Francesco Redi - Observations On The Living Animals, FIRST EDITION plus the Crusca Academy Emblem - 1684

1684 RARE FIRST EDITION ON NATURAL HISTORY, SCIENCE, ZOOLOGY, BIOLOGY, BOTANY, MICROSCOPE, PARASITOLOGY, by Francesco Redi (1626–1697), an Italian physician, naturalist, biologist and microscopist. He is referred to as the "founder of experimental biology", and as the "father of modern parasitology". He was one of the first to question the theory of spontaneous generation, demonstrating that larvae originate from insect eggs, and that the various phases during the life of an insect (egg, larva, pupa, and adult) are different forms of the same animal. He was one of the first people to use the microscope in dissections, and his techniques remained useful for hundreds of years. This book (Observations On The Living Animals Found In Living Animals) is richly illustrated with 26 full page copper engravings (height 253 x width 187 mm or 9.9 by 7.4 inches), illustrating in detail various types of internal parasites found in wild and domestic animals and fish, refuting spontaneous generation and introducing a scientific approach based on observation and drawing. Many drawings depict double-headed snakes, lizards, snails, cephalopods, earthworms, annelids, leeches, and worms. One of Redi's goals was to discover and analyze the tiny creatures and pests that damage crops, livestock, plants, poultry, agriculture, farms, forests, or cause nuisance to people, especially in their homes. Original full leather binding from the period and in good condition, as shown in the photos. REFERENCES; World Cat Oclc n°1403677837; USTC n°1750070; Garrison & Morton 2448.1 ("Redi was among the first of the parasitologists"); Nissen ZBI 3323; NLM/Krivatsy 9458; Prandi 26-27; Wellcome IV, p. 488; Norman 1816; Cini, Scienziati Aretini 53; Parenti, 426; Poggiali I, 562; Razzolini-Bacchi della Lega 288; Walleriana 11939; OPAC SBN n°UFIE001271; Toronto, Canada, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library of the University of Toronto Shelfmark: jah 03366; Wolfenbüttel, Germany, Herzog August Bibliothek Shelfmark: Wt 173; Oxford, United Kingdom, Bodleian Library Shelfmark: Mason II 107.

1684 RARE COMPLETE FIRST EDITION, sold a few years ago US$2,990.00 at Christie's here https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-933852, and here offered at a fraction of that price. Francesco Redi was one of the most important among the early scientists studying insect anatomy. The 26 numbered illustrations (two folding) shows Francesco Redi's study on parasites, using the microscope. Through extensive dissection and collection research, Redi identified approximately 108 endopathic and estopathic parasitic organisms, including leeches, worms, snails, slugs, and cephalopods, carefully depicted in engraved plates based on original drawings by the author himself. An important work in the history of science, on insects and parasites, it is based not only on ingenious experimental evidence but also on repeated microscopic observations. LITERATURE/REFERENCES; Leikola A (1977–1978) "Francesco Redi as a pioneer of experimental biology". Lychnos Lardomshist Samf Arsb. 1977–78 (1–3): 115–122; Hawgood BJ (2003). "Francesco Redi (1626-1697): Tuscan philosopher, physician and poet". Journal of Medical Biography. 11 (1): 28–34. COMPLETE FIRST EDITION.

TITLE : Osservazioni di Francesco Redi Accademico della Crusca. Intorno agli animali viventi che si trovano negli animali viventi. (Observations by Francesco Redi, Member of the Academy of the Crusca. On the living animals found in living animals)
AUTHORS: Francesco Redi (1626–1697)
PUBLISHER: Piero Matini, all'insegna del Lion d'Oro
DATE: MDCLXXXIV (1684), printed in Firenze, Italian text

DESCRIPTION: In 4to size, height 253 x width 187 mm or 9.9 by 7.4 inches. Pages [8], 253 [but 243], [1], some numbering errors but complete with its 26 copper-engraved plates outside the text and numbered, 2 of which are folded. Contemporary full leather with gilt titles and decorations on the spine, red-splashed edges, some small traces of woodworm on the spine and a slight crack in the upper left corner, but solid binding, in perfect working order with minor defects on the spine and smears and loss of color on the covers, as shown in the photos. Title page printed in red and black with the Crusca Academy emblem, half-title, page of errata at end of text. The plates have yellowed slightly due to age, but are all intact and well-printed; an excellent copy with minimal signs of age. COMPLETE FIRST EDITION.

AUTHOR: Francesco Redi (1626–1697) was an Italian physician, naturalist, biologist, and poet. He is referred to as the "founder of experimental biology", and as the "father of modern parasitology". He was the first person to challenge the theory of spontaneous generation by demonstrating that maggots come from eggs of flies. Having a doctoral degree in both medicine and philosophy from the University of Pisa at the age of 21, he worked in various cities of Italy. A rationalist of his time, he was a critic of verifiable myths, such as spontaneous generation. His most famous experiments are described in his magnum opus "Esperienze intorno alla generazione degl'insetti" (Experiments on the Generation of Insects). He correctly observed that snake venoms were produced from the fangs, not the gallbladder, as was believed. He was also the first to recognize and correctly describe details of about 180 parasites, including Fasciola hepatica and Ascaris lumbricoides. He also distinguished earthworms from helminths (like tapeworms, flukes, and roundworms). He possibly originated the use of the control, the basis of experimental design in modern biology. A collection of his poems first published in 1685 Bacco in Toscana (Bacchus in Tuscany) is considered among the finest works of 17th-century Italian poetry, and for which the Grand Duke Cosimo III gave him a medal of honour.

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