Caracciolo - Gloria del Cavallo - 1589

THE GREATEST EQUINE TREATISE OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY: THE GLORY OF THE HORSE OF CARACCIOLO
Monumental Italian Renaissance treatise on horses and one of the most extensive works ever published on the horse in the sixteenth century. In The Glory of the Horse Pasquale Caracciolo gathers classical and contemporary knowledge of the equestrian world, merging history, breeding, veterinary science, riding, military art, medicine, philosophy, and aristocratic culture into an extraordinary encyclopedia of the horse. More than a simple technical manual, the work represents a synthesis of Renaissance civilization, in which the horse embodied military strength, social prestige, aesthetic perfection, and the noble ideal. The renowned large woodcut plate dedicated to equine infirmities is considered one of the most iconic images of European veterinary medicine in the sixteenth century. The Venetian edition of 1589 is one of the most important and sought-after ancient reprints of the work.
WHY TO BUY
One of the foundational works of European hippology.
Monumental Renaissance equestrian encyclopedia.
Famous large woodcut plate of the horse’s diseases.
Fundamental text for the history of veterinary medicine and horsemanship.

MARKET VALUE
The sixteenth-century editions of The Glory of the Horse are among the most coveted works in international hippological bibliography. Complete specimens of the rare Venetian edition of 1589 are sought after by collectors of equestrian history, veterinary medicine, military art, and Renaissance culture. The commercial value generally ranges between €1,500 and €6,000, with notably higher results for copies in excellent condition, with illustrious provenance, or bibliographic features of particular interest.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Full parchment hardcover binding, five-ribbed spine with the title handwritten in the first compartment. Title page with woodblock typographic printer’s mark. Large woodcut plate depicting the pathological anatomy and the main infirmities of the horse. Moisture stain in the upper corner of the first leaves and a small restoration in the lower corner of leaf Bb8. Some numbering errors present, as is common in period editions. Complete – In ancient books, due to their long history, small imperfections may be present that are not always noted in the description. Collation: (2), 64, 970, (2), 22 leaves, nn., (4).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
The Glory of the Horse.
Venetia, Appresso Nicolò Moretti, 1589.
Pasquale Caracciolo.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The Glory of the Horse constitutes the most ambitious attempt to gather in a single work all the equestrian knowledge available at the end of the Renaissance. Caracciolo draws from the classical tradition of Xenophon, Vegetius, and Latin authors, integrating it with the experience of Italian riding schools and the most up-to-date veterinary knowledge of his time. The work covers the history of the horse, breeds, breeding, reproduction, feeding, training, shoeing, veterinary medicine, military and ceremonial use of the animal, offering an encyclopedic view without precedent. The famous anatomical-pathological plate represents one of the first great figurative syntheses of European veterinary medicine. In breadth of content and scholarly rigor, the treatise surpasses the preceding manuals of Federico Grisone, Cesare Fiaschi, and Claudio Corte, establishing itself as the reference point of hippological literature until the seventeenth century.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Pasquale Caracciolo (1508-ca. 1594), belonging to an ancient Neapolitan aristocratic family, was one of the leading theorists of Renaissance equestrian art. A humanist of wide culture, he devoted much of his life to studying the horse, collecting classical sources, practical observations, and traditions from the main Italian riding schools. The Glory of the Horse represents the crowning achievement of his intellectual activity and contributed decisively to the development of European veterinary and equestrian literature in the following centuries.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
First published in Venice in 1566, The Glory of the Horse enjoyed extraordinary editorial success, evidenced by numerous sixteenth- and seventeenth-century reprints. The 1589 edition, printed by Nicolò Moretti, is among the most important and complete testimonies to the work’s diffusion. Thanks to Caracciolo’s fame, the volume circulated in Italian courts, riding academies, military circles, and among leading European breeders, becoming a reference text for veterinary medicine and the art of handling horses up to the modern era.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
EDIT16 CNCE 10310.
ICCU – OPAC SBN.
USTC – Universal Short Title Catalogue.
Adams, Catalogue of Books Printed on the Continent of Europe, C-530.
Mennessier de La Lance, Essai de Bibliographie Hippique, I, pp. 247-250.
Mortimer, Harvard Italian Books.
Wellcome Collection Library Catalogue.
British Library Catalogue.
Brunet, Manuel du Libraire et de l'Amateur de Livres.
Graesse, Trésor de Livres Rares et Précieux.