CIRILLO, D.

Plantarum Rariorum Regni Neapolitani Fasciculus Primus.

Eur 3,900 / USD 4,300
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Neapoli 1788. Folio (375 x 245mm). pp. xxxix, (i), with woodcut vignette on title and 12 fine handcoloured engraved plates drawn by the author. Recent marbled boards.

Stafleu lists only one complete copy in the United States

The first part of two. A second part with likewise 12 plates was published in 1792. The work is extremely rare and probably the rarest Italian flora. Domenico Maria Leone Cirillo (or Cyrillo) (1739-1799) was an Italian statesman and naturalist. He was in close contact with famous French naturalists of his time such as J.A. Nollet, Buffon, d'Alembert and Diderot. He taught botany and medicine at the University of Naples and likewise published a book on the entomology of the Naples area. For political reasons he was condemned to death by King Ferdinand IV (1751-1821). Stafleu lists only one complete copy in the United States. In the last decades only one complete copy was offered. It was offered for sale by Librairie Didier Cart-Tanneur in 1999 for FF. 140,000.

Nissen BBI, 358; Stafleu & Cowan 1133.