Egidio Ferrari - Lot with 10 Hoepli Manuals - 1892-1954

Splendid, rare and organically assembled collection comprising a set of 10 historic Hoepli Manuals, published between the late nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century by the celebrated Milanese publishing house Ulrico Hoepli. This lot stands out on the collectors’ market for its pronounced and exceptional thematic diversity: an encyclopedic group ranging effortlessly from agricultural science and forestry to applied industrial chemistry, touching on curious and unusual medical disciplines of the early twentieth century, accounting and commercial manuals for foreign markets, and finally the humanities, literature and epigraphy.
This incredible variety perfectly represents the original educational and scientific purpose of the historic Hoepli Manuals series, conceived to cover every branch of human knowledge. The lot’s diversity makes it a unique opportunity on Catawiki, capable of attracting the interest of several different enthusiast niches at once: collectors specialising in vintage publishing, historians of science, bibliophiles, and researchers of industrial or humanistic memorabilia. All the volumes retain their characteristic publisher’s bindings or wrappers, offering an exceptional visual and tactile overview of the different designs adopted by Hoepli over the decades.
1. BOSCHI E PASCOLI
by Dr Egidio Ferrari (Assistant Forest Inspector), first-ever edition of 1914. A very rare volume in this exceptionally well-preserved and complete condition.
Green publisher’s cloth with splendid, sharply defined embossed decorations on the front board (ox head, agricultural tools and ears of wheat); interior very bright and fresh, free of stains or foxing, with the binding perfectly tight.
Complete with all 15 plates outside the text.
A fundamental early twentieth-century treatise on the management of Italy’s forests, alpine pasture farming and the hydrogeological protection of the land.
It examines the history of forests, the disruptive and restorative action of natural forces and human beings, reforestation techniques, and silvopastoral farming for the improvement and recovery of mountain pastures. 364 pages.
2. OLII E GRASSI VEGETALI - ANIMALI E MINERALI by Prof. Dr Guido Fabris, second revised and expanded edition of 1892; an important and early reworking of G. Gorini’s original work.
A rare, valuable and sought-after nineteenth-century edition.
Good condition. Contemporary brown cloth hardcover with black embossed geometric decorations. There is a small hole caused by wear or rubbing on the lower part of the spine and slight wear at the ends, with foxing on the cloth exterior. Interiors are sturdy and tight.
Complete with all synoptic plates and comparative tables in the text.
A landmark in late nineteenth-century industrial chemistry and commercial science. It carefully examines the physical and chemical properties, extraction methods, refining processes and techniques for detecting adulteration in vegetable oils (olive and seed oils), animal fats (tallow, lard and fish-derived products), and mineral oils (petroleum and heavy lubricants for industrial machinery); 216 pages.
3. SCRITTURA DOPPIA AMERICANA DETTA A GIORNALE-MAESTRO by Prof. Clitofonte Bellini, first edition of 1909. Uncommon.
• Very well preserved; light-coloured wrappers with widespread foxing and age spots on the exterior cover. Interiors in museum-quality condition: very bright, fresh pages, intact binding and no writing. Complete, including all the large accounting charts and commercial ledger templates folded into the appendix.
An advanced accounting manual devoted to the introduction and spread in Italy of the “American” bookkeeping system.
It explains in detail the advantages of combining the journal and ledger into a single large, integrated register (the journal-ledger), designed to speed up bookkeeping and the preparation of balance sheets for large industrial companies of the Belle Époque.
4. EPIGRAFIA ITALIANA MODERNA by Adolfo Padovan, first-ever edition of 1923. Uncommon and sought-after (humanities and literature category), in splendid condition. Very clean light-coloured hardcover, with clearly printed titles and elegant typographic decorations; fresh, well-bound interior, with neatly trimmed pages showing only rare and minimal signs of age.
A specialised treatise on philology, literature and Italian history; the text examines the critical study, cataloguing, and stylistic and historical analysis of modern inscriptions found on monuments, plaques, public buildings and historic tombs in Italy. A fundamental work for understanding monumental rhetoric and the preservation of Italy’s historical memory.
5. IL MASSAGGIO E LA GINNASTICA SVEDESE by Prof. Eugenio Paulin (Director of the Swedish Gymnastics Institute in Trieste), first-ever edition of 1922 (original design, preceding the later revisions of the 1930s).
A rare volume in this specific first printing, in excellent condition. Contemporary hardcover with a sharply defined photograph mounted on the front board; spine and covers well preserved, interior perfectly stable and tight, pages in perfect condition.
Complete with all 78 important engravings and photographic illustrations in the text.
A pioneering manual of kinesiology and physiotherapy, presenting the theoretical foundations and benefits of therapeutic manual massage combined with coordinated gymnastic movements from the celebrated Swedish system (the Ling method).
It contains practical, detailed instructions for treating postural defects and postural abnormalities, and for muscular rehabilitation of the body.
6. DEL RINGIOVANIRE (NEOPOIESI) by Dr Gaetano Zucchi, first-ever edition of 1928.
A rare, unusual and curious volume in excellent condition. Classic scientific hardcover with blue bands, exceptionally clean, with minimal foxing on the front board and very slight period wear on the edge near the spine; tight and very well-preserved interior.
An unusual and eccentric popular medical treatise typical of the 1920s, exploring the pioneering and fascinating theories of the period devoted to prolonging youth. It examines tissue regeneration, stimulation of the endocrine and hormonal systems, and the biological processes the author defines by the scientific term “neopoiesis”; 169 pages.
7. MANUALE DEGLI OLII (EDIZIONE TECNICA STORICA) by G. Gorini / G. Fabris (Industrial Section). Historic edition with blind-stamped decorations
Uncommon, in good condition. Dark brown cloth hardcover with beautiful, elaborate geometric decorations embossed in relief and blind-stamped on the boards.
Spine intact, binding solid, with the usual slight signs of age and foxing on the interior pages, which remain fully usable.
A practical professional reference text for oil producers, millers and traders. It focuses on pressing technology, the refining of food and industrial oils, methods of storage in jars and barrels, and period customs regulations governing the trade in fats; 527 pages.
8. MALATTIE DELL'ORECCHIO, DEL NASO E DELLA GOLA (OTO-RINO-LARINGOJATRIA) by Dr Tommaso Mancioli, first edition of 1913. Uncommon and in generally good condition. The blue-striped hardcover shows obvious signs of age, with widespread yellowing, age stains and foxing caused by damp. The inner binding is somewhat loose but still solid; the pages are firmly attached and completely legible, although they show clear signs of age.
Complete with all 115 anatomical and surgical figures in the text.
A clinical treatise and practical manual for doctors and medical students of the early twentieth century, examining in detail the pathology, diagnosis and medical treatment of disorders of the ear, nasal cavities and throat, while also describing in detail the surgical instruments and medical equipment of the period.
9. A MANUAL OF ENGLISH COMMERCIAL CORRESPONDENCE by Cajetan Frisoni (Gaetano Frisoni), fourth, completely revised edition of 1922.
A rare manual from the sought-after special international series in English, in generally good condition.
Light-coloured publisher’s cloth hardcover with a splendid, richly illustrated decoration in full Art Nouveau style on the front board. The cover has widespread dark foxing and stains, but the interior pages are exceptionally fresh and white, and entirely free of writing.
Complete, including the substantial “Mercantile Dictionary” (English-Italian commercial dictionary) in the appendix.
A manual written entirely in English, intended to train traders and freight forwarders for global markets. It includes examples of business correspondence, international contracts, and forms for banking, insurance, stock exchange, customs, railway and maritime shipping transactions.
10. RIPRODUZIONE E SESSUALITÀ NELLE PIANTE E NEGLI ANIMALI
• Authors: J. Hämmerling - M. Hartmann (edited by Prof. Claudio Barigozzi).
Second revised and updated Italian edition of 1954
Good condition.
Hardcover wrapper volume with only minimal and insignificant shelf wear.
Paper exceptionally fresh and white, clean edges, completely free of foxing. Exceptional, virtually as-new condition.
Complete with all 149 biological figures in the text.
A scientific and academic essay on genetics, biology and cytology from the post-war period. It analyses the complex cellular mechanisms of sexual and asexual reproduction and the reproductive cycles of plants and animals, incorporating the fundamental discoveries of the first half of the twentieth century on the hereditary transmission of traits.
Some volumes come from the prestigious Lupica Perret library in Palermo, now defunct.
The photographs form an integral part of the description.