Tannoja - Delle Api - 1818

GRAND ITALIAN TREATISE ON BEEKEEPING, BEE HOUSES, HONEY PRODUCTION AND WAX
THREE VOLUMES WITH 7 FOLDED PLATES
Important Neapolitan edition of the famous treatise by Antonio Maria Tannoja dedicated to bees and their rational management, one of the most significant Italian works on beekeeping from the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth century. Published posthumously and presented as a corrected edition, the work gathers in three volumes a wide discussion on the structure and organization of the beehive, on bee biology, on the formation and multiplication of swarms, on the construction and management of apiaries, on honey and wax collection, and on methods to improve productivity. Particularly interesting is the visual apparatus, consisting of 7 engraved and folded plates depicting different models of hives, beekeeping tools, bees, anatomical parts and other naturalistic details. The treatise marks the moment when traditional observation of bees progressively transformed into a true agronomic discipline, based on experience, experimentation, and the search for more efficient breeding systems. A complete exemplar in all three volumes and the plates, preserved in the pleasant uniform contemporaneous bindings in half-leather.

WHY TO BUY
THREE COMPLETE VOLUMES – NAPLES 1818! One of the main ancient Italian treatises exclusively dedicated to bees.
7 FOLDED PLATES! Hives, tools, anatomy and details of the beekeeping world illustrated with great precision.
FROM BEES TO HONEY! A real practical manual on the birth of Italian rational beekeeping.
UNIFORM CONTEMPORARY BINDINGS! A fascinating original collection of natural history, agriculture and entomology.

MARKET VALUE
Ancient Italian treatises specifically devoted to beekeeping maintain good interest among collectors of natural history, entomology, agronomy, and rural techniques. In this copy the completeness of the three volumes, the presence of all 7 folded plates, and preservation in uniform contemporary bindings are of particular importance. For a complete set in similar condition, a retail value in the order of €600-1,000 seems realistic, with possibilities of higher bids for copies especially fresh, complete, and with well-preserved plates.

PHYSICAL / CONDITION
Three volumes. Volume I: pp. (2), 12, 152, (2). Volume II: pp. (2), 162, 2 nn., (2). Volume III: pp. (2), 176, (2). Complete with 7 engraved and folded plates, printed with good clarity and depicting hives, beekeeping equipment, bees, anatomical details and other naturalistic details. Contemporary uniform bindings in brown half-leather with boards covered in marbled paper; titles, volume numbering and small ornaments stamped in gold on the spines. Bindings with minor abrasions, chipping and normal signs of use. Margins sometimes short or slightly trimmed. Papers uniformly browned. Some ink spots in the first volume. On the last page of the index there is a small loss affecting some letters. As with all antique volumes, slight defects or restorations not expressly mentioned may be present.

FULL TITLES & AUTHORS
Antonio Maria Tannoja, or Tannoia (1727-1808).
Delle api e loro utile e della maniera di ben governarle.
Naples: at the expense of Giacomo-Antonio Monaco, in the printing office of Raffaele Raimondi, 1818.
Posthumous edition revised and corrected.
Three volumes.
Volume I: pp. (2), 12, 152, (2).
Volume II: pp. (2), 162, 2 nn., (2).
Volume III: pp. (2), 176, (2).
7 folded plates.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Antonio Maria Tannoja, also known as Tannoia, was born in Corato in 1727 and belonged to the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. A religious, historian, naturalist and agronomist, he is remembered mainly as one of the first biographers of Saint Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori, but he also cultivated a lively interest in agriculture, insects, and particularly in the complex social organization of bees. His approach unites naturalistic observation, practical experience and attention to the economic repercussions of beekeeping. In the treatise Delle api e loro utile he addressed not only the biology of the insect, but also the design of hives, the management of swarms, the production of honey and wax, diseases and systems to improve the yield of apiaries. The work perfectly testifies to the Enlightenment agronomic culture, in which knowledge of nature should translate into concrete applications useful to society. Tannoja died in 1808; the 1818 edition was therefore published posthumously.

RARITY
Ancient Italian works entirely dedicated to bees constitute a relatively specialized and sought-after category. Tannoja’s treatise has particular interest because it belongs to the transitional phase between traditional beekeeping and rational hive management. Complete copies in three volumes and especially those with all 7 folded plates are substantially more desirable, as the plates, due to their practical nature and fold-out format, are particularly prone to loss, detachment or damage. The present set preserves both the three-volume structure and the illustrative apparatus, in addition to the uniform bindings of the era, features that greatly enhance its collectible charm.

HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE
Between the late eighteenth and the early nineteenth century beekeeping underwent a profound transformation. Bees ceased to be viewed merely as a spontaneous resource of the countryside and became the subject of systematic observation, experimentation and technical improvement. Tannoja’s treatise sits squarely in this evolution. The author analyzes hive life, colony characteristics, swarm formation, apiary placement, and techniques for collecting honey and wax, seeking to reconcile economic yield with colony preservation. The plates dedicated to the various types of hives and tools turn the work into a true operating manual. The volume thus constitutes a significant source not only for the history of entomology, but also for the history of agriculture, rural economy and the development of modern apicultural techniques in Italy.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Antonio Maria Tannoja, Delle api e loro utile e della maniera di ben governarle, Naples, 1818.
Pontaniana Academy, studies and contributions dedicated to Antonio Maria Tannoja and to Southern agronomic culture.
Angelo Natale Talier, Agronomic bibliography. Essay on a catalog of books on agriculture and veterinary science written in Italian or pertaining to Italy.
Studies on the history of Italian beekeeping and apicultural treatises from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Bibliographic repertories dedicated to agronomy, entomology and the history of Italian natural science.