COSTA, O.G & COSTA, A.

Fauna del regno di Napoli, ossia enumerazione di tutti gli animali?

Eur 25,000 / USD 27,500
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Napoli, Tramater, (1829) 1832-1859. 11 volumes. 4to (270 x 220mm). With 377 mostly hand-coloured engraved plates. Later half vellum, gilt ornamented spines with 2 red gilt lettered labels.

Copies of the above survey of the animal kingdom of Southern Italy are extremely rare

Copies of the above survey of the animal kingdom of Southern Italy are extremely rare. In the last decades only 2 copies have been offered for sale. We offered a copy in 1979 which had 380 plates and a copy was offered in the Bradley Martin sale (Sotheby's New York, December 12, 1989) with 384 plates. The Bradley Martin copy fetched $ 31.000 (without premium). As far as we can trace no complete copy of this work has been offered for sale. The work was published from 1832 to 1875 in 114 parts and Nissen gives a plate total of 408 plates. It was edited by Oronzio Gabriele Costa (1787-1867) professor at the University of Naples and continued by his son Achille Costa. Our set is almost complete up to the year 1859. Davies Sherborn in the 'Journal of the Soc. For Bibliography of Natural History' Vol. I, part 2 pp. 35-47 gives a detailed collation of the work. This is bibliographically a very complex work and the collations given vary. In several cases we have more plates or text than called for. Two volumes have the original half calf binding and in order to have a nicely uniform-bound set, slipcases have been made by a former owner, identical to the other volumes. A detailed collation of the work can be sent on request.

Nissen ZBi, 971; Wood 301, calling for 382 plates.