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Ex typographia Rev[erenda] Cam[era] Apost[olica], MDCXXXI (1631). 4to (255 x 194mm). [viii], 96 pages (i.e. 94pp. (pages 33-34 are omitted, but otherwise complete and likely a printer s error). Signatures: +(4), A-M (4). Full-page copperplate engraved title page of Taddeo Barberini (1603-1647) as Prefect of Rome, mounted on horse, and surrounded by six putti, two holding his coat of arms (three bees for Barberini and the eagle of Rome). 4 full-page engraved plates of heraldry insignia and the prefect investiture of Taddeo Barberini, nephew of Urban VIII (pope,1623-1644), to whom this work is dedicated. Woodcut initials andchapter pieces. Text in roman and italic. Printed marginalia. Contemporary limp vellum with manuscript title to spine, ruled in gilt with gilt stamped cornerpieces; (vellum with slight edgewear and small gouge on rear cover, minor foxing throughout, otherwise quite brightand with fresh engravings). Ex-libris stamp on title: "Ex Bibl. Ios. Ren. Card. Imperialis" of Cardinal Giuseppe Renato Imperiali (1651-1737), an Italian cardinal and bibliophile. First edition from the press of the Apostolic Camera containing the approved engravings of the historic moment of Taddeo Barberini s investiture as Prefect of Rome. Taddeo Barberini took possession of the title on 10 August 1631 in much ceremony through the streets of Rome. The Prefect of Rome was an honorary position that Barberini enjoyed immensely, although it caused him a fair deal of diplomatic distress in his later years. The author and theologian, Felice Contelori, was the former librarian for the Barberini family and first keeper of the Vatican archive. Contelori was appointed to the prestigious Vatican role in 1630, just one year before this his inaugural publication. The six-chapter work De Praefecto Urbis Liber was widely received and included a useful compendium of biographical information on all previous Roman Prefects. The printers, the Apostolic Camera (Reverenda Camera Apostolica), formerly known as the Papal Treasury, was the center of Papal administration from itsfoundation in the eleventh century; this Vatican agency was vital to the operation of the Roman Church and controlled much of the media. This edition is scarce; OCLC locates copies at Harvard, Univ. of Chicago, and the Getty Research Institute. This copy was at onceresiding in the important 18th-century and large ecclesiastical "Imperiali Library" housed at the Palazzo Colonna. The Imperiali family sold off the rich, voluminous collection of over 17,000 books and manuscripts during the Napoleonic invasions of Italy.
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