Grisone - Ordini di Cavalcare [Bound w:] Infermità de’ Cavalli - 1590

THE TREATISE THAT INVENTS MODERN RIDING AND THE VETERINARY MANUAL THAT COMPLETES IT
Important Venetian collection that brings together in a single volume two distinct but closely complementary works by Federico Grisone, founder figure of modern European horsemanship. The first part contains the famous Ordini di cavalcare, the treatise that for the first time systematized the art of horse training, the selection of breeds, and the use of bits, exerting an enormous influence on riding schools throughout Europe.
The second part, instead, gathers a series of warnings and remedies devoted to reproduction, breeding, and the care of equine illnesses, forming a true specialized veterinary manual. The collection offers a complete view of Renaissance equestrian culture, uniting riding, breeding, veterinary science, and equestrian technology in one of the most influential books on the horse published in the sixteenth century.
REASONS FOR COLLECTING
• Fundamental work in the history of European horsemanship.
• Collection of two distinct treatises by Federico Grisone.
• Numerous woodcut illustrations dedicated to bits.
• Presence of the rare plates dedicated to equine veterinary topics.
• Direct testimony of the Neapolitan School of Equestrian Art.

MARKET VALUE
Complete sixteenth‑century collections of Federico Grisone’s works represent one of the most sought-after segments of European equine bibliography. Complete copies of the two works, with all woodcut plates and in good conservation state, typically fetch between 3,000 and 7,500 euros, with higher valuations for copies particularly fresh, from prestigious provenance, or preserved in antique bindings of high quality.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Two separate works collected in a single quarto volume.

First work:
Ordini di cavalcare.
Collation: [12], 163, [1] pp.

Second work:
Scelta di notabili avvertimenti per far eccellenti razze, et per rimediare alle infermità de’ cavalli.
Collation: 70, [2], [12] pp.

Two independent title pages with woodcut printers’ marks. Two plates dedicated to riding exercises. Numerous woodcut figures depicting bits and riding equipment. Present is the famous plate related to equine diseases. Some light staining and sporadic signs of use. Binding made from an old parchment manuscript. Overall well preserved copy.
In old books, with a centuries‑long history, there may be some imperfections not always noted in the description. This listing contains AI Visuals. Please refer to the original photographs to verify the object's actual conditions. The images are an integral part of the description.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Federico Grisone.

I. Ordini di cavalcare, et modi di conoscere le nature de’ cavalli, di emendare i lor vitii, et d’ammaestrargli per l’uso della guerra, et giovamento de gli huomini.

II. Scelta di notabili avvertimenti per far eccellenti razze, et per rimediare alle infermità de’ cavalli.
Venice, Andrea Muschio, 1590.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The importance of this volume lies precisely in the presence of two autonomous texts that address different but complementary aspects of the Renaissance equestrian universe.

The first work, the Ordini di cavalcare, constitutes the true manifesto of the Neapolitan School founded by Grisone. Here the character and conformation of the horse, techniques of breaking, the correct use of bits, work in the riding school, and training for military and aristocratic use are examined. The treatise marks the transition from medieval empirical experience to a structured methodology of horsemanship.

The second work has a predominantly ippiatric (horse medicine) and zootechnical character. It collects advice on breeding, breed selection, reproduction, and the care of the main equine pathologies. In an era when the horse represented a fundamental military, economic, and social resource, such knowledge assumed strategic importance of primary significance.

Particularly notable are the figures dedicated to bits, which document with extraordinary precision the 16th‑century equestrian technology, and the plate of equine illnesses, considered one of the oldest didactic representations of veterinary character appearing in Italian print.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Federico Grisone (ca. 1507–1570) was a Neapolitan knight and master of horsemanship, universally regarded as the founder of modern classical horsemanship. Active in viceroyalty Naples, he established one of the most famous equestrian academies of the Renaissance, attended by nobles from all over Europe. His works were translated into French, Spanish, German, and English, and profoundly influenced authors such as Cesare Fiaschi, Claudio Corte, Salomon de La Broue, and Antoine de Pluvinel. His legacy contributed to the formation of the equestrian tradition that culminated in the great classic European schools.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The first edition of Ordini di cavalcare appeared in Naples in 1550 and quickly achieved extraordinary editorial success. At the same time, several editions of the veterinary and zootechnical writings associated with Grisone circulated. Venetian workshops played a decisive role in spreading these works, which were reprinted several times during the sixteenth century to meet demand from aristocrats, cavalry officers, breeders, and gentlemen.

The 1590 edition documents a mature phase of reception of the work, when the equestrian system elaborated by Grisone had become an international reference. The choice to gather in the same volume the treatise on riding and the veterinary one responded to the practical need to offer a complete equestrian library in a single tome.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
EDIT16, CNCE 21785.
ICCU / OPAC SBN, census of Venetian editions of Ordini di cavalcare.
USTC, Universal Short Title Catalogue, editions of Federico Grisone.
Adams, Catalogue of Books Printed on the Continent of Europe, F-1034.
Mennessier de La Lance, Bibliographie Hippique, vol. I, pp. 590-602.
Huth, Works on Horses and Equitation, pp. 67-71.
Lipperheide, Katalog der Kostüm- und Pferdebücher, n. 2987.
Brunet, Manuel du Libraire, II, col. 1791.
Graesse, Trésor de Livres Rares et Précieux, III, p. 137.
Woodbridge, The Early History of Classical Horsemanship, pp. 45-63.
Nevzorov, Horse Encyclopaedia, section dedicated to the Neapolitan School.
WorldCat, international census of preserved copies.
British Library Catalogue.
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Catalogue Général.
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, VD16.
Wellcome Collection, historical catalogues of ippiatry and Renaissance horsemanship.