Maffei - Arte Magica - 1754

THE HUMILIATED MAGIC ARTS: THE ENLIGHTENMENT AGAINST WITCHES AND FRAUDS
First edition, in excellent condition, of one of the most significant works in the eighteenth-century debate against superstition and belief in magical arts. With Arte magica annichilata, Scipione Maffei completes his polemical project against witchcraft, systematically deconstructing its presuppositions through a rational, historical, and theological framework clearly of Enlightenment imprint. The volume represents a key moment in the transition from traditional demonological culture to a critical and rationalized interpretation of phenomena attributed to the supernatural.
MARKET VALUE
First complete editions and in good condition of Arte magica annichilata are stably positioned in the international market between €2,500 and €4,000, with higher prices for copies in full parchment, well preserved, fresh from the press, and without significant missing parts.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION - COLLECTOR'S COPY
Contemporary full parchment binding, red edges. Woodblock printer’s mark at the title page. Restoration on the upper margin of the title page; missing leaf 2T4 (white). In old books, with a centuries-long history, there may be some imperfections not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 10nn; 328; 6nn; (2).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Arte magica annichilata. Libri tre. Con un’appendice.
Verona, per Antonio Andreoni, 1754.
Scipione Maffei.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Published in 1754, Arte magica annichilata constitutes the third and final intervention by Scipione Maffei against superstitious beliefs, following Arte magica dileguata (1749) and Arte magica distrutta (1750). In this work the author adopts an even more radical stance, denying any reality to magical phenomena not reducible to divine intervention and interpreting witchcraft, maleficia, and possessions as the fruits of ignorance, suggestion, or manipulation. The text sits squarely in the climate of Italian Catholic Enlightenment, combining theological rigor, historical critique of inquisitorial sources, and attention to the natural sciences, with the aim of definitively dismantling the doctrinal apparatus of traditional demonology.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Scipione Maffei (1675–1755) was one of the foremost Italian intellectuals of the early 18th century: a learned man, historian, antiquarian, playwright, and Enlightenment thinker. Active in Verona and in contact with the main European cultural circles, he stood out for his critical approach to superstition and for his contribution to the diffusion of rational and reformist thought within Catholic culture.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
This Verona edition of 1754, printed by Antonio Andreoni, represents the first complete edition of the work. The book enjoyed significant circulation among Italian and European cultured and reformist circles, becoming a reference point in 18th-century anti-demonological literature.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Biblioteca Magliabechiana, Casanatense, 781.
Choix de livres anciens et modernes, 13420.
ICCU/OPAC SBN: IT\ICCU\RMLE\000000 (to be verified).