G. della Porta - Magiae Naturalis - 1651

Giambattista della Porta of Naples: Natural Magic. Twenty Books.
With numerous woodcuts on the topics of alchemy, distillation, magnetism, optics, illusions, geometry, ...
1650/1651, Lugduni Batavorum (Leiden), Petrus/Pieter Leffen

Monumental edition of Giambattista della Porta’s famous “Magiae naturalis” in twenty books – one of the most influential handbooks of early modern natural magic. This work, first published in 1558 and later greatly expanded, unites insights into optics, magnetism, chemistry, botany, zoology, meteorology, pyrotechnics, mechanics and all kinds of “marvellous” experiments designed to demonstrate the hidden powers of nature. The Leiden edition presented here from the Officina of Petrus Leffen offers the complete, author-corrected text in twenty books, “ab infinitis mendis repurgati,” and is regarded as one of the principal late editions of the work.

Particularly impressive are the two copper engravings at the beginning of the volume: the allegorical title page with the author in his study, surrounded by laboratory instruments, optical experiments and a scene filled with light, as well as the typographic title page with the large-format Phoenix signet and the motto “EX MORTE IMMORTALITAS” – a speaking image for the alchemical idea of transformation and renewal. Inside, additional woodcuts illustrate a wide range of nature-magic phenomena and experiments; they also provide a glimpse into the scientific thinking of the 17th century, in which “magic” and early empirical science were still closely intertwined.

Porta’s “Magiae naturalis” stands at the interface between magical tradition and modern natural philosophy: though the author still speaks of “magic,” his descriptions of lenses, burning mirrors, secret writings, plant and animal observations or chemical experiments have influenced many scholars and natural philosophers of the early modern period. Thus the work is simultaneously a key text in the history of occultism and in the history of the natural sciences – sought after by collectors of early scientific literature, alchemy enthusiasts and lovers of “Magia naturalis.”

Rare Leiden edition from the Petrus Leffen press, in this complete form considerably rarer in the market than later editions and modern translations.

Condition: Solid, age-appropriate well-preserved old binding, spine professionally refurbished/repaired, covers with signs of wear but intact. No loose pages. Paper partly slightly browned. Overall a clean, readable copy. Copper-engraved frontispiece and typographic title page with Phoenix vignette nicely preserved (see photos!).

Extent: 705 pages: engraved frontispiece + title page + Epistola (4 pages) + Praefatio (7 pages) + 670 pages + Index (22 pages)