Galli - Miscellaneo Matematico - 1694

CLOCKS, COSMOGRAPHY - RARE FIRST EDITION WITH ORIGINAL VOLVES AND MAP OF AMERICA
Published in Parma in 1694, Marco Galli’s Miscellaneo matematico represents one of the most interesting Italian syntheses of applied mathematics at the end of the 17th century. The work brings together in a single treatise practical geometry, surveying, gnomonics, hydraulics, topography, mechanics, and the construction of scientific instruments, offering a true operating manual intended for engineers, architects, surveyors, and technicians of the era. Strikingly rich in illustrations, diagrams, and plates, the volume is enhanced by the presence of two original volvelles – rarely preserved – and by a map of America, testimony to the expansion of geographic and scientific knowledge in late Seventeenth-Century European culture. More than a mere theoretical treatise, the Miscellaneo matematico is a real working instrument that reflects the transformation of mathematics into an applied discipline governing territory, space measurement, and technical design.
WHY TO BUY
• First edition of the principal treatise by Marco Galli.
• Complete copy with the rare original volvelles.
• Extremely rich iconographic apparatus with folded plates and hundreds of wood-engraved figures.
• The presence of the map of America, a feature of particular historical and collectible interest.
• Important testimony of practical mathematics and Italian scientific instrumentation of the XVII century.

MARKET VALUE
Early sixteenth- and seventeenth-century editions devoted to applied mathematics, complete with folded plates and especially with original movable devices, are today particularly sought after by international collectors of the history of science. Complete copies of the two original volvelles, in good condition, typically sell in a market range of 1,200 to 2,200 euros, with higher valuations for particularly fresh copies or those with prestigious provenance.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Pages (4), 14 unnumbered, 352, (2). Contemporary limp parchment binding decorated in gold with border on the boards, floral tools at corners and center, manuscript title on the spine. Four folded woodcut plates bound-in. Numerous woodcut figures and diagrams in the text, many full-page. Map of America on page 188. Woodcut initials and tailpieces. Complete with the two original volvelles perfectly preserved. Pages with light browning and occasional foxing, overall a genuine and well-preserved example. In old books with a centuries-long history, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Miscellaneo matematico: opera nella quale vi si contiene il modo geometrico di misuratione, sì de le superficie, altezze, & larghezze, & de corpi, come di livellare sì terreni, come acque, con particolar strumenti; così del modo di dividere ogni figura… et un breve trattato di agrimesura, & modo di fare ogni sorte d'horologi à sole, come un altro trattato d'alzar acque con trombe, & con altri strumenti, con nove inventioni, & modo di diminuire il peso in esse trombe...
Parma, per Ippolito e Francesco Maria Rosati, 1694.
Marco Galli.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The Miscellaneo matematico belongs to that tradition of technical-scientific manuals that, between the late Renaissance and full Baroque, helped spread mathematical knowledge well beyond university circles. The work tackles concrete problems of land measurement, topographic surveying, construction of sundials, leveling, hydraulics, and mechanics, demonstrating how mathematics had become an indispensable tool for civil and military engineering. Of particular interest are the two volvelles, sophisticated rotating paper devices intended for performing astronomical and geometric calculations, now rarely preserved intact. The presence of the map of America also testifies to the link between mathematics, cartography, and new geographic knowledge developed after the great voyages, making the work a valuable witness of the European scientific revolution.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Marco Galli was a Bologna-based mathematician active in the second half of the 17th century, belonging to that generation of scholars who contributed to spreading practical mathematics in modern Italy. His works reflect the technical-scientific tradition developed between Bologna, Parma, and other centers of northern Italy, where geometry, astronomy, hydraulics, and surveying found direct application in public works, architectural design, and territorial management. The Miscellaneo matematico constitutes the main result of his editorial activity.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The Parma edition of 1694, printed by Ippolito and Francesco Maria Rosati, is the first and most important edition of the treatise. Mathematical works accompanied by folded plates and movable devices were generally printed in limited runs and intended for heavy use, which is why many copies have lost their moving parts or plates over time. Complete copies of the two original volvelles are now significantly rarer than the usual bibliographic survival and are particularly sought after by collectors and institutions devoted to the history of science.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Riccardi, Biblioteca Matematica Italiana.
ICCU – OPAC SBN, Parma edition, 1694.
Edit16 / repertori italiani bibliografici.
Tomash & Williams, History of Computing.
Turner, Early Scientific Instruments.
Stillman Drake, studies on Italian practical mathematics of the XVII century.
Studies on volvelles and papercraft calculation instruments in early modern Europe.
Comparisons with gnomonics, surveying, and applied mathematics treatises from the XVII century preserved in major European libraries.