A superb copy of a well-known and important book. Quarto: 654 leaves: that is [16], 1221 (i.e. 1243), [48], [1 bl.] pages. Bound in lovely gilt-decorated full calf with images of birds and nature, The frontispiece, so often missing, is present and offer a Baroque border with ten scenes from Exodus. This is one of the most influential treatises on witchcraft and demonology of the early modern period. Del Río, a Spanish Jesuit theologian and classical scholar, compiled this dense and erudite work not merely as a catalogue of superstitions, but as a juridical and theological guide aimed at clergy and inquisitors combating supposed diabolical practices. Unlike many earlier witchcraft manuals, Disquisitiones was structured with the rigour of a scholastic disputation, presenting arguments and counterarguments grounded in classical sources, Church Fathers, canon law, and firsthand inquisitorial records. The text is significant for its synthesis of classical learning and contemporary anxieties about magic and heresy. Del Río drew heavily on ancient authors such as Cicero, Pliny, and Apuleius, aligning pagan notions of magic with Christian demonology. At the same time, he fully endorsed the reality of witchcraft and the legitimacy of ecclesiastical and secular trials. His emphasis on the devil's agency in magical practices reflects the broader Counter-Reformation tendency to reaffirm orthodoxy and heighten vigilance against perceived threats to religious unity. Moreover, his meticulous Latin prose and appeal to scholarly authority gave the work lasting credibility within both academic and ecclesiastical circles. By the time of the 1679 Cologne edition, Disquisitionum Magicarum had become a standard reference in demonological literature, widely cited by theologians, inquisitors, and jurists throughout Europe. Its enduring popularity attests not only to its intellectual rigor but also to the persistent fear and fascination surrounding witchcraft well into the late 17th century. REFERENCES BM Lyon 344094. Cantamessa 1258. Coumont D45.22. Graesse, bibli.magica p. 47. Rosenthal 2903. #historyconnoisseurcf