(1621). ZONCA (Vittorio). NOVO TEATRO DI MACHINE ET EDIFICII - Lot 434

(1621). ZONCA (Vittorio). NOVO TEATRO DI MACHINE ET EDIFICII. Padua, Francesco Bertelli, 162[1]. In-folio of [8]-115-1bl. pages, stiff vellum, blue edges (18th century binding). Fine copy of the second edition bound with 2 manuscripts. 2 unnumbered leaves with 3 full-page illustrations between pages 88 and 89. 42 full-page figures showing machines, most with their workers, depicted in landscapes, architecture and interiors. Of particular note are a lock, a device for launching boats, a printing and engraving workshop, machines for assembling building materials, two devices for roasting meat and a water-driven sharpening machine. Inspired by Agostino Ramelli, mechanic Vittorio Zonca (1568-1602) was appointed architect of the city of Padua. Rature on the last digit of the date. (Brunet V, 1539) two manuscripts from the same period are bound together: - 1. DIMANDE 25 DEL CAPO HORATIO. 15 pages. Series of 25 questions concerning the fortifications of a fort, (unnamed), probably located on the Mediterranean coast. The walls are said to be of earth and not stone, and the Turks could demolish them with their artillery, as they did at Nicosia on the island of Cyprus. - 2. GEOMETRIAE PRACTICAE NOVAE. 84 pages. Treatise on geometrical constructions, decorated with a hundred pen-and-ink figures. The vellum binding, protected by its thick paper covers, is in remarkable condition. It has been wrapped in a very thick paper dust jacket with an inner lining of old German account book paper. A fine copy, in brilliant condition, bound with an Italian manuscript of the same period (on fortifications) and a German Euclidean geometric manuscript.