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

MIEDZYNARZECZONY TREŚĆ

DIARY TREATY THAT INVENTS MODERN EQUESTRIANISM AND THE VETERINARY HANDBOOK THAT COMPLETES IT

Important Venetian collection that brings together in a single volume two distinct but closely complementary works by Federico Grisone, a foundational figure of European modern riding. The first part contains the famous Orders of Riding, the treatise that for the first time systematized the art of training the horse, selection of breeds and use of bits, exerting enormous influence on equestrian schools across Europe.

The second part gathers instead a series of warnings and remedies dedicated to reproduction, breeding and care of equine illnesses, configuring itself as a true specialized veterinary manual. The whole offers a complete vision of Renaissance equestrian culture, uniting riding, breeding, veterinary science and equestrian technology in one of the most influential books on horses 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 rare plates dedicated to equine veterinary science.
• Direct testimony of the Neapolitan School of Horsemanship.

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, generally fetch between 3,000 and 7,500 euros, with higher valuations for particularly fresh copies, of prestigious provenance or preserved in antique valuable bindings.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Two distinct 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 printer’s marks. Two plates dedicated to riding exercises. Numerous woodcut figures depicting bits and bridle devices. Present the famous plate on equine diseases. Some light staining and sporadic signs of use. Binding made from an ancient parchment manuscript. Overall very well preserved.
In old books, with a centuries-long history, there may be some imperfections not always noted in the description. This listing contains AI Visualizations. Refer to the original photographs to verify the object’s actual condition. 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.
Venezia, 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 Orders of Riding, constitutes the true manifesto of the Neapolitan School founded by Grisone. Here the character and conformation of the horse, training techniques, proper use of bits, work in the arena 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 instead a predominantly ippia-tric and zootechnical character. It collects advice on breeding, selection of breeds, reproduction and care of the main equine pathologies. In an era when the horse represented a military, economic and social resource of fundamental importance, such knowledge assumed strategic value of primary importance.

Particularly notable are the figures dedicated to bits, which document with extraordinary precision the 16th-century equestrian technology, and the plate of equine diseases, 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 classical modern horsemanship. Active in viceregal Naples, he established one of the most famous equestrian academies of the Renaissance, frequented by nobles from all over Europe. His works were translated into French, Spanish, German and English and deeply 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 European classical schools.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The first edition of the Orders of Riding appeared in Naples in 1550 and immediately enjoyed extraordinary editorial success. Parallel editions of the veterinary and zootechnical writings associated with Grisone’s name circulated. Venetian workshops played a decisive role in distributing these works, which were reprinted several times during the 16th century to meet demand from aristocrats, cavalry officers, breeders and gentlemen.

The 1590 edition documents a mature phase of the reception of the work, when Grisone’s elaborated equestrian system had already become an international reference point. The choice to collect 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 the Orders of Riding.
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 ippiatria ed equitazione rinascimentale.