiegate fuori testo. Leg. d'epoca posteriore in mezza pergamena. Un'abile reintegrazione alla parte bianca bassa del frontespizio ed alcuni strappetti marginali (senza interessare il testo), peraltro copia genuina e marginosa. L'opera è divisa in due parti. La prima riguarda la descrizione di vari specie di animali raccolti sulle coste dell'adriatico (molluschi, crostacei, ecc). La seconda parte tratta dei fenomeni di flusso e riflusso osservati in prossimità di Rimini e vicino al delta del Po. Prima edizione, non comune.

in-4 gr., pp. 136, leg. p. perg. coeva con tit. mss al d. Tagli spruzzati. Vignetta in rame al front. Con 24 belle tavv. in rame al fine raffiguranti conchiglie, molluschi, coralli, delle zone del Mar Adriatico. Seconda edizione più rara e decisamente ampliata rispetto alla prima recante sole 5 tavv. Piantanida 4055: "Opera molto stimata". Manca a Ranghiasci. Mancanza di alcuni cm di perg. al piatto ant. e qualche lieve ingiallitura sulle prime pagine, ma bell'esempl. a larghi margini. [220].

Roma, In Aedibus Palladis, 1760, in 4; solida e perfetta leg. (recente) m. perg. con tass. in pelle e lett. oro al dorso; piatti in varese; pp. 136 + 24 tavv. f.t. (5+19); bella vignetta figurata al frontesp. e ritr. Autore a p. pag. in antip. il tutto inc. in rame (il ritratto, forse aggiunto o spessissimo mancante, è inc. dal GIAMPICCOLO). Esempl. internam. fresco, ottimo e con larghi margini intatti. (Solo una leggera macchia di umidità al largo margine esterno ma lontano dal testo di diverse pagine interne). Seconda edizione molto più rara della prima (Venezia, 1739; pp. 88 e 5 tavv.) decisamente ampliata sia nel testo che nelle tavv. Lozzi; 4055 (solo questa ediz.): "Opera ai suoi tempi molto stimata ma che si mantiene in credito anche oggi". Libro.