Antonio Genovesi - Elementa Physicae Experimentalis - 1779

[Neapolitan Enlightenment & Physics] Genovesi, Antonio – Elements of Experimental Physics. Usui Tironum Aptata. Naples, Dominicus Terres / Apud Fratres Raymundios, 1779. 2 Volumes in 1 Volume (Complete) with Frontispiece Figura, Portrait and 3 Plates Engraved Off Text.

TECHNICAL & BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA
Author: Antonio Genovesi (Antonio Genuensi, 1713–1769)

Full Title: Elementa Physicae Experimentalis. Usui Tironum Aptata (Tomus Primus & Tomus Secundus)

Publisher / Printer: Dominicus Terres / Apud Fratres Raymundios (Neapoli / Napoli)

Print Date: 1779

Language: Latin
Format: Octavo (approximately 20 x 12.5 cm)
Pagination:
Tomus I: 226 pp
Tomus II: 231 pp + [6] pp of contemporary manuscript index at the end of the volume

Iconographic Apparatus:
1 Fine copper-frontispiece with allegory of the stemmata, engraved by C. Pignatari after N. Fatio’s drawing
1 copper-engraved portrait of the author Antonio Genovesi
3 folded plates engraved in copper with diagrams of mechanics, geometry, physics and a detailed Wind Rose
Drop caps, initials and tailpieces woodcut
Binding: Full contemporary eighteenth-century stiff parchment, spine with leather orna and gold title impressed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK AND HISTORICAL-SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE
Rare and sought-after eighteenth-century Naples print of 1779, the scientific and instructional work of Antonio Genovesi, a leading figure of the Italian Enlightenment, celebrated philosopher, economist (head of Europe’s first Chair of Political Economy) and professor of philosophy and natural physics.

The work represents the synthesis of Genovesi’s scientific and pedagogical thinking, composed for the instruction of academic youth and aimed at disseminating the experimental method and modern physics (Galilean-Newtonian in origin) in the Kingdom of Naples. The treatise spans from the mechanics of solids and fluids to optics, and includes astronomy and the study of atmospheric and magnetic phenomena.

Notable features of this exemplar:
- Exceptional iconography: the exemplar preserves the splendid and scenic allegorical frontispiece engraved by C. Pignatari from N. Fatio’s drawing, the iconic portrait of Genovesi at the start of the text, and the complete set of 3 copper-engraved folding plates.
- First posthumous edition printed in a few scarce copies.
- Wind Rose plate: the third plate includes a rare and detailed copper-engraved depiction of the Wind Rose with the names of the cardinal directions of the era.
- Contemporary usage testimony: at the end of the volume are 6 pages entirely manuscript in eighteenth-century handwriting, containing the book’s reasoned index prepared by a scholar or student of the era, a feature that adds priceless historical value and provenance to the volume.

CONDITION AND STATE OF PRESERVATION
Binding: In full contemporary parchment, strong and well preserved, with minimal natural signs of aging. Original backstrip tag clearly legible.
Interior: Pages well bound and usable. A damp-stain along the upper margin of the second tome’s pages and on some plates is noted, along with physiological and mild foxing and browning of the era that do not affect the legibility of the text or the engravings.
Completeness: Structurally and textually complete for both volumes, including frontispiece, portrait, the 3 folding plates, and the final manuscript index.
A work of notable bibliographic interest for collectors of eighteenth‑century scientific texts, Neapolitan Enlightenment, history of physics, and rare antiquarian book collections.